The Ukrainian war has significantly impacted our staff here in Berlin, many of whom are of Ukrainian origin. From day one, our staff have truly been excellent at helping out in any way possible. They are continually volunteering in secular service projects, buying basic necessities for refugees, helping refugees with their paperwork, helping them find housing and work, and so much more.
Over the last few years, one of the main areas of ministry for our team in Berlin has been to love and serve Jewish-Ukrainian refugees as they settle and build a life in Germany. The outbreak of the war in Ukraine sent refugees nearly all over the globe in search of safety. But no country has received more than Germany, taking in over 1.2 million. Over 5,000 of those refugees are Jewish-Ukrainian, and that number is still increasing**.
Many of the Ukrainian refugees are Russian-speaking and don’t speak German. They need immediate help with basic necessities, adapting to German culture and getting established in their new country.
From the very beginning of this crisis, our response has been a combination of service and evangelism. Our missionaries, Leonid and Natasha Krouter, are both Russian-speaking Ukrainians and would feed hungry newcomers and hand out New Testaments. As a result, they have made a substantial number of contacts.
At the onset of the crisis, we housed refugees both privately and in our branch office. One family lived in our office for a year and a half. A neighbouring church assisted us in housing people before we could help them find permanent housing. We also took in a number of Jews for Jesus staff members and their families who fled Ukraine. Some are making plans to stay in Germany, but others have since returned to Ukraine. We pray for their safety daily.
Besides helping refugees with practical necessities like food, housing, documentation, German language learning and finding work, we developed Aleph Club to help meet the social needs of these newcomers. Led by Leonid and Natasha, the word ‘club’ is a misnomer; it’s actually more of a community. This Russian-speaking community meets once a week for a Shabbat service, followed by food and then a workshop on different subjects, designed for unbelievers to attend. They also organise excursions to explore German culture. The idea is to provide activities that build a sense of community. These relationships create an open door to sharing our hope in Yeshua.
These last few years have stretched us in ways we couldn’t have anticipated. We felt like we had just finished dealing with the brunt of the Ukraine crisis when the attack on 7 October 2023 happened. This sent a whole new wave of Jewish refugees to Germany, this time Israeli. In many ways, we were already experts at meeting the needs of refugees, but receiving these newcomers with new sets of traumas was a wake-up call. It was a fresh reminder of our reliance on Messiah for the work he has set out for us.
Please remember to keep our team in Germany in prayer, for the Lord to continue to sustain us and give us strength as we do this work. Pray for all the refugees we minister to in Germany and around the world, that they might find true, lasting peace in Messiah, Yeshua. And please continue to pray for the safety of our staff who still find themselves in war zones, their protection and an end to conflict.
** Why Jewish Refugees From Ukraine Are Choosing Germany Over Israel