Mission Trip 2025
(June 12th - July 4th)
Holding Ukraine is overjoyed to share that our dedicated team is now complete for our life-changing mission trip in summer 2025. After many months of prayer, preparation, and heartfelt anticipation, our diverse crew of 11 volunteers from across the United States stands united in hope and compassion. Over three powerful weeks, we will conduct five transformative mission events designed not only to provide practical help but also to heal deep emotional wounds.
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We are currently short of our $61,000 budget, but we trust in the Lord for all His provisions. Most importantly, we need prayer partners to cover the team in prayer, for the softening of the hearts made tough by the many years of war, and that we are in the place God wants us to be.
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We will begin our journey June 13th in Zhytomyr with a moving conference for 225 gathered souls—a safe space to confront and start healing from the heartache of war and the weight of PTSD. In this intimate setting, the stirring words of our featured speakers, Jeff Bergmann (a retired professor from West Point Academy) and Susan Habegger (the inspiring Founder of Thrive Life Skills), will light a path toward recovery and resilience. Their personal insights will turn shared pain into a collective strength, creating an atmosphere of true healing and solidarity.
In parallel to the conference, a compassionate food trailer will make its way to three local hospitals caring for Ukraine’s wounded soldiers. This humble yet heartfelt gesture is our way of saying, “You are not forgotten. Your pain is shared, and your life is cherished.” Serving nourishing meals becomes an act of gentle kindness during adversity.
Guiding this outreach with part of the team is Ohio Pastor David Williams—a nurturing minister whose wisdom and empathetic heart speak directly to those battling the invisible scars of trauma. His ministry is devoted to soothing the harrowing effects of PTSD and the lingering horror of war, offering comfort and the promise of a new beginning to every soul in need.
Once the Zhytomyr conference has ignited hope, Susan will continue her journey to Lviv with three intimate seminars. You are Seen. You are Known. You are Loved: Two 2-day seminars with Save A Life Ministry, ministers to women in challenging situations of pregnancy. Many of these young women may feel shame, feel unseen, and feel unloved—even unworthy of love. Susan will remind the young women of God’s care for them, their value, and the reality of hope and purpose. Soul to Soul When The Soldier Comes Home: A 3-day seminar as requested by Clear Vision (a partner nonprofit in Ukraine), beginning a series based on our call to mentor one another for spiritual and emotional health. This series will center on the unique challenge for the soldier, the family, and the community to find peace, individually and with each other.
At the same time, Jeff Bergmann will take his message of healing to Mykolaiv, leading a conference for 200 pastors, church leaders, and lay ministers. His goal is to equip these spiritual leaders with the empathy, understanding, and practical tools needed to minister to a community struggling with identity loss and the profound tragedy of shattered lives. His hope is that, through dedicated prayer and shared wisdom, every participant will become a beacon of light in the darkness left by conflict.
Our mission is more than an event—it is a heartfelt call to restore dignity, to mend broken spirits, and to stand together in the face of overwhelming sorrow. Each moment and every act of kindness is infused with the belief that healing is possible, even after the deepest pain.
Registration for Zhytomyr
Registration for Mykolaiv
Peace to you!
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Today, during the long war in Ukraine, we see a lot of pain, tears and how people lose peace and peace in their hearts. The Lord shows us that it is we Christians who are called to be ready to help not only with bread but also with the help of God to heal crippled souls.​
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The Church of the Grace of God in the city of Mykolaiv invites pastors, deacons, volunteers, ministry leaders and all those who wish to attend a three-day seminar Healing the Soul​
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Speaker- Jeffrey Bergmann.- Retired professor of the West Point Military Academy. Teaches post-traumatic stress disorder and trauma to military officers.​
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What is the goal?- To help find and use tools for spiritual care for military, civilians and those who suffered during the war.
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When will the seminar be held?- June 26, 27, 28! Three days, from Thursday to Saturday inclusive.
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What is the seminar schedule?- Every day from 9:00 to 17:00, including meals and Coffee Time.
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Free admission
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HOLDING UKRAINE
Ukraine 2025 Mission
(June 12th - July 4th)
When we looked back at 2024 and realized how GOD moved in so many lives, we thought how can we make this bigger and better for 2025. As we discussed planning, we realized that Holding Ukraine will be working in Ukraine for our 15th year and want to honor GOD in the best way we ​c​an. As we began to discuss and plan, we realized the plans were so much bigger than we could accomplish, but decided to proceed anyway, because , why not? If we lay this at the feet of our LORD and he chooses to bless it, we will work to honor HIM in the best way HE leads us. As the planning started, we have reached out to several people and several have joined on board with no hesitation. After hearing our story, some have approached us wanting to participate next year in our quest to honor GOD in Ukraine. We will need many partners to make this work as we continue the planning. We ask you to start in fervent prayer that planning, meetings, and details will come together, the LORD will provide funding to make the event happen, and we will glorify the LORD'S name in everything that happens. As the planning continues, we will start releasing updates and more details in the very near future.
Mission Trip June 2024, Kherson Oblast, Ukraine
In the first of two mission trips for 2024, Holding Ukraine sent the first team to the Kherson Region to work in several villages. With the help of our Ukraine partners Clear Vision Foundation, we were able to hold four eyeglass clinics in the villages of Mryne, Posad Provos'ke, and Blahodatne. These villages were brutally bombed during the war and resulted in most homes damaged and unlivable. In addition to the eyeglass clinics, we also worked with another partner, American missionary Kevin Smith and did several meetings to encourage small groups in the villages. One of the sweetest ministries we did came about at the last minute. We raised funds for a bike ministry that allowed us to purchase new bikes for the many seniors still in the villages without transportation. These were desperately needed to allow the seniors to use them to get to the city centers and the humanitarian aid, while many used them for all-terrain type walkers.
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Mission Trip July 2024, Lviv, Ukraine
The second of two mission trips was sent to the city of Lviv and work with our partner Susan Habegger and Thrive Life Skills. Holding Ukraine was able to work with 51 attendees in a seminar focused on Regaining Your Identity. When everything has been taken from you and you have lost your community, your job, churches, church members, family, the place you bought your groceries and the very fabric of how you identify in your community, it can breed a sense of hopelessness. Susan taught this seminar to help them lead their families, their communities, their nation and all the internally displaced Ukrainian people. Thrive Life also did a ministry called Needle and Thread, just for the women to provide a safe place for sharing stories, while fingers weave the thread in and out. Hearts are expressed easily when eyes are distracted by the stitching movement. No one feels "on display" as hands are busy and ears are attune. Much of healing involves moving forward. However, there is a part of healing that comes from capturing treasured memories - allowing the tears and the joy to intermingle. These memories feed the soul and are preserved for the family - an essential part of their story. Where words sometimes fail, visual expression speaks the emotions of the heart. *Susan Habegger The last day was a time for families in the forest. God calls us to Himself through His creation. These families were grateful for the encouragement to "slow down" and take time to see God's beauty even when the world seems out of control.
The parents responded: "I felt a sense of peace when I entered the forest simply to breathe and enjoy God's presence." The children discovered the ability to put their discoveries onto paper and enjoyed the intentional time with family. There are many windows and doors to healing. We should not be surprised that God uses His very own creation to soothe and calm the hearts of His people and to open conversations that lead to knowing Him in new ways. *Thrive Life Skills
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