Please continue praying for the people in Ukraine. As you can tell from the news reports, Kiev is in upheaval.  The Russian government may use this as an opportunity to begin reassembling the Soviet Bloc nations.  Pray for God’s will to be done & peace to come to this troubled nation.  Many are serving in areas that are some distance from Kiev, and they are not in the imminent danger.  However, their lives are touched by the rippling effect in politics.  Here are some compiled reports from many friends we have all across the nation.

Dear Prayer Team,

Many of you saw the news yesterday reporting as many as 24 deaths and over 100 injured as rioting exploded on the the streets of Kiev. Today has been declared a national day of mourning in Ukraine for the lives lost in skirmishes between police and demonstrators.

I am in contact with our team on the ground in Simferopol nearly every day. All are safe. Today, in Simferopol, people are responding to rumors of the country being placed into a state of emergency. Long lines are forming at gas stations, banks, and stores. 

********************************

Killing unarmed civilians.
Where will this end?
Putin advises Yanukovich to be strong and firm, to fight off the illegal coup. Well, that is one way to understand what is happening. 
Pray!
**********************************************
We’re guessing that most of you have noticed that things in Ukraine are a little unstable.  We thought that, after the past few days’ events, you might want an update.  Right now we are safe and there is little activity in our town.  I have several people who have told me that the gas stations in Simferopol (the big city about an hour away) have run out of gas, that ATMs aren’t giving money and that it is pretty tense.  In our town there were long lines as everyone in town was in a rush to withdraw cash.  The ATMs here are out of money and I’m told that tomorrow it is illegal to sell gasoline in Ukraine.  Our friends think that the police don’t want people to be able to drive to Kiev to help the protesters.  The police in the capital have decided to use live ammunition against protesters and, by some accounts, there have been as many as 100 deaths over the past 2 days.  The majority of the unrest in the Ukraine is in the northern and western parts of the country.  Kiev, the capital receiving a lot of coverage, is about 12 hours away.  We’re praying that it doesn’t come any closer to us!

I was out today and didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary, but this evening things kind of picked up.  This is one of those times when we’re glad that we live in a rural small town!  You can keep us in prayer for safety and wisdom.  Pray for Ukraine and a quick and peaceful resolution to the situation here.