September 2025 Australia, Germany, Latvia, Ukraine
AUSTRALIA Delighted to tell you of the baptism of DONALD in VIC and of PAUL in WA. Brother Mark writes: "Through the death and resurrection of Jesus, God has been gently calling Paul into His family for a very long time. Paul grew up with a stepfather that was violently hostile to any mention of God or Jesus; a hostility so violent that any mention of God or Jesus would result in violent consequences. But strangely, these violent reactions were an indication that the stepfather was being triggered by God and Jesus. Now that Paul has matured, he sought for himself to read up on the God that triggered his stepfather. Paul has read right through the old testament and is now making his way through the new; and it was while reading and praying that Paul saw our YouTube ad pop up on his screen. He saved our number and thought for some time before committing to baptism. We are so grateful to God that we were on hand to baptise someone into Gods family; to baptise Paul who God has definitely been calling".
There are videos of the baptism
at
https://youtu.be/pmtvPHcN8hs and of the house church breaking of bread meeting in Perth
at
https://youtu.be/2aDjVjwvOFk 
GERMANY
After a lot of reading our material and researching, so pleased to tell you of the baptism of ILKA near Berlin. Great to have her breaking bread online with us on Zoom soon afterwards.
LATVIA
Whilst Duncan was in Ukraine, Cindy was in Latvia visiting our brothers and sisters and holding gatherings for them in various parts of Latvia and providing food in Riga. She writes of the Riga meeting: "We had a lovely trip to Riga, where we were able to meet up with some of the brothers and sisters and read together from Genesis. It was a very rainy day, with some roads flooded, which prevented some from attending. Please pray for them as many struggle with the cost of living and Ill health".
UKRAINE
Our elderly Sister Lidia, one of the Jewish sisters recently baptized on the last visit, fell headlong down stairs and is quite damaged. Emergency medicine doesn't keep people long in hospital, so she has been sent home- without a wheelchair. Which she badly needs. We're by all means trying to get her one and she should have one this week. But that is just one of so many needs... there is major need in Ukraine amongst our brothers and sisters and their families. Those needs are both short and long term and Carelinks UK has sent out an appeal to some ecclesias this week. A copy is attached and you may like to read this, pray about it and seek to support or raise support yourself. At the end of this email you can see the text of it.
UNITED KINGDOM
A small prayer request, for patience and wisdom in our work in Croydon. As soon as you offer "free food" one attracts a very difficult minority. They are a minority but just one person is enough to upset the meeting- and our meetings have ever increasing attendance as word spreads from those already baptized. It's a fantastic forum to teach the Gospel but there's always that difficult minority and they tax our patience, spirituality and wisdom. Need your prayers. And come and join us if you're ever in London. The sermons / teaching goes on for about 30 or 40 minutes and you can hear them on YouTube. But at times the start of the meeting, which we don't put on YouTube, is really difficult. Here's an example
from last week: https://youtu.be/BumSSoeBLFU
Despite that, brother Gary [baptized last year] made the 2 hour journey from where he lives to lead us in singing and play his guitar as we sung Christian songs. His presence was wonderful, so good to have one of our baptized online followers make the effort to finally come and meet us:
PRAYER POINTS
- For those recently baptized
- For wisdom and patience in our work in Croydon
- For sister Lidia and so many with medical needs in Ukraine which aren't being met
- For an end to the war in Ukraine
With love from your brothers and sisters of Carelinks
SPECIAL APPEAL FOR CARELINKS WORK IN UKRAINE
Our Community in Ukraine. Carelinks workers have been working in Ukraine since 1990, distributing Bibles, Bible Basics, baptizing and assisting people, running Bible Schools for those baptized with speakers going out there from various Christadelphian ecclesias. A strong community of around 250 brothers and sisters developed, mainly middle aged and elderly folks, but has been shattered by the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
War effect. All our brothers and sisters have been majorly affected. Many have lost their homes in Russian occupied areas, fleeing to Ukrainian held territory and being given derelict rural homes to live in, where they in their later years are having to survive by subsistence farming. There is very little Government support, and many have health issues, this in a country where the health service is largely restricted to only providing emergency medical care. Others within Ukrainian territory have lost their properties due to direct hits. All have family members who have either been killed or injured due to the war.
Help provided. Carelinks workers have been making trips to assist them every few months since the war started, as well as providing help from a distance. We have evacuated some out of Ukraine, and others within Ukraine to safer areas, provided support, and continued to assist our local brethren in baptizing a few more in the midst of all this.
Current needs. The needs especially of our older folks are becoming acute in some cases. Some are in homes where the well has dried up, they are far from anywhere, and have chronic water supply issues, hoping desperately it will rain so they can collect rainwater from the roof in buckets and washing from buckets outside, in a climate well known for its bitter winters is miserable.
Efficient Subsistence living. On the latest visit, brother Mike Flaherty's reports emphasized how deeply impressed he was with the industriousness of our brothers and sisters, planting and clearing land with their bare hands, preserving their crops to eat over the Winter, doing their very best to patch up the properties they live in, building fences and hutches for chickens, rabbits and ducks etc. Mike also reflects, as we do, that we have never seen a situation where every bit of money given has been more sensibly used.
How you can help. And so with this background we come to you asking for your prayers and for your financial support. And pass the word to anyone who would like to accompany us on a trip there. We are operating according to the principle that "the need is the call". We have known these brothers and sisters for many years, in some cases for decades. They have been faithful supporters of our meetings and are dedicated to daily Bible reading and the same doctrines we share. We were never called upon to support most of them materially over those years. But now they are in real and acute need. Those who have come to the UK have all joined ecclesias and continue faithful. But for the majority, given their age and situation, it seems wisest to support them within Ukraine.
You can hear brother Mike Flaherty summarizing our work in Ukraine over the past week and making this appeal
at https://youtu.be/nXaxbBGaBws
CAMEOS
Here are a few cameos of some of the brothers and sisters and situations we have assisted and continue to. You can see in the pictures the various Christadelphians who have gone out to do the work: Charles Abel, Vanessa Boler, Mike Flaherty, Mark and Lisa Hawkins, Daniel and Duncan Heaster.
Sister Nastya (then 24 years old) lost her 26-year-old husband at the front in the early stages of the war, leaving her with 2 children of 3 and 6.
We evacuated the family to Poland and thence the UK, where they are now settled and doing well spiritually and in all ways.
Sister Vera and family lost their home in the Russian occupied areas, and were given a derelict rural property to live in. They zealously farm the land near the house, but the well has dried up and they are desperate for water, eagerly collecting any rainwater in buckets from the roof.
And they need water for their crops. They wash outside in buckets, no fun in the Winter.
Sister Nina lost her lower leg when her home suffered a direct hit, her husband brother Igor was forced into the army but had a major heart attack whilst undergoing military training and is released from military liability; and her elderly mother sister Vera who was in an old people's home that has now been taken over by invalided soldiers, and she just had to get out. They live in a derelict house in a remote area with no bus service, struggling to grow what they can despite health and mobility issues. Nina has spread the Gospel throughout the village, and we baptized brother Viktor- who was picked up by the Military Police one day, forced to do military training, sent to the Eastern front against his will- and killed within a few weeks.
Sister Oksana was evacuated from a front-line town in Eastern Ukraine, under constant bombardment and largely in ruins, she has pancreatic cancer, a daughter and an invalid grandson to care for.
Sister Svetlana was evacuated from another front-line town after her house was hit, she also lives in an empty rural house and tries to farm the land around it to survive.
Bro Alexei & sister Nana lost their home in the occupied areas and now live in an isolated once derelict house which Alexei has fixed up, and they industriously farm the land around it and raise rabbits and chickens to survive.
Sister Ludmila's flat suffered a direct hit with her and her elderly husband inside it. It is now a burnt out shell. They were hospitalized and we continue to support them and their family, all baptized:
These are only some of the cases we have helped, and continue to. There are many others:
"And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come." Matthew 24:14