Missions Update - August 1, 2026
Good morning, everyone!
Greetings from Brad and Gayle Wickersheim, your missionaries to Ukraine.
We left home on March 17th and after 2 days of travel, arrived in Ukraine on March 19th. The next day Gayle began teaching at Kyiv Christian Academy, an international school that serves missionary families and Ukrainian families alike. The timing of our arrival was crucial as the teacher who had been serving in kindergarten broke her foot and had to be out for a month. Gayle was able to fill that role as well as get to know staff and learn school routines. This includes air alert procedures where students and teachers gather learning materials and head to the basement until an “all clear” notice is received. Since our arrival the auto parts warehouse adjacent to school property has been hit by a ballistic missile, destroying it completely. We are thankful that no one was hurt and the damage to the school was minimal.
Brad began at International Christian Assembly (ICA) and has been overseeing small groups as well as mentoring the young Ukrainian pastor already serving this church. We are seeing much growth, especially with our international student population. We have had several international students come to faith in Christ who have now been baptized and are being mentored in these small groups. One of the Asian students is feeling called to ministry. We are working to help her step into that calling and are making plans to plant an Asian Church as part of ICA. This growth has resulted in the need to expand our current facility space. Brad is working construction with the men to expand the church seating capacity and create some additional meeting spaces. In addition, Brad has traveled to Kryvyi Rih (Kree-vee Ree) twice for ministry including speaking at a Mother’s Day ladies’ event and performing a wedding! He has many more invitations to come and minister in various places around Ukraine.
Since school concluded, we have been working on a few items that will help us stay in Ukraine and do ministry. First, we traveled to Poland to obtain our Visas and are working on our Temporary Residency Permit. (Please pray for our lawyer as her apartment/office sustained significant damage from a recent attack.) Secondly, we are working on purchasing our Speed the Light Vehicle. Because we do not yet have residency and transferring funds is complicated, it has been a much more involved process than expected. Lastly, when we arrived, we moved into a one-bedroom apartment that met our immediate needs. We knew, however, that we would need a different place for long-term ministry. God has provided us with a home close to Gayle’s school and closer to church. At first, the owner refused to even allow it to be shown to us, but in the end, God made a way for us to rent this home. Not only does this house have meeting space and rooms to host small missions teams, but it also came in under budget! We are currently traveling to Latvia for our area retreat but will move into this house when we return. There is plenty of room for visitors, and as they say in Ukraine, “we are waiting for you!”
So many Ukrainians have expressed their amazement and gratitude for our choosing to be here in Ukraine at this time. Amid the increasing attacks and stresses of doing ministry in a foreign country, we feel a deep peace about being here. We know many are covering us in prayer and we are SO very grateful. Thank you for your partnership with us and for your commitment to ministry in Ukraine.
Dyakuyu (Dee-yah-coo-you) which means THANK YOU!
Brad & Gayle Wickersheim