Visiting our Courageous Steiger Teams in Ukraine

The only way you can get into Ukraine now is if you are driven through the Polish border. Once you get through the border to the Ukrainian side you have to arrange for someone from Ukraine to pick you up.

My Polish driver took me by mistake to a “truck only” border crossing where there was a 17 kilometer long line of trucks waiting to get through. When my driver saw the long line of trucks he panicked and asked if I could walk up to a random truck and ask the driver if he would take me through the border. So that’s what I did and the second Ukrainian truck driver I approached agreed to take me through.

I finally got through the border into Ukraine 7 hours later. Oleh, from our Steiger Ukrainian team met me at a gas station just inside Ukraine at 1AM. After 11PM no one is allowed to be out on the streets because of a wartime curfew. Because of this Oleh was concerned we could get in trouble when we crossed a military checkpoint, but we were allowed to pass and go to a hotel nearby until the morning.

For the next week I traveled with our Ukrainian Steiger team and I had so many powerful emotional moments. 

For example, we were able to pray with a whole regiment of soldiers and their commanding officer. This was the first time our Steiger team was allowed to do this. Because of security we couldn’t show our location. God's presence was so strongly with us. Many of these men would soon be sent to fight on the front lines and Jesus gave me such a compassion for them when I spoke. After I explained the Gospel, the entire regiment prayed to receive Jesus with me!

We also prayed for many beautiful families (mostly women and children) who lost everything in the war and were being looked after by our courageous Steiger team in Poltava. Poltava is about 1 1/2 hours from the front lines and is full of refugees escaping the constant shelling in eastern part of the country.

Later, we spoke to a group of Christian university students and young adults in Poltava. Together we committed ourselves to boldly preaching the love of Jesus during this terrible war.

In Kyiv I spoke at a Bible Study for the Non-Relgious held at our Steiger Community House and many were in tears praying to receive Jesus for the first time.

I am so proud of our bold and courageous teams in Ukraine. Please pray for this terrible war to end soon and for God to protect our people there.

- David Pierce