Global missions is not something that can be done alone. It requires a partnership of missionaries, supporters, local partners, multiple organizations, and staff all working together to cross borders and cultures, especially during challenging circumstances.
June Johnson has been in Germany for the last year, caring for Ukrainian refugees displaced due to the war, but generous partners are allowing her to continue to support the churches still serving the hurting in Ukraine. June says that the local church in Ukraine is showing those in grief and anger, lonely and without, in fear and fatigue, God’s love in tangible ways.
Written on March 11, 2022, by June Johnson, CMF missionary to Ukraine
Photo Above: A grandpa saying goodbye to his granddaughter. I have known little Arisha since she was born. She is the granddaughter to some of my best friends - Gresha and Era. Arisha and her mother were a part of the group that Joni & Friends and AGAPE evacuated.
Tuesday, 1:10 p.m. - United States
I saw a text come in from my friend in Ukraine, Era. “I really need to talk with you.”
Besides being a close friend, she is also the person I’ve most poured my skills into. Era does wound and ostomy care as well as I do. Era & her husband are still in Lutsk working at AGAPE as they help refugees. The AGAPE center (a Christian rehab center for neck & spinal injuries) has become a place where the masses who are fleeing Ukraine can stop, sleep, eat, and then be helped onward towards the Polish border.
“We had a wonderful week of youth camp recently and managed to stay 100 percent COVID-19 free,” reports CMF Ukraine team member Leah Scharfenberg.
As COVID-19 restrictions have tightened in Ukraine, the CMF team in Berdyansk and the local church leadership looked for creative ways to continue to minister and reach out to the community, even though they can’t gather together.
Like everyone else in the world, the CMF team in Ukraine has been scrambling and brainstorming to figure out how to work and minister while not being able to meet together, reports team leader Jonathan Powell.
About 50 children attended the kids’ camp led by Leah Scharfenberg and the CMF team in Berdyansk, Ukraine, and spent the week praising the Lord, learning about the life of Paul and memorizing Bible verses.
An invitation to make an Easter craft in a friend’s son’s class led to an opportunity for CMF team member Leah Scharfenberg to share the gospel story in a public school in Berdyansk, Ukraine.