HOPE FOR UKRAINE

Letter from Franklin Graham

Dear Friend,

As Europeans celebrated the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, we have been praying that Ukraine and Russia will be able to finally negotiate a lasting peace agreement.

The war in Ukraine is the longest in Europe since World War II. Ukraine also represents one of the longest-running international responses in the history of Samaritan’s Purse, as we have been working there for more than 1,200 days since February 2022.

Working with Ukrainian churches, Samaritan’s Purse has assisted millions of people who have been living under siege. Samaritan’s Purse has distributed 122,000 metric tons of food, pumped 120 million liters of clean water, and cared for more than 20,000 medical patients. Our cargo planes transported 267 Ukrainian refugees to safety in Canada and delivered 910 metric tons of relief supplies.

Now that our Emergency Field Hospitals have fulfilled their missions, Samaritan’s Purse is supporting hundreds of local medical facilities with supplies, training, and mobile medical and dental clinics.

Through all our work, Samaritan’s Purse is dedicated to demonstrating the love of God and sharing the eternal hope we have in our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. We’ve handed out 1.1 million Ukrainian Bibles to guide people nationwide to “let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts” (Colossians 3:15, ESV). Operation Christmas Child has continued throughout the war, blessing hundreds of thousands of children.

As we pray for lasting peace in Ukraine, the people there continue to need our help. Samaritan’s Purse has provided thousands of households with wood stoves and solar lights, and we’ve repaired several grain storehouses to help Ukraine once again become the “breadbasket of Europe.” We also continue to work with more than 130 churches in Europe to provide help to over 26,000 Ukrainian refugees, including 13,000 children.

Please join us in praying for the peace of Ukraine and specifically for the people we’ll introduce in this newsletter. Thank you for your faithful prayers and generous support of the work of Samaritan’s Purse in Ukraine and around the world. May God bless you.

Sincerely,

Franklin Graham

Hope for Ukrainian Farmers

For more than two decades, Oleksiy’s* family has worked the land in Ukraine, facing the relentless challenges of nature—harsh winter frosts and scorching summers that threatened their harvests.

But nothing could have prepared them for the hardship they endured in spring 2022. Russia targeted their village, leaving 95 percent of the structures in ruins.

Even amid the ashes of what was once the family’s homestead, Oleksiy and his wife refused to give up hope and started rebuilding. We praise God that Samaritan’s Purse was able to refurbish Oleksiy’s storage facility, restoring its capacity to hold 1,000 tons of grain. Oleksiy has now planted wheat and sunflowers, full of hope for the harvest because he now has somewhere to store his crops.

“Your help is nothing short of a miracle,” Oleksiy said. “When war engulfs your country, such support feels like divine intervention. That’s why we look to the future with even greater hope. God is here—His presence is undeniable.”

For Serhiy,* Russian soldiers not only left his village in ruins but they also scattered landmines across the farmland and residential areas.

“There is darkness here—at the beginning of the war everything was leveled,” Serhiy said sadly, remembering the new grain storehouse he had built right before Russia invaded. “This demolished storehouse represented half of my life’s work. You can’t even imagine how important this was to me.”

Samaritan’s Purse came to their aid by repairing Serhiy’s grain storehouse so he and his family can continue to provide much needed food to others who have suffered as they have. This help has given Serhiy hope and newfound motivation for life.

“YOU CAN’T EVEN IMAGINE HOW IMPORTANT THIS WAS TO ME.”

“I am grateful to God that we are still holding on, standing strong, and recovering after the destruction,” Serhiy said.

For Oleksiy, Serhiy, and other Ukrainian farmers, the restoration of grain storehouses stands as a symbol of resilience and hope for a better future—a reminder that they are not alone in their adversity. Please pray for these farmers to persevere and enjoy God’s protection despite the difficulties around them. Ask also that the Lord would grant them bumper crops that will feed their desperate nation.

Your prayers and support are also opening the door to delivering emergency food, grown by Canadian farmers, in countries like Chad and Ethiopia. Friends like you are helping provide hot meals to hungry children in Madagascar, Sri Lanka, and other nations. And our teams are able to teach crucial agriculture skills in places such as Ecuador, Kenya, and the Philippines. We thank God for you.

Healing for Ukrainian Children

Matvi* was only 4 years old when Russian tanks rumbled past his home in Sumy, Ukraine.

“We hid in a cold basement ... trembling, whispering prayers, hoping it would all end soon,” said his mother Katya.*

But the hardest test of faith came when a corridor opened for children to travel out of the war zone. “We had to make the most terrifying, heart-wrenching decision of our lives,” said Katya. In anguish, she and her husband watched the evacuation bus drive away with their only child onboard.

“I can still see Matvi’s tear-filled eyes as he reached out his little hands, sobbing, ‘Mommy, don’t leave me!’” Katya said. “But I clung to one thought: our brothers in Christ would meet him and take care of him. The most important thing was that his life would be saved.”

One month later, after tirelessly praying and searching, Katya and her husband were reunited with Matvi in Romania. The family now lives in Germany, and their son is 8 years old.

“Children who have seen the horrors of war, even when they come to a peaceful country, still carry the fear of war in their hearts,” said our local church partner.

Last year, friends like you made it possible to provide trauma care to 5,545 Ukrainian children and 3,528 adults across 15 European countries. That includes Matvi, who was struggling with anger and separation anxiety. He not only experienced emotional healing but also found a friend in Jesus Christ through the Upanchyk teddy bear program.

“Upanchyk in the New Forest” is a book that comes with a stuffed teddy bear and tells the story of Upanchyk, a bear whose forest home is destroyed by fire. It is written for Ukrainian children. The Christian workers we train and support use the book and bear to help children like Matvi heal from the spiritual and emotional wounds of war.

Every night as Matvi hugs his special bear, Katya reads him the companion book. “Matvi is happy that Upanchyk’s story has a happy ending,” she said. “He says, ‘Mom, that means I will be OK too!’” Matvi even prayed: “Jesus, help me to be as kind as Upanchyk.”

“I thank God for His mercy, for His care, for the people He placed on our path who helped us survive,” said Katya. “May our story be a testament that even after the darkest night, the light always comes.”

Good News Through The Greatest Journey

Sophia came home each week from The Greatest Journey course with a new Bible story to share with her mom, Sveta. Even as war has rumbled across Ukraine, thousands of churches have been delivering Operation Christmas Child shoebox gifts and teaching the 12 follow-up discipleship lessons of The Greatest Journey.

Though Sophia and Sveta were far from their real home in eastern Ukraine—where the war raged—they found hope in the stories about Jesus in Sophia’s workbook. They were unlike anything the two had ever read.

When Sophia and her mom connected with a church near Kyiv, where the family resettled, “[they] knew nothing about God,” our partner shared. The church cared for their needs, something Samaritan’s Purse helped thousands of congregations do for displaced Ukrainians, by delivering food, water, shelter, and medical care.

“THIS IS HOW SOPHIA AND HER MOTHER MET GOD.”

The church also delivered shoebox gifts and invited Sophia and other children to attend The Greatest Journey. “This is how Sophia and her mother met God and the Bible,” our partner said.

At each class, Sophia shared how she had read the previous lesson and completed each activity with her mom at home. Sveta also started coming to Sunday services. “Let’s pray and hope that this family will continue to attend church, study God’s Word, and invite Christ into their hearts,” our partner shared.

As more children receive shoebox gifts in Ukraine and attend The Greatest Journey, pray that they will know “the God of peace” (1 Thessalonians 5:23, ESV).

*Name and photos changed for security.