By Joel Riehle
Three and a half years after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, mission organizations like Mulberry International are still on the front lines. They don’t have the luxury of taking days off. Amid the fear of drones, missiles, and flooding, there is still a gospel harvest ready to be reaped.
All citizens of Ukraine are still in the midst of war. The war is no longer just about soldiers on the frontlines. Drone attacks are terrorizing every part of the country and every citizen. “It’s no longer traditional warfare, it’s terror,” Natasha Reimer, the executive director of Mulberry International says. Recently one of their aid trucks was chased by a drone and hit. Somehow the drivers and the truck survived. The truck was carrying water and bread, and Reimer was outraged that such an attack was carried out on a civilian aid vehicle.
Since its Post Soviet days, Mulberry International has been working in Ukraine. Things have really changed since the start of the war. They distribute aid in clothes and household items and medicine to people coming to their services. “We are not the Red Cross,” Reimer states. “We are not there just to give out things, because we believe we have to use what we can and give it in the name of Christ. We do not waste our good gifts.”
After reading Natasha’s newsletter, David Empson, the director of the International Conference on Missions (ICOM), asked her if collecting goods at the conference and shipping them over to Ukraine was something she’d ever thought about. From that thought the effort ballooned to a multi-organization effort to fill a 40-foot container with supplies at the ICOM gathering November 19-22, 2025.
New hygiene products, medical supplies, and winter clothing would give Mulberry and the churches they support an upper hand in spreading the gospel.
The goal is to fill at least one 40-foot container and have it over to the people of Ukraine by the start of 2026. “Keep in mind it is winter in Ukraine then so the primary need as far as clothing is winter. So, coats, heavy [ones], not T-shirts please,” Reimer reminds us.
They are looking for new items only. New clothes, unopened hygiene and medical supplies, obviously. Not only does this expedite the shipping process but it also gives a leg up to Mulberry in distributing these items. Imagine you have had to flee your home and you leave behind important everyday items like aspirin, flashlights, pots and pans, and even a can opener becomes a luxury item for many Ukrainians. Reimer expands on this, “you have no idea how many times I’ve been approached and asked for diapers.”
This is the part that will shock most readers. When you and your church give to Mulberry you’re giving more than just aid. Food is not scarce, thankfully, but “nobody’s sending (new) clothing, household supplies, things for their house, for medicine.” Reimer continues, so when we get these “they come with extra value.” So, what Mulberry does is place expectations on those they serve to attend multiple meetings before these items are handed out.
“How can people believe if they do not hear,” Reimer quotes. She also reports that their churches that distribute these supplies have people respond to the gospel in some way 70-80% of the time! So, the harvest is definitely plentiful in Ukraine.
And if the harvest is plentiful in Ukraine we need to do everything in our power to give Mulberry all the tools we can. “People flood the churches, the churches have never seen that many people right now.” Reimer laughs as she explains that the government isn’t giving stuff out, people know they need to go to church to get it. And this is why we need to make the filling of the containers at ICOM a major event.
Hopefully the flow of traffic through the convention will be deviated by the mountain of supplies that are gathered and being sorted right there on the spot in Atlanta. Stacks of warm sweatshirts with the tags on them and boxes full of cookware lining the halls. And then in a short time all that distributed out to grateful souls in Kherson or Kyiv or any rural area that us Americans are unlikely to ever see. But the good news about Jesus will reach there and will be backed up with love in action.
In a world where we are called to fish for people, these supplies for Mulberry and Ukraine are the net.
To join these great organizations, get your friends and church to collect these items and bring them to ICOM or get in touch with IDES, Lifeline, FAME, or Mulberry directly. There are flyers and slides for churches and individuals to share on ICOM’s website. Additional drop off locations include Charlotte, Louisville, Lexington, Indianapolis, Denver, Calgary, and Columbus. Reach out to http://lifeline.org/contact-us for additional drop off opportunities. The container(s) have to be filled before Thanksgiving to make it to Ukraine by the end of January.
So, get your own community involved check out the resources and information at http://www.theicom.org/ukraine-relief.
Joel Riehle is the Connect Pastor at Community Christian Church, Hamilton, Ohio.
Author: Christian Standard
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