Unrest in Ukraine

As some of you know and probably many of you don't know I am back in Ukraine again. I was working in America and couldn't wait to get back! Now I am here and am getting settled in L'viv. I found an apartment and I have working internet and can finally posting my first update since being back. I will start by telling you all a little more about the unrest in Ukraine you might have heard about or seen in the news. So I will explain a little from what I have seen, heard, and understood about this situation.

It all started in November with a decision by the Ukrainian government, and mostly the president Yanukovich to not sign a trade agreement with the European Union but instead to sign an agreement with Russia. Many people in Ukraine wanted this agreement to happen with the EU, and wanted to get away from Russian dominance, and so they went to the center in Kiev to protest. Now this wasn't a large demonstration only maybe 7,000 people. The president and his special riot police made their first of many big mistakes at this time and violently beat these demonstrators with truncheons and shot tear gas at them. This action enraged the whole country and within a few days this 7,000 became 100,000 then 200,000 and finally more than 300,000 people as busloads of people came to protest the president, his bullying tactics and use of the police force, and his decisions which most people think are endangering their futures. Now they protest and are calling for his resignation. Many of these things you see are a result of him trying to hang onto his power.
That was almost 2 months ago and since then the President hasn't cooled things down but continues to anger the people with his decisions, and refusal to change things. After the first large gathering when things were starting to calm down the special riot police attacked again. This has happened multiple times in the last 2 months and has done nothing but anger the people and cause more reinforcements to go to the Kiev center square from cities all over Ukraine. Then again the president made a poor decision, which I guess was an attempt to calm things down, when on January 19th he unconstitutionally passed laws against protest, wearing masks, caravans with more than 5 cars, and any people receiving funds from outside the country are supposedly considered "foreign agents." (This includes me by the way.) He passed these laws very quickly and signed them into law with just people from his party. Many people believe these laws and laws to come are unconstitutional and will cause, if left unchecked, Ukraine to become a dictatorship. The people know this and are ready to fight, and even give their lives, to keep it from happening.

Just this last Wednesday, I'm sorry to say, we saw the first deaths. I have heard 3-4 people died so far, which again only enrages the people further. This week the protests spread from Kiev to many other cities. Around 10 other cities in Ukraine had government buildings stormed and occupied by protesters. These usually involved clashes again with riot police trying to keep order. If you watch the news you probably can see tires and buses burning in Kiev where protesters are still standing strong after multiple attacks by the riot police to push them back. I also added a few photos here. It is a very sad situation and I hate to see people fighting and especially lose their lives, but I understand that a dictatorship would be much worse and that something must be done. I hope Europe and America will help too in whatever ways they can.
Once again, I am very saddened to hear of the loss of life already and hope it won't get any worse. On the bright side churches have mobilized as they realized they too must do something about this, and cannot just sit around and watch the news as it happens and hope for the best. Evangelical churches in my area have set up a prayer location that is open 24 hours a day as well set prayer time-blocks for people so that someone always will be praying for this situation and that God's will would be done here in Ukraine. And this is happening all over the country which is truly remarkable. I will go to this prayer location a couple nights this week as well and pray with my Ukrainian brothers and sisters. Its really great to know that our "King" is the one with the real power and and everything is in His hands.

Please pray with us for Ukraine, for the safety of the people here, for the government, and for the freedom for the people of this great country. If you have any questions or would like to help with ministry here in anyway just ask. And for everyone worrying about me, I appreciate your prayers as well, but don't worry! I am in one of the safer cities and am not close to any government buildings or meeting places. I haven't seen any violence near me at all. Thank you all for you prayers and support and I will have another update soon as I start to plug into some ministries here and help as best I can, and wherever I can. Thanks again for your prayers!