SHORT-TERM MISSIONS &
DISASTER RESPONSE

The Beard family from New Hope Christian Fellowship in Elizabeth City, North Carolina reached out to the OPC Refugee Ministry Subcommittee for financial support as they planned to participate in the PCA’s “Crates for Ukraine” program. The family has dear friends in L’viv, MTW missionaries, who have been serving for several years.

Aimee Beard was excited to have a way to help, “Finally, there was something tangible we could do to help our brothers and sisters in Ukraine. Knowing the need was urgent, Aimee started reaching out to local churches and friends in our community and the help began to pour in. Many were happy to help and especially so because several know [our family friends] personally. A handful of pharmacies and private physicians allowed us to purchase items at cost through them. We have a friend at Harbor Presbyterian (a supporting church) who is a paramedic and he reached out to the county to see if they could help. The county also allowed us to order medical/wound care items at cost through them. The process has truly been a beautiful thing to witness.”

“My initial goal was twenty crates. That was before all the support started to come in. We have already filled 70 crates, but I am expecting we will reach 80 by the time our last round of couriers leave. Incredible! God is so good. It is amazing what He can do with a simple, ‘yes!’ We have a total of nine couriers who have all registered and purchased airline tickets.”

Aimee’s daughter, Callie, expressed interest in accompanying the team to Krakow after a family friend had to bow out of the trip, and more volunteers were needed. The OPC Refugee Ministry subcommittee considered this request and, in the end, were glad to be able to pay the remaining cost of an airline ticket for Callie at the cost of $1701.00. Thank you to all of those who donated to the Ukraine Crisis Fund and enabled this young woman to be able to participate in this important program.

An email from Aimee after their trip talked of the success of their trip, “All crates made it to Krakow. Our final courier team arrived Wednesday with all 47 of their crates. All together there were 92 crates that were sent over from our community here in Northeast North Carolina. Praise the Lord for his faithfulness and blessings. He had his hand in every part of this entire mission. So many moving parts and details that only He could orchestrate. It is amazing what He will do with a simple yes.”

“We saw the warehouse where all the crates are stored until the team drives them to L’viv. The Ukrainian/Polish/English church service on Sunday was neat. It was great to see our friends from L’viv and the rest of the team. You can tell they are tired and are looking forward to a break time to rest and reassess the situation for winter.”

Crates for Ukraine is an initiative started by the MTW L’viv Team in June of this year to address the war time aid needs of Ukraine. MTW (PCA) took the initiative in this effort and invited the OPC to join in their efforts. The OPC was privileged to be involved in this small way.

Crates mission is simple: At the request of the Ukrainian Church and our national partners, to provide personal and humanitarian aid from the hands of churches in the U.S. to the hands of churches and displaced communities in Ukraine. Churches, communities, or families are invited to pack a crate and send it to Ukraine via Krakow, Poland.

The Ukraine church in L’viv receives and processes these crates and sends them to the neediest communities and churches of Ukraine. The PCA was able to take advantage of the 15 churches throughout Ukraine to network and resource the needy communities.

Here is the latest data on the Crates for Ukraine initiative.

A few quick facts:

• 1,315 crates were delivered to Krakow.

• 186 Couriers brought aid.

• Over 250 churches participated from over 100 cities and 21 states.

• 15 churches in Ukraine received/processed aid.

• Over 115 locations have received aid or have in turn become aid distribution points.

• Aid processing continues to reach the most needy and vulnerable.

• 100 crates went to newly liberated villages (Lzyum and Kharkiv region) and our partner churches.

• This Ukraine Aid Map will be updated weekly with more detailed delivery information.

Many have asked about future aid initiatives. A possible “Crates for Christmas” initiative is in the works. We will update as information about that become available.

You can find out more about the efforts to help in Ukraine by listening to The Reformed Deacon episode where David Nakhla interviews Ukraine Country director, Jon Eide and by reading the September 15 issue of the “Crates for Ukraine Update” from the PCA’s Mission to the World.