Church Ministry in Dnipropetrovsk Region Hospices

Everyone who has once found themselves in a difficult situation is familiar with the feeling of loneliness, despair, failure, and disappointment in life and oneself. This is approximately how people feel when they end up in hospices and geriatric wards due to disability, illness, old age, etc.For various reasons, there is no one to take care of them, and sometimes, they simply have nowhere to live.

It is such people that Adventists from the left-bank community of Kamenskoye, in the Dnepropetrovsk region, serve. Service in the hospice at City Hospital No. 4 began in February 2021.

“Visiting the hospice takes place once a month. More often, unfortunately, it does not work. There is not enough time,” says Ulyana, one of the initiators of this ministry. “The main members of the group of volunteers are three women who are periodically joined by other women and men. The brothers help bring food to the fourth floor. Tatiana [drives] us and food with things in her car from the left bank. Basically, there are three-to-five of us.”

Ulyana adds, “The reason for our visits is to convey the message of God's love to people, to tell about Christ, and to reveal the character of God. We want as many people as possible to join the family of God and become children of God, to find salvation in Christ. These people are open to the Word of God. They listen with sincere interest and attentively to songs about God's love and the Word that we say to them.

“They always rejoice at every new meeting. It is clear that they need not only bodily food but also spiritual support, guidance, and training. They want to find hope in God. We do not have enough brothers who could prepare a small sermon for the residents of the hospice.

Ulyana concludes, “The purpose of our ministry is to convey to people that the Lord loves them and is always with them, leading them to salvation. We feed people, pray with them and for them, glorifying the Lord with singing and short sermons. These people need physical and spiritual food."

“Lately, a lot of people from the night home have been admitted to the hospice. They were placed in the corridor, making beds and chairs, so we have to carry out all the services on our feet,” says Tatiana, who visits the hospice.

However, various inconveniences do not frighten people whose hearts respond to the call of Christ to serve the rejected and carry the good news from Him.

This article was originally published on the Euro-Asia Division’s news site