Call for prayer for the beleaguered port city of Mariupol

Mariupol has become a symbol of the devastating war waged against Ukraine, which has already brought 1.5 million refugees to the neighboring countries. Russian troops have been besieging the strategic port city on the Sea of Azov, the northern extension of the Black Sea, for more than a week now. Known for its many heavy industry plants, Mariupol ranks among Ukraine’s largest cities, counting 440,000 inhabitants. During World War II, an estimated 9,000 Jewish citizens were murdered by Nazi occupation. Yet the city filled up again after the war as many were assigned jobs in the industrial heavyweight by the central Soviet job distribution system. Several thousand Jewish people still live in the city.

Christians for Israel (C4I) has been supporting the Jewish community of Mariupol for many years now. The Jewish grandpas and grandmas there have become family through hundreds of personal visits by our team.

“It’s a ghost town now – no one goes out in the streets; shops are closed. Once in a while some bread or water is delivered – it’s immediately gone,” said Alina, who has been trying to keep in touch with the Jewish community’s contact person. “The city is completely surrounded. The Russian forces hit the electivity and water plants. People have been sheltering in ice-cold basements for many days and nights now. I can’t reach any of my contacts anymore – no electricity, no phones. It’s heartbreaking.”

Thousands in the city are said to have been wounded; no one has had a chance to count the dead. Two attempts to create a humanitarian corridor have been buried in a hail of bullets. International organizations speak of an evolving humanitarian catastrophe.

If a functioning humanitarian corridor can be established, a massive influx of refugees is expected in Zaporozhe, where C4I is also supporting the Jewish community with emergency aid.

Would you join us in praying for a miracle for Mariupol?

Behold, the Lord God shall come with a strong hand,

And His arm shall rule for Him;

Isaiah 40:10

Scripture for March 7 drawn by lot by the Moravian Brothers community three years in advance