SPECIAL DELIVERY
It’s hard to predict how God’s miracles will change a life or impact the world through our acts of faithfulness.
In early December, we shared the story of Covenant Partner, Cindy Chambers, founder and leader of our Holy Stitches prayer shawl ministry. In August 2022, Cindy gathered the ladies of Holy Stitches and other prayer shawl ministries at First Baptist and St. Stephens Lutheran Church to knit nearly 100 shawls to send to those in desperate need of warmth, care, and comfort in Ukraine.
In late November of 2022, Holy Stitches shipped out five large boxes filled with prayer shawls, each accompanied by a cross and a written prayer. These boxes were prayed over and shipped in faith, with no guarantee that they would ever reach their war-torn destination, and no promise that we would ever know the end of this story.
By the grace of God, now we do.
The boxes arrived safely in Poland with our partner, Dr. Andrzej Turkanik, and were quickly prepared for transport into western Ukraine. Once across the border, the boxes were received at the Evangelical Christian Church in Chervonograd, near the Polish border, a church that receives and offers aid to those displaced from their homes and pushed westward due to the war – many coming from areas with no power, food, water, or infrastructure.
At Chervonograd, the boxes were entrusted to our friend, Ira, who has been distributing the shawls to those in need. In her own words: “We thank you for being with us in this difficult time. We are very grateful for your prayers. They are very important because only God can lead us out of the war and come to our defense.” Ira, herself, has felt the harsh realities of the war, and smiles while wearing her shawl, saying, “It warms me when there is no heat in the house and also warms my heart because I know how much love is invested in it.”
This is God’s love. It crosses oceans and borders, breaks through cultural and language barriers, and shines the light of hope amidst the darkness. We continue to pray for our Ukrainian brothers and sisters in Christ. May God bring peace to their hearts and to their land. May He continue to deploy us, on mission, to reveal His love to those near and far.
There are many ways to Live Missionally toward others to share the love of Jesus.
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If you open your heart to the hungry, and provide abundantly for those who are afflicted, your light will shine in the darkness, and your gloom will be like the noon.
Isaiah 58:10