Here are four stories from western Ukraine where displaced people fled the destruction of war, seeking shelter and hope. Read more about Svetlana, Yana, Oksana and her family from Chernihiv, and a family from Mariupol—and see how God is ministering to hurting hearts through the outreach of a small SGA-supported church.

Mrs. Svetlana, 75 years old. She came from Kharkiv. On February 24, she woke up at 5:00 a.m. from some loud explosions. Later she found out that it was a war. From the seventh floor of her apartment, she could hear explosions and see the clouds of smoke. She went to the basement and slept in her bathroom. The woman has a serious illness. All the windows in her apartment were smashed, but the apartment itself is still safe. She escaped from Kharkiv and is now living in a House of Prayer (church). Svetlana is very grateful for the help. She realizes that it takes a lot of hard work of many good people to provide such wonderful food aid! 

Mrs. Yana. Thank you very much for the humanitarian aid! I am an IDP [internally displaced person] from the city of Chuhuiv. From the first days of the war, our city was bombed every day. I was very scared and at the same time could not believe that this was really happening to us. My child and I stayed in the basement for a week. There was a lot of shelling and many of my friends were killed! Our city is destroyed. I had a small business. My elderly parents are still staying there. Six months later, my child and I moved. We are trying to survive. The products you’ve provided are a great support to us. Once again, thank you so much for helping people in such a difficult time!

A family from Chernihiv. Glory to Jesus Christ! My name is Oksana. My family came from Chernihiv. My parents are now living under occupation in Crimea. From the first days of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Lord led us to move to the House of Prayer, where we were members of the church in Chernihiv. We have two daughters. In the church, we prepared a basement and hosted all the brothers and sisters, other people who lived in the neighboring high-rise buildings and who had already felt and seen all the explosions. And the explosions in the first days were non-stop. On the third day, a rocket hit the territory of the House of Prayer, causing destruction. The explosion was 32 feet away from me, because we lived there at that time. God saved our lives and the lives of other adults and children who were on the church grounds at that time. We moved from Chernihiv to [this city] as a family. We are also IDPs now. The Lord brought us out, and we can witness this in many ways. 

I want to share the ministry that the Lord entrusted to us here, far from our home. In [this city], there are many IDPs from different parts of Ukraine. Pastor Volodymyr realizesthat we can serve these people. We organized a nice team, began to think about and find opportunities how we could support all those in need with food.  From the very beginning of our ministry to these people, we knew that we had to gather and help people, and pray that they will come and listen to the Word of God. And after a reading and prayer, we distributed food. We have been here in this ministry since June 2022. God used different people to support all of us. The IDPs had the opportunity to receive food aid every month. But we often had to limit and not widely disseminate information about the aid because we didn’t have enough of it.

Thanks to SGA and partners who provided us with a lot of food, we have now been able to reach more and more families. We are so grateful to you! We will be very grateful if you would continue to support our ministry to people. We will pray and ask that the Lord will continue to support our ministry here in Ukraine through your ministry and sacrifice! God bless! 

We came from Mariupol as a family. On February 24, our city was almost completely occupied. We could not leave. There was no electricity, no gas, no water. We melted water from snow and ice to drink it. When we lived in the basement, we saw and heard many horrors, people did not get back to their homes, and we realized that they were either tortured or simply killed. Our child is 8 years old. We slept for two hours because the bombing was non-stop. Small children in the basement, old people, we all lived together. We ate a little bit once a day. We cooked on the street near a high-rise building. We all shared with each other in order to survive. We did not even hope that we would be able to leave and that God would give us a chance to live! Our friend miraculously took us out of that hell of horrors. We are safe in [this city] now. We do not feel here that there is such a terrific war going on somewhere in the east. Life goes on, we have to live. Our apartment is not there anymore. But we can buy anything, as long as we have good health and work.  The photo shows our high-rise building and our burned apartment. 

Thank you all for the compassion and kindness you all show us! We always cry when we see such a good, sincere attitude towards us. THANK YOU! 

In a time of great uncertainty, God is bringing help, healing, and hope to the people of Ukraine through SGA-supported pastors, churches, a seminary, and SGA-supported Compassion Ministry. Be a part of God’s incredible work with your generosity and prayer support.  

Your gift of compassion helps struggling people with emergency aid that generally includes Scripture materials, food, medicine, warm clothing, and shoes.