We head to Ukraine soon. Please pray for us. Conditions in Ukraine are difficult. The war continues. Tens of thousands of people have died and been wounded. Millions have been displaced and have either moved out of Ukraine or to a different location. People are tired and exhausted, and no end is in sight. As I write this, missile attacks are intensifying and the challenges across the country seem worse.
You may ask, so why are we going to Ukraine during these times? We feel that God wants us to be there to encourage the pastors and church leaders we work with. While the war continues, the spiritual and physical needs of the people continue to grow. The need to hear about the hope offered through a relationship with Jesus is greater than ever. The need to train, encourage and resource new pastors and start new churches is continuing. The pastors we work with are feeling the pressures of the demand. They are tired! They need help and resources to help them do ministry.
The war is causing many to experience trauma. Pastors need training in how to help those who have experienced trauma and to help share the good news of Jesus to the suffer from the effects of trauma. Families are dealing with the loss of family members and friends. Learning to deal with the impacts of injuries caused by the war. Having to start over after losing everything due to the bombings, attacks and ongoing war.
We go not to solve all these needs, but to offer our encouragement. To listen to the needs. To pray for the workers. To provide rest and resources to help in a small way. As we go pray for us. Pray for the following:
That we will be an encouragement to those we meet and interact with.
That we will provide materials and resources that will help these pastors and leaders in the work they are doing in their communities.
For safety as we travel across Ukraine and that the people coming to our meetings will be safe and that they will find our time together to be a time and rest and restoration.
For resources needed to help fund new churches and pastors. From equipment needs, to space rental to just helping with living expenses for the pastors.
One story to share with you. One pastor that we have worked with over the past six years is Yan from Korsun Ukraine.
Pastor Yan has a heart for reaching his community for Jesus. When he started his church, he was in a small building that was full. He knew he needed more space, so they found a building in the center of town with the potential for growth. They began renovating it. They had one meeting room which they outgrew, and they have now just finished renovating a second room with more space. Every time they open a new space, God brings new people. This church is caring for the needs of their community. They are reaching the people that no one cares for, and people are finding Jesus.
If you would like to provide resources to help these pastors, you can give online at http://potentialendeavors.com/donate. We accept all forms of payment – credit card, Venmo, checks or paypal.
If you would like to receive our newsletter and get a detailed overview of our trip and what we will be doing each day so that you can pray along with us, send me your email at rick.post@potentialendeavors.com.
If you are interested in learning more about how you or your church could sponsor a new church and its pastor, reach out to me at rick.post@potentialendeavors.com.
It is Giving Tuesday. This is the day when organizations across America ask people to donate to support their ministry or cause. Potential Endeavors is also asking you to consider supporting our ministry. I know that there are many good organizations doing great things asking you to support them. I don’t know what the criteria is you consider when trying to decide which one to give to and which one to pass on, but here is our pitch.
Why should you support Potential Endeavors?
You care about Ukraine and its future.
You want to see people find a relationship with Jesus Christ.
You love children and you want to see them reached through their local church.
You care about pastors and want to provide a time for them to invest in their marriage, ministry, and themselves through a time of retreat and refreshment.
You believe that Jesus is the hope for the world and want to see him shared in as many churches as possible.
You are passionate about church planting and starting new churches.
You believe in us and know that God is using us to accomplish His purposes.
There are many reasons above. If one of them resonated with you, pray about how God wants to use your resources and about how much you should give to Potential Endeavors. Whether you give or not, please pray for our ministry and that God will use us and provide for the resources needed to accomplish His plans.
Having just returned from Ukraine, we have learned that there are things that are impacting the priorities of Potential Endeavors. These factors are:
Because of the war and how the evangelical church provided for the needs of the people impacted by the war and the soldiers of Ukraine, the respect for the evangelical church in Ukraine has never been higher.
The children of Ukraine are the ones who are most impacted by the realities of war. They have lost parents, relatives, and their ability to just be kids. They question what future they will have because of the war.
People are searching for answers. What is their future? Why is there war? Where is God in all this? Because of what the church has done to help, people are turning to the church to find hope through Jesus Christ.
Because of these three realities, our priorities are focused on three things:
Help start new churches through helping to develop pastors to lead these churches that are desperately needed.
Provide training and resources to Children’s Ministry leaders to help them bring the day camp experience for kids into the church every Sunday.
Help the churches and pastors that we have worked with who are doing ministry and reaching their communities for Jesus to expand their facilities and make more room for more people to attend.
We will accomplish these priorities in the following way:
Offer training retreats to new pastors and their spouses. We had our first retreat last October and will do two more in 2024. We cover all costs for these retreats to provide and opportunity for these families to rest, be encouraged and trained for their future ministry.
Provide training events for leaders of children’s ministries across all the regions of Ukraine. We cover all costs for these events. We held one retreat in October of 2023, and we will offer another one in fall of 2024. We will do additional trainings in regions during our other trips.
Travel to Ukraine 3 times in 2024. We will provide training, meet with pastors and their spouses to encourage them. This will include trips closer to the areas that have been most heavily impacted by the war.
Provide resources to churches and pastors that we have worked with to help them reach more of their communities for Jesus through expanded facilities and resources for aid to those impacted by the war.
In addition, we will continue to look for partners who would like to support these new pastors and their churches for a 5-year period. This will be to provide funds for start up costs as well as resources to provide an income for the pastors so that they can focus all their energy on their church ministry.
This fund raiser is to help raise the resources to do this ministry in 2024.
We just got home from Ukraine and had an amazing trip! Our time there always goes fast, and we are going non-stop. These experiences are always hard to capture and put into words to share with others about what we have experienced, but I will try my best.
Our trip in May was recapped but summarizing “But God”. We heard about the impact of the war and the challenges that people faced, but God always showed up in a powerful way. To capture this trip in a title it would be “God is Working”! The spirit in the people we met with this trip has changed. There was a reality that the war was going to be with them for a long time and that they must get on with life the best that they can. There are still humanitarian needs, but the spiritual needs are what the groups we are working with are trying to address. Because of the war, and the impact it has had on so many lives, almost everyone knows somebody who has been killed or injured in the war. Many people are asking “Where is God in this?” Young leaders have sensed a calling from God to start churches and minister to their friends who face being called to fight and wonder what their future is. There is a new energy around the need to reach people for Jesus and to work together to accomplish this mission.
Our trip had five main objectives. First was the training of new church planters. We had a conference with 21 couples who are in the process of starting churches. We talked about dreaming God-sized dreams, how to develop a vision for their church and how to create churches that are “Come and See” places where people can find Jesus. This time was the first of three gatherings we will have with these couples. We spend time learning their stories and try to encourage and help them in their work. Beth had the opportunity to meet separately with the wives and talk about the joys and challenges of being a church planters’ wife. By the end of our time together, we always feel like we have found 42 new friends to pray for and support.
I also had the opportunity to share at a gathering of church planting teams at a M4 church planting workshop. I taught on how to create values for your church. It was fun to see these teams working on their visions together.
Our second objective was participating at a retreat for leaders of Children’s Ministries from 22 regions across Ukraine. Over 100 leaders gathered to learn, be encouraged, and work together to make children’s ministries more impactful in churches across Ukraine. The children often experience the most trauma from the effects of war and the leaders want churches that are places were kids can come and find peace, rest, joy and Jesus. Beth was able to speak at the conference and get to know many of the leaders. Potential Endeavors provides the resources to pay for this retreat and enable these leaders to get a rest from the stresses of their jobs. We heard many stories after the conference that leaders were burned out and thinking of leaving the ministry, but after this retreat they have felt renewed and energized for the future.
One of move moving parts of the conference was a message shared by Roman. He was one of the leaders of the committee who planned this retreat but was also in the military. Three weeks before the retreat, he was killed in the war. Just before his death, he shared this message with the leader of Children’s Ministries:
Olya, Hello! I wanted to write you some of my thoughts on children’s and teen ministry! Just a thought…might by useful. Thought to myself that we as children’s ministers should think strategically about what’s ahead! And there are a large number of children who lost their father. A mass of sons whose fathers won’t teach how to be a man, and daughters who will seek attention from men from an early adolescence, simply because they didn’t get that attention from their father (because he is gone early) We need to prepare ministers – men who will be ready to take responsibility to teach boys to be a man who loves, respects, knows and can do something with this hands, who will be a leader in the family, who will then teach his children… And leaders who are women who can teach girls not to lose themselves, nor to lose themselves in the search for attention. Otherwise we will lose two generations. Thinking what is needed… start preparing for “rebuilding the country” only in our understanding. There is so much work it is scary, but we have to do it, and I think it is time to prepare…”
Our third objective was working with the Temple of Peace church in Kyiv. This church is in the center of Kyiv and is a beautiful church. Its leaders want it to grow and asked us to come and work with them to help it develop a plan on how to reach its community for Jesus. We had two days of meetings, and we are excited to see how God will use this time to help them make the changes they need to make.
Our fourth objective was to connect with pastors that we have worked with over the years. We try to follow up with them and see how they are doing. Every trip we try to visit one of these churches on a Sunday and see their church in action. This trip we were able to visit the House of Salvation in Korsun. The pastor is Yan and his wife is Lyuda. Yan and Lyuda were in our first training group 5 years ago. I remembered the dreams he had back then and it fun to see their dreams becoming a reality. Their church has grown from 30 people to over 100 people and they are out of room. The Sunday we visited the room was full and people were standing along the walls. After the service, Yan showed us the new room they are making to expand their seating capacity. This will make room for 150 chairs. They also have space in their building to build an even bigger room as they keep growing. Yan shared the need to raise $20,000 to complete the project. This is to buy the chairs, flooring, ceiling and a second entrance. They want to complete this by the end of the year to have room for Christmas services.
In addition, the church has added space to provide rooms for addiction recovery. This is part of Yan’s dreams to make an impact in their community. If you would like to help with funds for this church, you can donate to our donate page and just note Yan on the donation and all funds given will go to help complete this building project.
Our fifth and final objective of this trip was to meet and listen to as many ministry leaders as possible. We like to hear their stories and see how God is working. This is a time to encourage them, thank them for their work and listen to their needs. We never know how God will use these meetings, but we also try to stay open and listen to God’s promptings if there is a something that God wants us to help with.
We are so thankful for the opportunity to be used in Ukraine. We heard over and over how thankful people were that we were visiting and how much they are encouraged by our visits and from the prayers and support that they receive from people in the United States. One thing we heard on this trip was the need to go closer to the war zone to meet and encourage the ministry leaders who continue to work in these areas. The work in the war zones is needed, but few are visiting to encourage and support them. We are praying that God will guide and direct us in this area when we visit again in the spring.
We are thankful for all of you who have supported us in our ministry. We could not do what we do without the financial and prayer support that we receive. We are going to be doing a fund raiser this fall for our ministry expenses. We have plans for 3 trips to Ukraine next year to continue our work with church planters, children’s ministry leaders and Temple of Peace church, plus to hold meetings in the war zones of Ukraine. If you would like to support our ministry, donations can be made to our website at:
If you would like to meet to discuss being involved in partnering with a church planter and helping to support them financially, we would be happy to meet or have a call. Just send a note to rick.post@potentialendeavors.com.
In two weeks, we will be in Poland getting ready to head back into Ukraine. As we have shared with people about going to Ukraine, probably the question we get asked the most is “Are you afraid to travel to Ukraine? To be totally honest, we have no fears about traveling to Ukraine! Let me tell you why!
I know the news is full of stories of missile strikes, bombings and war, but Ukraine is a large country, and the war is in the east and south, areas that we will not be traveling to. Will we see evidence of the war as we drive in the country? Yes, but we will not be in the area where the battle is the most intense.
First, when we are in Ukraine, we are with our friends. We trust them and know that they would not put us in places of danger. They worry more about our safety than about their own safety and well-being.
Second, while there is always a chance that a missile could strike where we are located, however Ukraine is a large country and the odds of being hit by a missile where we are staying is about the same chance of being in a car crash as we drive the freeway in Minnesota.
Third, and this is the biggest reason we are not afraid, we know that we are traveling to Ukraine to do the work that God has called us to do. We will be working with church planters, children’s ministry leaders and church leaders to encourage them, teach them and help them in their calling to reach people for Jesus. Everything is in God’s hands, and we trust that God will protect us and guide us each step of the way.
As it says in Psalms 139:16:
Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.
We would appreciate your prayers while we travel. Prayers for safety and impact. That God would use us to help and encourage the leaders that we will be working with.
We are still looking for partners who would like to help us with the costs of our ministry. On this trip we have paid for two conferences. One for church planters and their spouses and one for the Children’s Ministry leaders across all regions of Ukraine. Plus, we have our travel costs.
I often get asked how things are going in Ukraine. I tell them the war continues, people are being killed and injured, but life goes on. As I talk with my friends in Ukraine and ask them what their needs are, they consistently share that the needs have shifted from humanitarian needs to spiritual needs. They share that God is working and because of how the evangelical church has provided so much care and assistance to the needs of the people the past 18 months, the church is growing and the needs for more churches and more ministers is greater than ever.
Summer camps offered this summer were some of the largest in a long time as the kids and families want something that can provide hope and perspective to them. But as I talk to my friends in ministry in Ukraine, they also share that people in ministry are tired. The demands and stresses of the past 18 months and the continued stress caused by the war and continual missile attacks across the country is wearing them out.
Having listened to the needs, we are focusing our ministry efforts in 4 areas and are raising funds to support these ministries:
First is a training retreat for church planters. We are gathering 25 church planters and their wives together to offer training, rest, and encouragement in October of this year. We will be speaking at this conference as well as providing the money to cover the cost of this retreat in a nature setting near Lviv.
Second, we are also sponsoring a training retreat for the Children’s ministry leaders from all regions of Ukraine. This group of leaders is so important as they are leading the efforts to provide programming for all the kids who attended camps this summer each week in the church. This retreat will take place in October and Beth will be speaking at this conference.
Third, we are looking for partners who are interested in helping to start new churches in Ukraine. Start-up costs for a new church are around $6000. This covers costs of equipment, seating, and rental of a facility for the church to meet in. Our goal is to help start 100 new churches over the next 5 years and want to find partners who would like to adopt and church plant.
Lastly, we are looking for partners who would like to sponsor a pastor and their family as they start a new church. Each church plant is being sponsored by a church in Ukraine, but there is need to help with the costs of supporting the pastor as they are in the start up phase. We are looking for partners who would commit to $500 per month for 5 years. This is $6000 a year.
We realize that that not everyone can cover all the costs, so we are pooling resources to help as many pastors as we can. Currently we have 11 church planters who have been approved as church planters by the Baptist Union of Ukraine and need financial assistance as they start their church.
If you would be interested in supporting these ministry plans, you can give donations at our website at https://www.potentialendeavors.com/donation/donate/ through Venmo to @Potentialendeavors, or by check made payable to Potential Endeavors at 840 Aspen Circle, Little Canada, MN 55109.
If you have questions or want to discuss more about sponsoring a specific pastor or church, please contact me at Rick.Post@potentialendeavors or call at 651-329-6033 and I would be happy to set up a time to meet with you or your church or organization.
We have returned from our trip to Ukraine. It is hard to put into words what we experienced, but I will try my best to share a glimpse into our time with friends and partners in Ukraine. As we visited with people, we asked these basic questions:
How has the war impacted you?
How have you seen God working during this time?
What are the needs you have?
How can we pray for you?
As we asked these questions, we were surprised at how similar the answers were. Specific details were unique, but the theme of the answers was very consistent. What we heard over and over was: This is hard, BUT GOD…..so that is how we will give an overview of our trip.
People have lost much, BUT GOD is RESTORING
On our trip we visited the sites impacted by the Russian invasion last February and more recent attacks on residential areas by missiles. We saw the buildings and homes that were badly damaged or destroyed. We visited homes that had been taken over by Russian soldiers that were damaged and looted. We heard stories of children that were impacted by the invasion and forced to leave their homes and try to find safety. Even though the damage was extensive, we saw recovery taking place. Homes had been rebuilt. Businesses were re-opened. People were out shopping and trying to recover a sense of normalcy even as the missile strikes continued. We heard optimism and a strength that they would survive this and ultimately be victorious.
People are hurting, BUT GOD is providing HOPE.
We heard stories of how God was evident even in the worst times. At the beginning of the escalation last February, the church was the primary source of mobilization and the churches worked together to help provide aid, comfort, and hope when it felt that all was lost.
Even now, 15 months into the latest escalation of war, the support continues from churches. They continue to send aid into the war zones to provide food, medicine, and essentials. We heard stories about how when they bring aid, people thank them for the assistance, but what they really want is community. They want someone to talk to and hear their struggles and loneliness. In the war zones, churches are filled with people looking for hope and community. But what is lacking is the pastors and church leaders who left when the battles started.
While there is still a need for basic aid, the needs now are greater for jobs and housing for the displaced people. Spaces have moved from feeding stations to training areas. The need is for church leaders to focus on the spiritual needs of people. The need for new pastors and new churches is great!
People are resilient, BUT GOD is WITH THEM
We visited with many church leaders during our visit. We heard optimism for the future! We heard them talk about how their churches are full and that they are working to find ways to add more seats and space for all the people wanting to come to church. Even though they face almost daily air raid sirens, damage from missiles and drones that are shot down, they stay positive and optimistic even as they are tired from a lack of sleep. One example, on our last Sunday in Ukraine, missiles and drones had been shot at Kyiv. All of them had been destroyed, but the shrapnel from the destroyed missiles and drones still hit homes and damaged cars. One of the church leaders at the church we were speaking at, shared how the past night pieces from a destroyed drone hit the roof of his home and started a small fire. He put it out and was there for church despite what he experienced.
One of our friends shared about her brother-in-law. He is in the military and serving on the front lines. She shared that he is a believer and that soldiers all want to be in his unit because they see how God is protecting him and the soldiers that he leads.
We heard stories from soldiers who shared how they had been protected by God from certain death. As churches provide resources to the military, they hear that in war, there are no atheists. All soldiers see evidence of God!
Life in Ukraine is hard, BUT GOD is FAITHFUL
As we asked about how the war has impacted them, we heard stories about how they have changed. One person shared how since the start of the escalation last February, he has shifted from reading the Bible on his phone to reading an actual Bible. He wants his kids to see him reading the Bible and not just looking at his phone. He keeps it on his desk for all to see as he has become much more determined to share the impact that God is making in his life.
One pastor’s wife shared how exhausted she is because of the air raids. When the alert goes off, they get out of bed and go to the shelters. They live on the 8th floor of an apartment building and are surrounded by miliary targets, so she wants to be safe. Even though she is tired, God gives her the strength to minister to others and is now going to seminary to work with other women who are impacted by war as well.
One pastor shared how they have moved their church 3 times during the war because they are out of space. They provide food assistance for displaced people and supplies for the military and each time they move to a larger space their church fills up. They have started a rehab center to help those dealing with drug and alcohol addiction and see that this need will grow because of the war. But God has provided the resources they need to minister to others.
We met with the leader of Children’s Ministries for the Baptist Union. She shared about a training conference she had last fall for the leaders from across the regions of Ukraine. Despite the war, they had leaders from across the country and many of them were new because the previous leader had left due to the war. This conference was a great encouragement to them, and the leaders shared how children’s ministry has grown during the war. People are looking for God especially for their children during theses hard times. She has published a book of stories and pictures created and told by the children impacted by the war. We are having it translated into English and hope to have copies available for purchase this summer.
There are questions about the future, BUT GOD is WORKING
People in Ukraine do not know when the war will end, but they all believe that in the end Ukraine will win. But even in a time of uncertainty we heard over and over the need for the development of new leaders and the creation of new churches. Many leaders have left Ukraine at a time when spiritual need is high. New leaders are needed as pastors, children’s ministry leaders, worship leaders, youth leaders and church leadership in general. We met with leaders of church planting organizations across Ukraine. They all shared that the need for training and development of leaders has never been greater. They asked for help in training leaders and the resources needed to start new churches. Funds for renting space for churches and funds to provide financial assistance needed for the new church planters. We heard over and over thanks for the resources that were provided to help provide aid from the impacts of the war. Resources are still needed, but now they have a need to provide training and develop the leaders who will help lead and rebuild when the war is over.
We heard from many of the pastors we met with that the existing leaders are exhausted from the impacts of the war. They have been working tirelessly to provide for physical needs and spiritual needs of people in their communities and for the war zones. They have a need for rest and restoration to help prepare them for the challenges that they will continue to face in the future as they deal with the impacts of trauma on soldiers and their families and for the displaced people.
It is hard to capture all the things we heard and experienced on this trip, but in summary we heard the following:
Thanks for all the assistance and prayers that people from across the world have provided.
Optimism on winning the war and returning to a time of peace.
A desire for continued partnership and assistance to help them rebuild.
The large need for leaders and pastors.
From this trip, God has left us with a renewed passion to want to help in Ukraine. He gave us a dream to help plant new churches and provide opportunities for training, rest, and restoration for leaders of ministries in Ukraine. These are big dreams and bigger than we can accomplish on our own. We will have to rely on God to provide partners who want to help with these needs and who want to adopt new churches and the church planters to provide support, encouragement, and resources.
If you would like to learn more about how you can be part of making this dream a reality or to just hear more about what is happening in Ukraine, please reach out to us. We are happy to talk over the phone or even visit your church to share how God is working in Ukraine.
We compiled a list of all the specific prayer requests we received during our trip and will include them in our newsletter. If you would like to receive our newsletter, please send us a message and we will add you.
We plan to return in October to lead a training for church planters and attend the children’s ministry training as well as work with churches to help them in their ability to lead change.
Prayer requests for Rick and Beth on their Ukraine trip
May 16- June 2, 2023
In years past we have known more about what we would be doing on our trips to Ukraine. This time, however, we don’t have a schedule (except for a conference on May 24-25). This is because there is so much uncertainity in Ukraine and plans and schedules change constantly. Therefore, we go into this trip not knowing much. But we are okay with that, as we know that we are meant to go, and He is in control. We are going with this three-fold purpose: Listen, Encourage and Train. This is a list of things that we are asking you to pray for during our time there.
Before the trip: Many times, this is a difficult time for us. We find that problems arise, or we are distracted. Please pray that we would be focused on what God wants us to do and that are minds are filled with His thoughts, so we leave prepared to do whatever He has for us. Since, we don’t have a defined schedule, we will be relying more on the Holy Spirit to guide and direct our words. Pray that we leave refreshed, focused, and ready to do whatever God has for us.
Tuesday, May 16 – pray for safety in travel. We leave MN at 4:55 pm. We will fly to Amsterdam and then onto Warsaw, Poland. We will arrive in Poland @11:35 am (4:35 am CST) on Wednesday, May 17th. Some other things to pray for is that we would make our connecting flight in Amsterdam, with no delays. Pray that we would feel good and be able to sleep on the flights. We are planning on only checking one bag (ministry bag), so pray that we can fit it all in and not overweight.
Wednesday, May 17 – a short day in Poland. Pray that we would be able to get an Uber to our hotel with no issues. Pray that we could stay awake to help with the jetlag. Our plan is to walk around the city a little and then go to bed early. Pray for a good night’s sleep (usually not a problem). Pray for an extra sense of peace and calm as we get ready to start ministry the next day.
Thursday, May 18 – Vasily will pick us up in Poland between 11:00am-noon. It will be good to see him. We will probably not have a translator for the drive, so that will be interesting. We will begin our trek to Ukraine. Pray for safety in travel on the roads and pray for no issues as we go through customs at the border of Ukraine. We don’t know where we will be going in Ukraine. If we go to Irpin, Ukraine, that is a 10 hour and 15-minute drive, with no stops, so long day of travel.
Friday, May 19-Tuesday, May 23 – These 5 days we don’t have an idea what we will be doing. We be at church on Sunday. Rick will probably be preaching. Pray for good sleep at night. These first nights are hard with jetlag. Pray for peace when we sleep. In the past, this is when missiles are shot, so pray for peace as we sleep and that we would get good sleep. Pray for safety on the roads and no missile attacks. Pray for wisdom as we will have many meeting with pastors. Pray that the Holy Spirit will give us what we need to encourage them and to listen to them. Pray that we would be healthy with no sicknesses. Pray for wisdom as Rick preaches on Sunday, that God would give him the words he needs. Pray for our translator, Ghenadi, that he would be able to translate us clearly and effectively during our time there.
Wednesday, May 24 – Thursday, May 25 – We will be holding a conference for church planters and their wives. This will take place at a hotel in Kyiv. Potential Endeavors is sponsoring this, as we will pay for all expenses for the attendees. At the end of this document, there is a schedule of the conference and an overview of the content. Please pray that God would give us wisdom as we listen, encourage and train. There may be 20-30 couples attending.
Friday, May 26 – Tuesday, May 30 – Again, we don’t know what we will be doing in these 5 days. Pray from the same list above from May 19-23.
Wednesday, May 31 – travel from Ukraine to Warsaw, Poland. Pray for no difficulties at the border when we go through customs. This can take a very long time depending on what they decide at the border. Pray for a quick time through. Pray for safety on the road as it will be a long day of travel.
Thursday, June 1 – A day in Warsaw, Poland. Vasily wanted us to return to Poland on the 31st in case there were delays getting through the border. So, that means a full day in Poland. Pray for a relaxing time as we will have a little time to debrief our trip. Pray that God would give us time to reflect, process and time to begin planning future trips to Ukraine.
Friday, June 2 – Travel day home. We leave Warsaw at 6:00 am (11:00 pm – June 1 – CST). Pray for no issues getting to the airport in the middle of the night. Pray for smooth connections as we travel through Amsterdam to get home. Pray that we would feel good for the travel day home. We arrive in MN at 2:40 pm.
After the trip: Pray that we can effectively summarize our trip and be able to communicate our time there. Pray that God would give up next steps as to what He wants us to do next after this trip.
Thank you in advance for praying us through this trip. We are very excited to go and have a great deal of anticipation. We know how important prayer is and view it as a vital part of our ministry. So, thank you for partnering with us by praying for us.
Beth & Rick
Schedule for conference in Kyiv for church planters and their wives
Wednesday, May 24
(All times are Ukraine time, which is 8 hours ahead of CST)
12:30- 4:30 pm – Arrival to hotel, lunch, and relaxation time.
4:30 – 6:30 pm – Meeting all together. We will get to know each couple, about their family and ministry. Rick will share a talk about vision, developing leaders and creating a “come and see” environment in their churches.
6:30 – 7:30pm – dinner
7:30- 9:00pm – Roman from the Baptist Union will present. His role at the Baptist union is to plant more churches. At the end, the pastors will take a test about church planting strategy. We will be meeting separately. Beth will meet with the women and have them share about their families and ministry. She will ask them questions and listen to them.
Thursday, May 25:
8:00-9:00am – Breakfast
9:00 -11:00 – Meet separately. The pastors will talk through the results of their test and share. Beth will talk with the women about the topic of Tips for your Physical, Spiritual and Emotional health as a pastor’s wife. Beth will also talk about the topic of conflict in the church and how to deal with that.
11:00-11:30 – Break to check out.
11:30-1:00pm – Meet together. Rick will have a prayer time with the pastors and again listen and encourage them.
In one week, we will be leaving for Ukraine. After an 18 month pause due to the war in Ukraine, we have decided it is time to return to visit our friends and partners in Ukraine. Travel is not as easy as the past as we will have to fly to Poland and drive across the border as there are no commercial flights into Ukraine.
We are going on this trip for three primary purposes:
LISTEN
We will spend our time in Ukraine meeting with pastors and friends that we have worked with and supported. We want to hear how God is working, what challenges they face and what needs that they have that we can help with. The challenges that they have faced since the escalation of the war in February of 2022 have been enormous. They have had to deal with people leaving, refugees coming and working to meet the physical needs of people but also the spiritual needs.
ENCOURAGE
We also want to spend time with pastors to encourage them by letting them know that we have not forgotten them and that we want to return to continue supporting and working with them to reach people for Jesus.
TRAIN
This is a hard one for me, but it is also needed. It is hard to think about training and thinking about the future when they have gone through so much and they live in a world of continual threats and uncertainty. But we have to prepare for the future! God is working in Ukraine and people are turning to Jesus for hope in a sometimes-hopeless situation. We will be leading a conference of church planters and their spouses. We will spend time helping them to develop a vision for their church and helping equip them for the challenges they will face as they work to reach their communities for Jesus!
We will be spending a little over two weeks in Ukraine. During this time will be traveling across the country and trying to meet as many pastors and church leaders as possible. We ask that you pray for us as we travel and meet with pastors and their wives. Specifically pray for the following:
SAFETY
We are entering a war zone. There are missile strikes and threats every day. While we know that God is in control and He is our protector, we still pray for safety as we travel and meet with pastors.
IMPACT
We want our trip to make an impact. While we often do not know all the meetings and places we will go before we arrive, we know that God has a plan for us and that every meeting is what God has for us. Pray that God will use us to encourage pastors and that God will be glorified in all that we do.
Over the past year we have been able to send a large amount of money to Ukraine to help our partners in their ministry and to help with the humanitarian needs caused by the war. Thank you for all who have given to us or other organizations to help Ukraine. On this trip we hope to learn what the needs continue to be for Ukraine and bring back their prayer requests and needs so that we continue to support them in the future.
Thank you for your prayers and support and we will share what we learn when we return.
What a year it has been for Potential Endeavors. A year ago we were planning our trip to Ukraine in March and preparing for meetings that we would be having, and then February 24th happened. Russia invaded Ukraine and all our plans changed! This is the second time our ministry work has been changed – first was in 2020 with Covid and the impact on travel and now the Russian invasion.
With unexpected world change, our ministry plans had to change with it. 2022 became a year of helping deliver resources to Ukraine to support refugees, churches and pastors who were leading the efforts to help their fellow Ukrainians. We saw friends relocate to the US, others who have had to deal with split families between those who could leave and those who could not, and helping those who chose to stay in Ukraine and fight the evil that was attacking them.
We learned how to move money directly into the accounts of our partners so that they could get the money they needed to help others. We saw an incredible generosity of people across the US who wanted to help Ukraine and provide assistance to those who have been impacted.
As we headed into the winter months, we saw Russia attack the infrastructure of Ukrainian cities forcing the loss of power, heat and water to millions. This brought about a second wave of need to provide generators, furnaces and supplies to provide heating and power in new ways.
Through the course of 2022 through the generosity of so many, we were able to send over $150,000 directly to our partners who are working to provide physical aid to the needy and spiritual care for the many impacted by this war. This aid provided food, generators, medicine, medical supplies and equipment/supplies needed to make the care possible like fuel, transportation, washing machines, etc.
While we love providing assistance for physical needs, the passion of our ministry is to reach the next person for Jesus. Because the churches in Ukraine have become so generous and are being the hands and feet of Jesus to their community, people are making the decision to visit the church and are deciding to follow Jesus. Two stories that I want to share from two pastors that we have worked with over the years and churches that we have visited are below:
From Pasha in Uman: Anatoly, 74 years old. He has never been to Evangelical churches. But, three weeks ago, he crossed the threshold of our church for the first time. He says that he was just walking by the church, and as if someone pushed him to go inside. Interestingly, he once said that he would never go to church in his life. But the circumstances of life made his heart softer. One son died, and the other is now at the front. And here he is. Yesterday, January 1, 2023, Anatoly asked God for forgiveness and accepted Jesus Christ as his personal Savior!
From Sasha in Kyiv: Yesterday (Christmas), a service dedicated to the birth of Christ was held in the church, 130-150 people attended the service, 30% of whom were visitors. We thank God for the opportunity to testify to people about the good news in these difficult times for Ukraine.
An incredible start to the year!
As we begin 2023, the generosity continues. We received a large donation from a church in South Dakota. These resources are being used to provide humanitarian aid across Ukraine. We have sent money to groups providing care to the people who live in the war zone, to churches who provide weekly food gifts for the refugees who have moved to their area, for generators to allow churches to be hubs to provide power to those who need to recharge their devices, to churches who have had to expand their facilities due to all the new people who have been attending their churches and all of the new ministry work that is needed to be done.
In addition, we have been providing care packages for pastors who have been leading the efforts to provide care for their communities. These care packages are meant as a way to encourage and say thank you to these pastors and their families for all they have done to help others this past year. The package provides basic necessities for the home such as cleaning supplies, food and few treats. In addition, we provide a cash gift that they can use for whatever needs that they may have.
The cost of each care package is $150 and we hope to provide resources for at least 50 packages. These packages are prepared by buying the contents from local Ukrainian businesses so it also helps support the economy and jobs in Ukraine.
If you would like to provide a gift box or several for an Ukrainian pastors to encourage and say thanks for their efforts to care for and share Jesus with their neighbors, you can give a gift through Potential Endeavors. Just note “Care Package” on the donation. You can give at our website Potential Endeavors, or by check made payable to:
Potential Endeavors
840 Aspen Circle, Little Canada, MN 55109.
Thank you for your generosity and prayers over this past year. The gifts of many have made a big impact in the lives of many Ukrainians.
Winter is Coming! Ukraine War Continues. While Ukraine is winning on the battlefield, the impact on the country contuse.
8 million refugees
3 million left the country and 5 million displaced
Over 100,000 dead or wounded Ukrainian soldiers
Thousands of civilians murdered
Homes and villages destroyed
Electrical power damaged across country
No electricity, no heat, no water in much of the country
Daily fears of what will happen next with air raid sirens and missile attacks
This is the current state in the country of Ukraine!
As I am writing this, Russia is firing more missiles at Ukraine’s power grid to cause more harm. Our friends in Ukraine need help. Winter is hitting and people are without power which means no heat, no ability to cook meals, charge phones, etc.
As the country heads into winter, the Russian attackers are doing everything they can to make life miserable for civilians. They are destroying power plants, transformers and infrastructure needed for electrical usage, water, and sewage. This has caused widespread power outages and fears of freezing in the cold winter months. As we talked with our Ukrainian friends, there is great fear around how they will survive this winter. Right now, the power is out at least 12 hours each day and without power there is no heat and no way to cook meals. Large cities are discussing plans to evacuate people out of the cities because there are issues with sewage and water and the conditions are not livable at the level of service they have today.
As we talk with our partners and friends in Ukraine, they share their needs with us. There is a great need for mobile generators.
These are used to produce power for heating, light and the ability to charge batteries for phones and other devices. Generators are not available for purchase in Ukraine, so they must be purchased and shipped from other European countries. The cost of one generator and to transport it from other country is between $500 and $1000.
The second biggest need to for resources to purchase supplies to heat buildings. Churches have been places that people are coming to for food and to get warm. The churches are having to purchase wood for those with wood burning stoves or coal if they have coal fired furnaces. Others must purchase fuel to run the furnace. These costs are much higher now as the building are in use round the clock, so they need to heat all day and not just when services are held.
The third biggest need is money to purchase food supplies and clothing that can be given to those in need. Most churches are providing food packs for the refugees who have resettled in their community but have nothing. They have no jobs, nothing but the clothes they left with and a shared living space with someone who has taken them into their home or provided a place in a vacant home or building.
We are doing a fundraiser through Facebook for Giving Tuesday. Facebook matches the first $7 million dollars given, so we hope to be able to get some of that money as well. We are hoping to raise enough money to purchase at least 20 generators as well as some funds to help some of our church partners with their heating needs.
Thank you for the way you have generously supported Ukraine this past year. Across the many different non-profit organizations we work with, I know that there has been a large amount of money already sent, but the needs still exist. Today’s needs are different than what they experience six months ago, but they still need our help. Donations can be made through our Facebook fundraiser at this link:
All money raised will go to support the needs in Ukraine.
We were planning to be in Ukraine right now, but due to the current situation in Ukraine we felt our being there would place a hardship on our partners. We hope to return to Ukraine this spring to meet with pastors, thank them for their hard work and dedication and try to be an encouragement to them. We have plans to do a leadership training for 100 pastors and their spouses. We will try to bring training that will help them as they lead into the future, deal with the trauma caused by the war and as they work to rebuild their country.
Thank you for caring for Ukraine! Thank you for your generosity and for making an impact in the lives of the people of Ukraine. And thank you for helping churches be able to care for people’s needs so that they can share the love of Jesus with them. Our hopes and prayers are that this war will result in seeing hundreds and thousands of people find a relationship with Jesus Christ through the work of His church. Please continue to Pray for Ukraine!
