On-Point for Christ in Ukraine

04/02/2018

Христос воскрес!
(Christ has risen!)

10/30/2014

From my heart.

Bruce and Pia MacDonald serve as one of the handful of missionaries in the entire eastern portion of the former Soviet republic of Ukraine. Since moving there in July of 2005, they have seen many exciting advancements for the Kingdom. The ministry they started in their small village of Lutugino ha…

08/10/2014

I can't do any less than ask you for help, my friends. So, I am asking....Would you sacrifice a small financial gift to help us show the love of God and help us provide for the material needs for our friends who have lost everything to this evil war? Many need to leave the war zone to find a safe place for themselves and their families....will you help? Many are suffering for lack of simple provisions, food, water, personal needs and we can help them, if you will help us. We have shared the events in Ukraine, the suffering has a human face and I am asking you to partner with me. Thank you and God bless you. P.S., please don't be afraid to leave a comment for me....maybe I have this all wrong. Maybe I am on target. Let me know.

07/10/2014

This members of this Ukrainian church in Chattanooga are from central and western Ukraine. Being and American, speaking Russian and from the Lugansk Oblast, I was a bit of a celebrity to them....or an oddity. It was a very good time with this group of Ukrainian believers.

Had the pleasure of attending their Wednesday night prayer service on 9 July and the service was only in Ukrainian and Russian languages....no English. It was wonderful!

07/10/2014

Had the pleasure of attending their Wednesday night prayer service on 9 July and the service was only in Ukrainian and Russian languages....no English. It was wonderful!

07/05/2014

It has been awhile since I updated this page of mine. I haven't been lazy, I have spent the time with family since we have been back from Ukraine. Much is going on in the 'On-Point for Christ in Ukraine' ministry in the US and in Ukraine. We have done another 6 eyeglass clinics which I will update for you tomorrow. The war in Eastern Ukraine is very bad right now and we have decided that it is too dangerous to send our teams out and so we are taking a pause at this point in conducting clinics until things become a little safer. This pause will allow us to rebuild our inventory of glasses and also look at some developing opportunities in the future of taking the clinics farther outside of just the Lugansk and Donetsk Oblasts'. We are currently assessing the needs for another focus of our ministry in Ukraine and that is the need for humanitarian assistance for people caught in the war and for those fleeing the fighting. While our situation is not dire in comparison to those in Ukraine, we certainly understand leaving your home, your possessions, your friends....with no certainty that you can return. We are thankful to a church; Brainerd Baptist Church in Chattanooga, TN, who helped us to get back to the US and found a mission house for us to live in and provided a vehicle for us to travel in. Praise God! But this isn't the scenario for a refugee in Ukraine. I will continue this in my next post. Please pray for the peace of Ukraine. The war has entered Lugansk and is raging 12 kilometers (9 miles) from Lutugino, our home town. Pray for the people, pray that this evil that has been unleashed in this country will be contained and destroyed by the Prince of Peace. Pray for God's favor on Ukraine.

06/03/2014

On the 27th of May Ruslan conducted an eyeglass clinic in the town of Rovenki, in the Lugansk Oblast This is significant because Rovenki is in the heart of the separatist activities. I have conducted 4 clinics in the New Life Church, but in more peaceful times. Ruslan, in his report said that the atmosphere in the clinics is different today than it was in the past. People ask for prayer and are very open to hearing the Words of comfort and hope found in the Bible. There is little positive in the current events in eastern Ukraine. People have lost hope. Ruslan said that as they shared the Gospel and words of hope, the people stayed to listen. They weren't quick to get their glasses and leave. They were hungry for the comfort and hope that is contained in God's Word. Ukraine needs the Prince of Peace, Ukraine needs Jesus!

05/20/2014

On a more sobering note, yesterday, near Lutugino, a very good friend of ours, with some of her friends, went to a quarry to go swimming. They made the unfortunate mistake to display a Ukrainian flag. They were chased down and caught by some drunken pro-russians who seized and beat them. They were driven to Lugansk to be handed over to the local terrorists for questioning and further beatings. Thankfully, the Lutugino police (militia) knew these young people and negotiated for their release from their captors. The young lady and her family have had to go into hiding and the young man who tried to defend her was almost beaten to death and is currently in the hospital. Their names aren't important and would cause more potential harm. Please pray for them. Pray for Ukraine....the evil unleashed in the east is touching so many lives!

05/20/2014

We just conducted our first eyeglass clinics in a prison. This is a huge victory! We have tried and tried and tried, but God never seemed to open the door. Amidst the chaos of Ukraine, the lawlessness, God is still in the business of giving hope to the hopeless and salvation to the lost! The report is a little lengthy, but if you will be patient with Russian and follow it down, there is a English translation.

Ruslan's report:
Привет, Брюс! Слава Богу, за поездку в Прилуки! Это было от начала до конца Божья работа! Служение в зоне, произвело очень сильное впечатление, как на заключённых так и на руководство самой зоны! Было принято за два дня 240 человек. Сами заключенные которые сидят по 15 лет, не помнят, что бы была такая забота о Них. Нас благодарили как авторитеты зоны , так и офицеры. За два дня проведенных в зоне покаялось три человека, провели два церковных служения и много душе попечительной работы. Заключенные сделали для Нас экскурсию по тюрьме! Очень хорошо приняли и просили, что бы Мы приезжали к Ним ещё. Так же дали информацию по своим каналам связи в другие зоны за Наше служение и уже есть договоренность в женской колонии строго во режима. В Воскресенье провели конференцию для миссионеров которые трудятся в селах и поселках. Познакомился с епископом с Чернигова который очень заинтересовался Нашим служением. Он был очень благодарен за Наше участие в ихнем объединении.Он провел первую часть конференции, а я вторую. Проповедовал на тему внешней миссии, рассказывал о Глазной клинике и призывал на служение Богу в проповеди евангелия. В этой поездки со мной были два брата, один с Красного Луча, брат Юра и брат Саша с Мариуполя. Получилась сильная команда. На конференции собрали пожертвование для глазной клинике в сумме 500 грн. Мы также послужили миссионерам и епископу нашим служением, продемонстрировав как это проходит. Братья зовут в свои церкви по Черниговской обл. помочь им в евангелизациях. Я сказал, что координирует это направление Бондаренко Андрей. Будет возможность позвони завтра!!!! С уважением Руслан!

English Translation:

Greetings, Bruce! Praise God for our trip to (city of) Priluki! It was, from the beginning to the end, the work of God! The ministry in the prison produced a very powerful impression on the inmates as well as the management themselves. We received in the course of 2 days, 240 people. Those inmates, who themselves, have been in prison for 15 years couldn’t remember when there was given such care for them. Those in this key prison thanked us, as did the officers. During these 2 days, serving in this prison, 3 people repented, conducted 2 church services and many souls were recommitted to service. The inmates took us on a tour of the prison! It was great that they received us and asked us to come back to them again. Also, we received information through the communication’s channels that there are other prisons which desire this ministry, and there is already an agreement with a maximum security women’s prison. On Sunday, we held a conference for missionaries who serve in the villages and small towns. We met a mayor of a farming community in Chernigova, who was very interested in our ministry. He was very thankful for our participation in their association (of churches). He conducted the first part of our conference and I conducted the second. I spoke about external ministries, spoke about the eyeglass clinic and called them to God’s ministry in the preaching of the Gospel. There were 2 other brothers (in Christ) on this trip, one, brother Yura, from Krasnii Luch and brother Sasha from Mariupol. We had a very strong team. At the conference we received an offering in the amount of 500 griven for an eyeglass clinic. We also ministered to the missionaries and the head of the association, with our (eyeglass) ministry, demonstrating how they are conducted. The brothers of the Chenigovskii Oblast (province) called on us to help them and their churches do evangelism. I told them to coordinate this (new) direction through Andreii Bondarenko. (Bruce) If it will be possible, call (me) tomorrow. With respect, Ruslan.

05/17/2014

Please, if you know the missionary who is giving this report, don't share his name. *Tom Long* is sufficient. Many pastors, all denominations, have been forced to flee in both the Donetsk and Lugansk Oblast(s) (Provinces) under threats of death by the separatists, personally and against their families. I know of 6 pastors, and friends, who have been forced to leave this war zone. A very dark evil has been unleashed in these provinces, that not only prey on the non-believers, but on believers also and against the Christian church. Pray for Ukraine and for the safety of God's servants and His churches in the east.

Ukrainian churches face shaky future - Baptist Press

05/09/2014

Ruslan and Dr. Olga are doing a 3-day trip in the Donetsk Oblast (province). They are doing 3 days of eyeglass clinics in different communities. It isn't simple, but God didn't call us to do just the simple, but the bold, too. This is the epicenter of unrest in Ukraine and in the midst of the storm, God still is working in the lives of individuals, through His faithful to take His Word and His hope to the lost and hurting. To get here, they had to pass through 8 checkpoints. We thank God for His protection over them and pray that His love will be evident through the actions of His servants.

05/07/2014

Ruslan Bilokon and our optometrist Anya just completed 2 eyeglass clinics, one in Pavlovka (near Belakurakina) and Chervono-Partizan (near Sverdlovsk). Both places are very near the Russian/Ukrainian borders; Pavlovka in the north and Chervono-in the east. Each time they passed through checkpoints without problems. God went before them. They did their clinics for the people of Ukraine and showed God's love and man's 'helping others' in spite of the chaos around them. Between the 2 clinics they served 152 people and shared God's Good News....Eternal life through Jesus Christ....Hope, when hope is so hard to find in Ukraine. We give ALL the glory to God!