It has been over one month since Russia began their invasion of Ukraine. We recently spoke with Russian believer Olya to discover how the Russian church is responding.
Olya* is risking her own safety by speaking out. It’s because of this that can’t share her real name. But even in the face of uncertainty, she has a heart for the Ukrainian people and wants to see change happen.
“Initially, my family and I couldn’t believe this was the truth,” Olya said.
“The first week [of the invasion] was so hard for me. I was crying every day because I learned about the situation, violence, and suffering of Ukrainian people, the refugees and death. I also heard about Christian believers and churches suffering from the war.
“In our church, we organized prayers for the situation. Groups of church members prayed day and night. Many were fasting. We collected some funds for Ukrainian believers, and they were so grateful for this. Now, we plan to collect more but right now we do not have a way to get the funds to them with the border closed. We pray for that opportunity.
“I want to express my gratitude to everybody who is praying for the situation, for Ukrainian citizens and the church, and for our country. Your prayer is so needed right now. Keep praying, please!”
*Name changed for security reasons