The fragile ceasefire between Ukraine and Russian was shaken by the so-called election of pro-Russian separatists to power in Luhansk and Donetsk in eastern Ukraine. The ceasefire took another blow when 30 trucks and 32 tanks crossed into eastern Ukraine from Russia on Friday, November 7.

The greatest fallout from this conflict is the thousands of refugees who have fled eastern Ukraine for safety and shelter in western Ukraine. For Christians in western Ukraine, however, these men, women and children are a harvest to be safely gathered in for the gospel.

In October, Jill Nelson, a reporter with WORLD magazine, traveled with our longtime partner Mission Eurasia (formerly Russian Ministries) and College Church missionary Mark Papierski in Ukraine. She saw firsthand the crisis and the response of the church in western Ukraine through the nationally-led "I Care" Refugee Assistance Program in Ukraine. Read Jill's report, "Cold Realities."

The Thanksgiving Eve offering will help the "I Care" Refugee Assistance Program in Ukraine as well as helping lepers in Nepal previously unreached by the gospel and refugee children right here in Wheaton.