MYKOLAIV, UKRAINE — Residents in Mykolaiv, Ukraine, praise God for the fresh drinking water that Samaritan’s Purse and their church partners are providing after their water system was destroyed during the ongoing conflict in their country.

Artem – Deacon Mykolaiv Region:

Church, as it’s written in the Bible is the salt and light of the world. So despite the current circumstances here, the church should be salt and light. So who if not the church will give people hope during this time.

Vitaliy – Pastor Mykolaiv Region:

I think that war doesn’t happen by accident. Nothing in life is random. War teaches us to see what is important.

Ivanna – Mykolaiv Resident:

Currently the water is industrial water. It’s difficult to use because it’s dirty and yellow.

Svitlana – Mykolaiv Resident:

It’s the siren. Siren. Our sirens don’t always end with explosions. Sometimes it begins with explosions. And then the siren comes on. It’s the other way around a little bit.

Dymtrus – Mykolaiv Resident:

You know I miss my family. No one know when they’ll be able to come back. We must win this war.

We must win.

Artem:

When the war started in Mykolaiv the needs became acute because the Russians destroyed the water pipeline from Kherson. For 28 days the city was without water. And even now we don’t know when we will get clean water from the pipeline because the Russians won’t let anyone anywhere near the pipeline to fix it.

Ivanna:

You can’t use this water for gardens. It kills the plants. Everything dries up. Nothing grows. The earth becomes salty.

Svitlana:

It’s like when you swim in the ocean. The first thing you do afterwards is rinse off the salt with fresh water, but we can’t do that here. And then the skin on your body begins to itch. Nobody thinks about what we need water for. We need it for everything and everywhere. So we trust in the Lord. With prayers we lie down. With prayers we wake up.

Vitaliy:

And we began to tell people who came to us from other countries about this. They shared the possibility of solving this problem of water in Mykolaiv. We will drill wells, and Samaritan’s Purse will help us with that.

Artem:

When the water started it was, as they say, like heaven on earth.

Svitlana:

There is a constant supply of great drinking water. And we are simply grateful to these people. It’s just salvation for our city.

Artem:

Before the start of the war, we had about 50 people who were members of our church. More than 200 people now come to Sunday services.

Vitaliy:

Naturally, anyway all these things came down to the fact that the water is at the church.

Ivanna:

They know they can come to the house of prayer, not just for water but for answers to questions.

Vitality:

God is not the one committing evil here, but the One helping get us out of this situation. God is not the one to blame for the war. It is we the people. Our sinfulness is to blame.

Dymtrus:

I very much believe that with God and friends such as Samaritan’s Purse we will withstand this.

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Samaritan’s Purse is a nondenominational evangelical Christian organization providing spiritual and physical aid to hurting people around the world. Since 1970, Samaritan’s Purse has helped meet the needs of people who are victims of war, poverty, natural disasters, disease, and famine with the purpose of sharing God’s love through His Son, Jesus Christ. The organization serves the Church worldwide to promote the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Samaritan’s Purse International Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) program is committed to meeting the critical needs of victims of war, poverty, famine, disease, and natural disaster. We stand ready to respond at a moment’s notice whenever and wherever disaster strikes. The DART specializes in providing water, food, shelter, and medical care while sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ.

CONTACT: Kaitlyn Lahm, news@samaritan.org

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Read more news on Non Profit Organizations, Clean Water, Humanitarian Services, Disaster Relief, Ukraine, and Russia on Missions Box.

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