By Carole Kelly
Bob Gilmore (left) and Russell Kyzar (right), pictured in a bunker, the basement of a bombed-out apartment complex, where they visited Ukrainian soldiers. The team visited villages along and between the frontlines of the war. The men have made two trips to Ukraine, working with local pastors to share supplies, encouragement and the gospel.
Bob Gilmore can vividly visualize the bombed buildings and other sad images of the war-torn areas that media coverage shares from Ukraine. Having traveled to the country twice, he and retired missionary Russell Kyzar, formerly of Clinton, have personally witnessed the devastation.
Their first call came in late 2022 to share supplies and the gospel. They visited the evangelical Frontline Church, whose name signifies not only the nearness of the war frontline, but also serves as the frontline for sharing the gospel.
The trip stemmed from a breakfast meeting when Oleg Gricyk, pastor of the 21st Century Church in Prague, Czech Republic, was visiting in Clinton to confer about his church’s partnership with First Baptist Church. He invited Gilmore and Kyzar to go to Ukraine with him.
“Less than thirty days later, we were boots on the ground in Ukraine,” recalls Gilmore. The logistics were handled by the pastor, who was born in Odessa, Ukraine, and included donations from area businesses and individuals. Generators and heaters were purchased in Prague through contributions from First Baptist Church to be taken into Ukraine.
“No one would rent us a van to use in Ukraine,” says Gilmore, “so we had to buy one in Prague with donated funds.” The van has made numerous trips to Ukraine as well as provided local transportation in Prague for the church’s ongoing refugee support.
“During wartime, it is encouraging to see the message flourishing because dedicated young pastors are sharing the hope of Jesus in areas close to the frontline,” says Gilmore. “These young men and their wives have church in a storefront. Some of the men are volunteer chaplains in the Ukrainian army.” He pointed out that their pay is the blessing received from ministering to the soldiers.
“The Sunday night we visited Frontline Church, we had the opportunity to share our testimony and worship with them. Russell, who not only speaks English, but also Russian and Spanish, shared a message of hope and salvation.”
They visited churches across Ukraine, as well as people needing help, from Kviv to Odessa and Kherson on the first trip. Kherson was closed to outsiders, because the Russians had occupied it from March 2022 until three weeks prior to their arrival. A Ukrainian chaplain enabled them to get into the city, where they were on the north side of the Dniper River, and the Russians were encamped on the south side.
On the second trip, in 2023, they recognized their goal of visiting villages along the frontline in northeastern and eastern Ukraine. Again, businesses and individuals from central Mississippi contributed to the purchase of food, medicine and personal hygiene items.
The city of Kharkiv was the base of operations, as they drove the packed van from Prague to distribute to people in need.
Gilmore explains, “We met Pastor Nikolai [Sukhyna] of Volchanski, Ukraine, two and a half miles from the Russian border, where he had organized a team of Ukrainians to work with us. His home was destroyed by a bomb in April 2023.”
Pastor Nikolai Sukhyna has been rescuing people from areas where the enemies were attacking and providing hope and comfort to those living in the devastated areas.
A newsletter, Life Light, published by Light for Living Worldwide Ministries, shared details.
“The big guns rumbled like thunder after we passed by the artillery on the hill and headed down the bomb-pocked road to the village in the valley below. Thankfully, there was no return fire from the enemy that afternoon. Although our team members wore flak jackets and steel helmets, it was the prayer cover that kept us safe,” he asserts.
A few people remained in the village, while others have escaped to safer places elsewhere in Ukraine or other countries. Broome said, when asked why they stayed, most gave a simple answer of “no other place to go, no one else with whom we could live.” A shelter had been established to provide food, water and medicine. Team members had been making frequent trips to the devastated area. A group of young people from a church in Kharkiv cook, wash clothes and help those left behind.
Soldiers in a bunker provided protection from further occupation by the enemy. Gilmore relates that praying and sharing food with the soldiers came with the awareness that incoming fire could obliterate them all.
Gilmore doesn’t hesitate to ask for support to help Pastor Nikolai Sukhyna’s dedication to people in the war-torn villages.
“Purchasing items for distribution, buying fuel for his car and just sustaining daily life cannot happen without support from people who choose to contribute to this worthy effort to bring hope and help. Each visit is accompanied by a message sharing the gospel and motivating the people to trust in Jesus. Pastor Nikolai’s effervescent personality brings inspiration and encouragement in this dark time,” states Gilmore.
Gilmore is a retired businessman who worked twenty-two years as the director of information technology at Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. Twenty-seven years earlier, he owned businesses, including graphics and printing companies, developing computer systems for that industry.
No stranger to travel over the years, his business efforts took him to Moscow in 1996. He and his wife, Lyda, have participated in numerous mission trips. For the Ukraine trips, Gilmore says, “It was fortunate and a relief that we could stay in contact with our families with our cell phones.”
Gilmore is currently volunteering as the executive vice president of Light for Living, headquartered in Clinton. His brother, Paul Gilmore, is president of the Mississippi non-profit organization.
Pastor Oleg Gricyk is an affiliate of the mission that was founded by Paul and Bob Gilmore’s father in 1990 to focus on providing an opportunity for people to become missionaries around the world. Gricyk pastors a Russian-speaking church in Prague to minister to those wishing to worship where Russian is spoken. The church has sponsored a preschool for ten years. During the war, the church has been providing many services to refugees who have fled to Prague, with Gricyk making several additional trips into Ukraine driving a van filled with humanitarian supplies.
Russell Kyzar and his wife, Melinda, served as missionaries in Costa Rica, Cuba, Eastern Europe and other countries. He served as missions minister for First Baptist Church after retiring from the International Mission Board. Now fully retired, they live in Jackson, Tennessee.
Those interested in sending aid to the area are encouraged to donate to Light for Living, Inc., P.O. Box 1106, Clinton, MS 39060. Donations are also accepted online at www.LightForLiving.org/donate. For more information, contact LightForLiving1@yahoo.com.
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Pastor Nikolai Sukhyna's house was bombed May 24, 2023, two and a half miles from the Russian border in the village of Volchanski, Ukraine. His mother-in-law, who was in the house, survived the bombing.
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Lunch is served on the frontline in a shelter.
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Pictured is a widow who lives on the outskirts of Kherson, a city under occupation by the Russians from March 2022 til November 2022.
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Bob Gilmore (left) and Heaters and generators are shared with a Ukraine pastor and his family for their church by (l to r) Pastor Oleg Gricyk, Bob Gilmore, Pastor Nikolai Sukhyna and Russell Kyzar.
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Bob Gilmore
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Dressed for the war zone frontline and cold weather, Pastor Oleg Gricyk, Russell Kyzar, and Bob Gilmore meet soldiers and medics.
