We MUST continue to stand with Ukraine

Dear Friend,

The war in Ukraine has been going on for almost four years now, and the human toll is staggering. 

I know you care about what is happening there, and I wanted to thank you again for your gift for the urgent needs of the people of Ukraine.  Though it isn’t getting as much attention in the news these days, things are rapidly getting worse day after day.

Just in September more than 200 civilians were killed and almost 1,000 injured in various Russian attacks. The fighting continues, and it is not limited to soldiers.  Russia is bombing power stations, water plants, hospitals, and schools. And now the cold and bitter Ukrainian winter is about to start.

My son Michael was there again a few weeks ago, hosting Rosh Hashanah celebrations and delivering food, firewood, and clothing to families who have lost everything. Nearly 7 million people have fled the country, and almost 4 million more are still in the country but have been driven from their homes.

The stories Michael shared with me when he returned were heartbreaking. And though we have done so much to help, we must do even more.

As you know, we were already on the ground in Ukraine for a decade before the war started. One fourth of all the Jews killed in the Holocaust were killed in Ukraine. Across the country, there are 2,000 mass graves. I visited one of those mass graves…the one where my great grandfather whom I was named after, Rabbi Mikel Katz-Nelson was buried after being burned to death along with 2,000 other Jews from his synagogue in what is now Belarus.

Our work in caring for the Jewish community in Ukraine, especially Jewish orphans and impoverished Holocaust survivors literally was the difference between life and death for so many. Even before the war started, Ukrainians were the poorest group of Jewish people in the world. And now things are far worse.

When the war broke out, we increased our work to help these precious people. We also began receiving requests from churches begging for our help. These churches have become the last refuge for so many.

As you read this letter today, there are homeless Ukrainians living in Sunday school classrooms. The churches desperately need food for these people, clothing, medicine, and everything else for those who have lost everything they had. Many of those living in churches are widows and orphans, so we reached out to begin helping them as well. Michael preached in several of these churches while he was in Ukraine.

Since the war began, we have delivered millions and millions of pounds of food from Warsaw, Poland, to the front lines of Ukraine. And today our trucks are still going in, averaging three trucks a week. I have not asked for your help with the outreach in Ukraine for some time, but the need is absolutely urgent right now. 

In addition to the heartbreaking stories, Michael brought back so many urgent pleas for help. So many precious people have nowhere else to turn for help.

We want to do everything we can to help, but the only way we can do that is if friends like you make it possible. Would you please prayerfully consider sending another gift right now…or as God leads, perhaps you can do even more.

As you know, my son Michael has been to the front lines in Ukraine where the bombs are falling repeatedly since the war began despite the danger…more than any other American minister. When he told me he wanted to go the first time, I said, “You have four children, Michael.” He said, “Dad, I have watched you all my life risking your life to do great things for God. Don’t rob me of the privilege. Besides God gave me this promise: Psalm 118:17, ‘I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the Lord.’”

The precious churches in Ukraine and the suffering Jewish community desperately need us now. Thank you for being the hands of Jesus reaching out to them in love.

Your ambassador to Jerusalem,

Dr. Mike Evans

P.S. Please pray for the people of Ukraine whose lives have been devastated by the loss of homes, family members, and so much more. The people Michael met and helped are just the tip of the iceberg, and with the tragedies being repeated again and again, and we must do all that we can to help. Please let me hear from you right away, and thank you in advance for your generous gift.