Dear Friends and Family,
“This week felt like heaven!” “I haven’t been able to sleep so peacefully in months.” “It’s so nice to not hear sirens going off all day and night. It’s so peaceful here.” These are some of what the Ukranian pastors and their families told us last week as we all gathered in the beautiful mountains of eastern Ukraine for a time of refreshment and encouragement. The Holy Spirit moved so wonderfully in all our meetings. Many different denominations were represented, but that didn’t matter. God’s love, joy, and peace took center stage, as pastors, leaders, wives, teens, and children united as one Body, receiving healing, refreshment, and strength throughout the week. As you can imagine, the families were elated to see each other after being separated since the beginning of the war. Wives and their children came from all over to join their husbands who cannot leave Ukraine - surrounding countries including England, Poland, Israel, Germany, Canada, and România.
CLICK HERE TO VIEW A VIDEO OF OUR TRIP
We had a great team. One family specialized in first aid and crisis management. They taught workshops for those who are helping on the front lines. Two ladies specialized in trauma counseling, some spent time with the youth and children, others of us divided into small teams to pray over couples, individuals, and families for healing, prophetic words, encouragement, etc. Many of us encouraged them in the Word of God, with Brian teaching two of the evening sessions. All went extremely well. Everyone kept saying how peaceful and encouraged they felt.
The days were varied, allowing time for the families and couples to have fun together. In the pictures you’ll see the beautiful mountains that surround the retreat center. One day we all hiked to the top of one of these mountains. Some took the chair lift, which is a ski lift in the winter. At the top we all took communion and prayed earnestly for Ukraine. It was a powerful time of intercession.
The worship was glorious. Many had never experienced the presence of God so powerfully before. We know many of you were praying for these brothers and sisters to be filled and refreshed by the Holy Spirit. Thank you for your prayers - everyone felt them! The Holy Spirit did not disappoint. Upon leaving, some even said, “We felt like we were in heaven!”
After the retreat, some of our team had to go home, while the rest of us traveled on to Ivano-Frankivsk where we were asked to speak on healing and the power of the Holy Spirit. Again the Holy Spirit did not disappoint. We took turns sharing testimonies of God’s miraculous healing power, Brian preached from the Word of God, and then the Holy Spirit came in glory as we prayed for them. No one wanted to leave, even though the service was over hours before we stopped praying! So many received healing. Finally John, our leader and driver, said we had to go even though no one wanted us to leave. We still had an eight hour drive through the mountains back to Romania ahead of us. So reluctantly, we said our good-byes to our beloved Ukranian family. We will probably be back though, as we’ve already received invitations to do two more conferences in other areas of western Ukraine.
Today our teammate, Teresa, and Lorena went to a local YWAM base where they were invited to minister to a group of Ukranian women refugees. Some of these ladies didn’t know Jesus personally yet, but by the end, they all felt the presence of God powerfully. Tanya, our Ukranian missionary friend who took us and translated for us, said the YWAM leaders always have a program planned for the ladies, with speakers lined up or a special activity. Today for the first time, however, they didn’t! Since we had just returned from Ukraine, Tanya had not had time to prearrange our coming. We were not on their schedule in advance. Yet when we showed up, they welcomed us warmly and said we could share and do whatever we wanted! It was definitely a divine appointment. Two minutes before the time we were told the meeting should end, we asked if we should stop. They all said, “NO!” No one wanted to leave, even though they were “excused.” So we kept sharing and prayed for each of them individually with prophetic words and encouragement. Like the church I described above, this group too was so hungry for God. We went on for two more hours! Even then, they didn’t stop us. Finally, we were the ones who said we needed to go. God is so good. Everyone felt His presence and were touched in many ways.
Thank you so much for your prayers. You are impacting the Kingdom of God in mighty ways - more than you realize. Hopefully from this letter you are at least seeing a bit of the fruit resulting from your prayers. They are so important and appreciated! Thank you again.
Lots of love,
Lorena and Brian
Ways to give
Use the QR code for digital donations or our support address for checks:
Transforming Lives Ministry
1908 S El Camino Real
San Clemente, CA 92672
