A bruised reed he will not break, and a smouldering wick he will not snuff out. In faithfulness he will bring forth justice (Isaiah 42:3 NIVUK)

For many of us, observing from a safe distance the war on Ukraine, we possibly thought it would be all over by now. Surely the honestly farcical setbacks of the Russian advance would convince them to retreat; the bravery and resolve of the Ukrainian people would triumph; the international community would do…something. Sadly the war grinds on and the wonderful people of Ukraine continue to be brave and resolved. The war has displaced over 14 million people, most of whom are women and children. It’s unimaginable and may those of us who were quick to dismiss the conflict as a passing rumble be forgiven. The church has to ask itself what can we do? Most of us are thousands of miles away.

We can pray…

  • Ask God to bring his justice to the situation.

  • Be faithful in remembering the women and children that they will find comfort.

  • Uphold Amy and all the mentors who are working with traumatised children.

  • Give thanks for the power of Lala’s Journey to help stabilise hurting children.

  • Join the Echo prayer team (here).

  • Lament.*

We can champion the work of Echo International and Amy. We often find ourselves talking with friends and colleagues about world affairs, why not share some of the great stories of children helped by Echo - not least that we have managed to produce Lala’s Journey in Ukrainian. We can be generous. Every donation helps! But if we may, can we be specific with you?

$25 provides 5 books for children inside Ukraine

$75 provides online training for mentors

$330 provides a curriculum to facilitate Lala’s Journey

$1,000 provides translation of the curriculum into a needed language (like Polish, Romanian, and African languages)

www.FirstAidfortheSoul.org/give

As Christians we live in the tricky in between of ‘the here, but not yet’ promises of God’s Kingdom. He will one day fully in faithfulness bring forth justice, but he expects us to work towards that right now.

Thank you for your support, your prayers and encouragement.

*”Lament is not only for the suffering; it is for solidarity with the suffering. We love our neighbour when we allow their experience of pain to become the substance of our prayer.” Theologian NT Wright

Jean Guest


Jean has recently joined Echo International as a part time member of the team. She’s British (hence the confounding spelling) but lives in Italy. She has two adult sons, loves books, theatre and music, but is passionate about cricket!