I was in Ukraine for about a week before I was in an area where I heard bombing and gunfire… I heard bombing during the day at far distance… but for the most part, it was a quiet day and evening.
That evening we went to another city in the east. When I went to bed it was quiet and peaceful; but I woke up a couple of hours after falling asleep because of so much noise.
Gunfire… there was so much gunfire. Constant gunfire.
When I heard gunfire that night for the first time, my heart got so disturbed and fear tried to grip my heart.
Fear is an enemy that does more damage then circumstances can ever cause. And I did not want to bow before it.
Opportunities for Ministry in Ukraine
God has called me to Ukraine for such a time as this.
That day in Ukraine so much happened:
❤️ Our team met with a mayor of a city and other officials, military personnel and local city volunteers and encouraged and prayed for them. I had a few minutes with the mayor and told him of God’s love and gave him a New Testament with Psalms, which he gladly received and promised to read. It came to my heart to also tell him to read Psalm 18th (17th in Ukrainian) that day and he promised he will.
❤️ The mayor provided as a list of few local families we could visit:
🙏 We visited a family with a teenage girl who was a survivor of an explosion that left a metal piece in her hip. We also prayed for her and her family. That family evacuated from that city the next day.
🙏 One of the families we visited had 7 small children, and their father had a disability and had only one leg. The girls of that family were so sweet and gave us hugs as soon as we cane in! We brought them some grains, toilet paper, cabages, and other things and gave out New Testaments, prayed for them, and told them of God’s love. The mother told me they had no plans to evacuate unless it got really bad.
🙏 One of the woman in a house we visited told us that that day in their city there was a funeral of a mother who died from an explosion- leaving 2 small children without a mother.
Later on that day we went to another city and stayed at a militаry base.. God opened up on opportunity and empowered me to preach to a group of soilders! We prayed for them, encouraged them, and gave them small gifts which included a pocket New Testament for each soilder!
❤️ That day, there were so many Ukranians who thanked us for coming.
Facing Fear
That day was a full day of ministry. I knew I was in Ukraine for a reason.
But that night, when I woke up hearing gunfire, and as fear was trying to grip my heart… thoughts came to my mind, “What are you doing here?… risking your life…”
Do the promises of God fail and become inactive just because there is a war? Absolutely not!!
Every promise of God is YES and AMEN!!
“For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us” 2 Corinthians 1:20 NKJV
But what do you do when you are still scared?
I couldn’t sleep, so I started reading Psalm 91, quitely whispering it.
“You shall not be afraid of the terror by night” vs 5a NKJV
“Father“, I prayed, “It says here I will not be afraid at night, and yet right now I am afraid. But I don’t want to fear“.
Gunfire got closer and seemed to be getting more intense. I heard glass breaking. Fear tried to consume me. But that night, the bigger battle was in my mind.
“Lord, I don’t want to be afraid” I told God again.
“You shall not be afraid of the terror by night,
Nor of the arrow that flies by day” Psalm 91:5
“Lord, but what if I am still afraid? I know You are my refuge and deliverer. Please help me”.
It seemed like there would be no end to gunfire.
“A thousand may fall at your side,
And ten thousand at your right hand;
But it shall not come near you” Psalm 91:7
I kept repeating this promise of God and declaring it.
“Is shall not come near me”
“It shall not come near me, Lord I don’t want it come near me”.
But the gunfire seemed to get closer and closer.
Then I heard an agonizing scream from a woman and more gunfire, more glass breaking.
“It shall not come near me. It shall not come near me. Thank You Lord that it shall not come near me, I don’t want gunfire near me Lord”.
I continued to read Psalm 91
“He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble;
I will deliver him and honor him” vs 15 NKJV
It does not say we will not face trouble or sorrow, but that God will be with us in it. And He will deliver us!!
“With long life I will satisfy him,
And show him My salvation” vs 16 NKJV
“Thank You Lord that with long life You will satisfy me” I prayed.
The Battle For Peace
And yet worry, panic, and fear tried to get my attention. The Enemy tried to make me believe a lie: “God’s Word says this… but that is not true, you are still feeling fear…”.
It was dark. The gunfire made it scary. And the Enemy of my soul wanted me to bow to fear and leave the country before my mission was over.
“It shall not come near me, it shall not come near me. Thank You Lord that You will satisfy me with long life” I kept whispering.
And then I thought, “If I die here it is not because the promises of God stopped working, but because I bowed down to fear, so I absolutely need to stand on God’s promises and believe. I cannot allow myself to bow to fear”.
But the gunfire was still disturbing and there seemed no end to it.
“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil;
For You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me” Psalm 23:4 NKJV
To my natural eyes, at that moment, fear and gunfire seemed much closer then God. He was with me. And yet I did not feel like He was. The air in my room was filled with coldness, oppression and gloom. But I chose to believe what God said then what my circumstances told me. So I thanked God that He was with me.
“You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You anoint my head with oil;
My cup runs over” Psalm 23:5 NKJV
Thank You Lord for preparing a table before me in the presence of my enemies.
That night the Enemy tried to feed me with worry, fear, and anxiety. But I chose to eat from the table of God’s goodness instead.
I fed on His Word.
I fed on His faithfulness.
I fed on His love.
I fed on His goodness and mercy.
I fed on His peace.
“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever” Psalm 23:6
“Thank You Lord that goodness and mercy follow me all the days of my life” I prayed, “and today is one of the days of my life, so thank You for Your goodness and mercy”.
As a good soilder, endure hardships, I was reminded (2 Timothy 2:3). Endure, do not get discouraged or afraid.
Feed on God’s Word not Fear
Gunfire continued and seemed so close now. But I chose to feed on God’s Word instead of what the Enemy was doing and how he was trying to make me feel.
“Gunfire STOP IN THE NAME OF JESUS! Do NOT COME NEAR ME!” I prayed and with faith declared!
I started reading and declaring many other encouraging verses from the Bible.
And then I was reminded of this verse:
“And the LORD, He it is that doth go before thee;
He will be with thee,
He will not fail thee, neither forsake thee:
fear not, neither be dismayed” Deuteronomy 31:8KJV
He WILL NOT FAIL ME!! HE ALREADY WENT BEFORE ME TO UKRAINE!! HE IS WITH ME!! HE WILL NOT FAIL ME OR FORSAKE ME!! THERE IS NO NEED TO FEAR OR BE DISMAYED!!!
Truth Always Supercedes Reality and Facts
Facts told me I’m in a country that is at war. Reality told me that my life was in danger. Reality told me it is natural to be afraid of gunfire. Facts told me that many civilians have died in this war and I can too. Reality told me I was in an extremely unsafe area.
And you see reality might be right, but reality is not the final truth!!! Truth always supercedes reality and facts!! And I chose to believe TRUTH over the reality I was facing!
Truth is in God’s Word!!
Truth says that Jesus will never leave me or forsake me! (Matthew 28:20)
Truth says Jesus gave gave me His peace! (John 14:27)
Truth says that God is my deliverer!! (Psalm 18:2-3)
Truth says that God is my refuge and my fortress! (Psalm 91:2)
Truth says God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble! (Psalm 46:1) God is not far but very present when we are in trouble!
Truth says He will not fail me! (Deuteronomy 31:8)
Truth says He will not forsake me! (Deuteronomy 31:8)
Truth says God will be with me! (Deuteronomy 31:8).
Truth says that goodness and mercy follow me! Psalm 23:6
Truth says though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for God is with me! (Psalm 23:4)
God’s Word never fails and He is always faithful!!
I stood on God’s Word and Fed on His faithfulness and the Word instead of fear and gunfire.
Before the gunfire died down and I no longer heard it, God proved His faithfulness once again!! I had VICTORY!!
My heart was filled with peace. And I quickly fell back asleep.
“In peace I will lie down and sleep,
for You alone, O LORD, will keep me safe” Psalm 4:8 NLT
Thank You Lord for Your faithfulness. Thank You for Your goodness in midst of hardships. Thank You for the peace You give. Thank you for Your abundance of grace to endure until the end and not leave Ukraine before Your time.
And thank you for everyone who is praying for Ukraine and for me❤️
I am blown away by this testimony. Praying for you my beautiful friend!
This is so inspiring and encouraging Kate!! So thankful for all the Lord is doing in and through your life!
This is so inspiring! Thank you so much for bringing us along with you as you share about your trip. We cannot take for granted how dangerous the mission is, but faithful is He who has called you. We are praying for your continued protection, for God to overshadow you with His presence and give you peace. We love you!