Russian Missile has just missed the House of Hope

We have just received a message from our team in Ukraine that a Russian missile has exploded in a field right next to the House of Hope – apparently just one degree out at the launch. The problem is that the fire is so huge that the wind is driving the fire into other people’s properties nearby. The thought at present is that it was aimed at the Ukrainian Military Base just one kilometre away but went off course. It missed our artesian well providing the only fresh water in the region. Remember that we discovered this well of pure water under the House when we had a major leak beneath the kitchen a few years ago – at the time that Russian drones were poisoning all the reservoirs and dams, and local people were dying. Since then, our local team has been able to provide pure water freely to many villages in the region. We give thanks and praise God that the House of Hope and the community are safe and for His provision of the artesian well.

The House of Hope stands as a Beacon of Rescue and Survival

Please pray for the House of Hope and all the poor single-mother families and orphans living there. The House continues to stand, but our manager says that life there has become pure survival. Everyone is utterly exhausted, worn down physically, emotionally, and mentally after endless days and sleepless nights under the constant threat of sirens and drone attacks. Every alarm sends fear through the building, and the sound of drones overhead has become part of daily life. They are living in constant tension without rest, carrying deep fatigue, fear, and uncertainty, yet still holding on with remarkable courage and hope in the middle of the darkness.

We’re in need of funds to meet the needs for medicines, food, firewood, fuel for the rescue vans. In the midst of this war, people are still coming to the Lord in droves. Our teams are bringing so many to Jesus. The Kingdom of God is growing through great adversity.

We are seeing that foundation in the Ukrainian and Latvian orphans we have supported over the decades. One advantage they have over others in being young disciples of Jesus is that there was very little glitter that could distract them from the way of righteousness. Some have passed away from childhood diseases or as a result of the war, but most have gone on to be solid Christians, now in foreign countries. I remember saying to them, through our leaders there, “You’re not going as refugees, you’re going as Missionaries, just like the Jews in Jerusalem after the Day of Pentecost, going into all the world and preaching the gospel.” They are serving Jesus in the strange, unfamiliar cultures and are now part of a spiritual awakening in their areas. They are bright shining lights in Norway and Germany and have been a remarkable influence for Christ in their high schools and to the local populations of their areas.

And the extraordinary truth is that when God touches young people, He shapes the future. He rewrites a generation. He transforms the worldview, the resilience, and the spiritual identity of those who will carry faith into decades to come.

This has been the result of God’s grace and your prayers and support. We stand in awe of what God has done among the youth.

Sasha, our manager in Norway, writes:
"There is a passage in Scripture that I find myself returning to again in recent days. It speaks of how God makes a way in the wilderness and causes streams to flow in the desert. It is a beautiful picture of His nature, because God is the One who brings life where there is barrenness, hope where there is despair, and beauty in place of ashes. Over the last few years, I have seen this promise come alive in the lives of many Ukrainian refugees. War has taken so much from them. Many have lost their homes, their security, and the lives they once knew. Some have lost family members. Others have lost years of dreams that will never be recovered. They carry memories they never wanted and wounds that cannot be seen with the eyes. While they have escaped the danger, many still live with a deep emptiness inside, caught between a past that can never be restored and a future that has not yet been built.
And yet, in the middle of that wilderness, God is doing something beautiful.

He is drawing people close to Himself. He is revealing His love to hearts that have known pain, disappointment, and uncertainty. He is showing His kindness in ways that no human effort could ever accomplish. Where there was hopelessness, faith is growing. Where there was fear, peace is taking root. Where there was loneliness, people are discovering that God has never abandoned them.

This past Sunday, we celebrated another water baptism. As wonderful as baptisms always are, what moved me most was not the ceremony itself, but the story behind it. It was seeing the work of God in the hearts of people whose lives have been shaken by tragedy, yet who are discovering that His grace is stronger than anything they have lost.

Hailey was one of them. When she first came, she was carrying so much pain. She felt lost and uncertain about where life was heading. She had been forced to leave behind everything familiar and begin again, yet somewhere along the journey, she encountered God, and little by little, He began restoring what had been broken. The change did not happen overnight, but there is now a quiet joy in her life that was not there before, a confidence that comes from knowing that God is walking beside her.

Then there is Irene, a young woman whose love for Jesus is impossible to miss. She has not simply decided to attend church or identify herself as a Christian – she speaks about Jesus boldly to her friends and peers, not because anyone pressures her to do so, but because she has experienced His love for herself and wants others to know Him too. Watching her share her faith with such sincerity and courage is a reminder that God is raising up a new generation whose lives will point others to Him.

This is what it looks like when God causes a garden to grow in the middle of a wilderness. This is what it looks like when He takes lives marked by loss and begins writing a new story filled with hope.

The war may have taken much from these precious people, but it has not taken away God's ability to heal, restore, and transform. In fact, some of the most beautiful testimonies are being written in places where nobody expected anything beautiful to grow.

To witness God taking ashes and creating beauty from them is one of the greatest privileges imaginable. The wilderness is still real, the struggles are still real, and the journey is far from over, but all around us, we can already see signs of His garden appearing, one life at a time.

God’s Grace and Healing - Gale

Gale’s life in Donetsk, Ukraine has been marked by pain and suffering. After losing both her husband and her daughter, she was left to care for her granddaughter alone.

When the war began, Gale fled Ukraine and came to Norway with her granddaughter. Not long after arriving, she visited one of our church meetings. It felt strange to her. The message of grace, forgiveness, and God's unconditional love seemed almost too good to be true. She left confused.

Gale had always believed that she had to earn God's acceptance. She faithfully attended church, tried to do everything right, and carried a constant burden of never feeling good enough. God's love seemed distant, reserved for those who were somehow better, stronger, or more spiritual than she was.

Yet something kept drawing her back to our meetings, and eventually she told us, "It felt as if something inside me was being untied."

Then Gale was diagnosed with severe kidney failure. Her condition deteriorated rapidly, and doctors gave her very little hope.

As we sat beside her bed, we spoke about God's love. Not the love we earn. Not the love we deserve. The love that Christ freely gives. We told her that she would never be able to earn God's acceptance because it had already been purchased for her through Jesus. We told her that peace with God was not something she had to achieve, but something she could simply receive.

As she listened, tears began to flow. Then they became sobs. Years of pain, disappointment, fear, and striving poured out of her. At one point, she said through her tears: "I have lived my whole life like a cursed horse, working and working, while all along I was standing so close to God."

I think that that day, something changed. Maybe for the first time in her life, Gale opened her heart fully to the love of God, stopped fighting to prove herself worthy and trying to earn what had already been given. She simply believed. The transformation was almost immediate. The hopelessness gave way to peace. Her eyes changed. The tears were no longer tears of anguish, but tears of relief.

Several days later, the doctors noticed unexpected improvements in her kidney function. They adjusted her medication, and to everyone's surprise, she responded well enough to be discharged home.

Gale said: "God had to bring me all the way from a small village in Ukraine to the city of Trondheim so that He could finally introduce me to His love." She remains deeply grateful – not only for what God has done in her life, but for every person who prayed for her.

Her story is a reminder that miracles come in many forms, and God’s love, grace, and mercy are freely available to us at any time."

Praise God for the healings taking place in the body, soul and spirit.

We also had this message from our manager at the House of Hope in Ukraine:
Tahlia lives in a small village about two hours away from us and is raising two daughters alone. Life is not easy, but she keeps going because her girls depend on her.

When we first met Tahlia last month, we noticed she was limping. We asked if she was okay. She smiled and quietly told us that she had injured her ankle some time ago and was waiting for it to heal. Like many mothers, she was more concerned about her children than about herself.

Earlier this month, we heard from Tahlia, saying that the doctors had found the injury was much more serious than anyone thought with multiple fractures and significant damage to her ankle. Surgery was needed to reconstruct and stabilise her ankle with a titanium plate and screws, if she was to walk normally again.
The cost for the surgery was 55,000 UAH (about $1,250), and it was scheduled for the 16th June. This was delayed until 24th June as the hospital was overwhelmed dealing with wounded soldiers.

The surgery went well and Tahlia is recovering hospital for the moment, but please pray for her healing, that the ankle knits together properly without any complications. For a single mother in a rural village who has been unable to work because of her injury, she worries about how she will provide for the family if she cannot walk properly. She worries about becoming a burden when all she wants is to be a mother who can care for her children.

Thank you for opening your hearts to this precious family. Your prayers for healing are greatly valued.
Thank you again for the encouragement you are to us, and to thousands of needy people through us. Please continue to stand with us in prayer and support for these needs. We appreciate you immensely.

Yours in the Spirit of Rescue,

           Dave and Margurita

“The love of Christ compels us.”

If you would like to donate to help these needy families and children, please use link above to make a safe donation by credit card or PayPal.

May the glory of your name be the center on which our lives turn.
Manifest your kingdom realm, and cause your every purpose to be fulfilled on earth,
just as it is in heaven. Our Beloved Father, dwelling in the heavenly realms,
We acknowledge you as our Provider of all we need each day.

Matthew 6:9-11 [TPT]