As you read through the testimonies of Victoria, Natalia, and two displaced families as shared by an SGA-supported pastor below, notice how all are thankful for the care and compassion of God’s people. The seeds of the Gospel are being sown in their lives by a church we serve in Ukraine, and we trust God will make these seeds grow.
Please pray for this church and many others that continue to share about Jesus as the war continues. Each time a food package shared with a Ukrainian in need is evidence of God’s love as He ministers through His people.
Sincere greetings.
We thank the Lord when we remember you in our prayers. Thanks to your help, we are able to continue our ministry to the internally displaced people. People continue to come to church and the Lord gives us a wonderful opportunity to share His truth, read His living and effective word, listen to people’s stories and continue to pray for salvation for these people.
God be with you!
Pastor of the church.
Testimonies
I am Victoria, 63 years old. I am single, my husband died long ago, I have no children. All my life I worked hard, cherished the hope of a quiet and peaceful retirement, and dreamed of traveling. My hometown of Kharkiv was almost the first to face the invasion. I would like to help more and was an active volunteer at one time, but now I have very bad health. I realized that it would be safer for everyone if I evacuated the city. The evacuation of the first days was difficult. I had to stand on the train to Lviv. Then there was Poland, the camp and the road to the Netherlands. For almost a year I traveled around Europe, living with friends, in a shelter, and working as a cleaner in a mansion. That year made me understand that I belong to Ukraine. I returned to my homeland, but since Kharkiv is not safe because of the constant shelling, [this city] became my home. I ended up here by chance, but this beautiful city won my heart and became my second home. Thank you to your church for the help. I like the Baptist Church, they speak an understandable language, do not waste energy on unnecessary rituals and do not wear fancy clothes. I still haven’t accepted Christ in my heart, but maybe my journey to the Lord begins [here].
My name is Natalia. We came from Kharkiv. The war caught me in a store. I worked as a cashier in a store that was open at night. In the middle of the night, people started buying everything they saw. I felt that something was happening. I heard explosions, but I kept working. My daughter called and said that the windows in our apartment were blown out, what should we do? At first, everything happened so fast, it was like a nightmare. I couldn’t leave work immediately either, so I had to close the store. Transportation was still running at the time, so I quickly got home. We lived on the outskirts of the city. In the early days, I baked bread for all our neighbors, for three houses. I didn’t have time to buy food in my own store because people had bought everything. One day, my daughter and I walked for an hour to buy something from another store far away and stood in line for almost half a day. People were buying up absolutely everything as much as they had money. It was very scary when we saw military tanks, constant explosions. My mom soon got sick, and I had to take care of her because she was old. We left Kharkiv on an evacuation train. There were a lot of people. They stood all the way because there were no more seats. At first, while we were traveling, we were frightened by the silence. People were so deeply traumatized, frightened by the war, horrified, mentally and emotionally shocked, no one spoke. Everyone was traveling in silence! It’s terrible!
Now we are in western Ukraine, trying to live and work here. The food we receive in the church is a great support for us. We are told that all these products are donated by good people who save for themselves so that we could have something to eat. So we are very grateful to all the good people and kind hearts.
Our family came from the Donetsk region. There are four of us. We survived heavy and terrible shelling. Everything in our apartment was destroyed, but we were not there at the time, thank God. He saved our lives! On the same day, five of our good neighbors were killed and seven people were seriously wounded as a result of artillery shelling. All the people tried to run away and hide in the bomb shelter, but not all of them could make it. One woman was torn in half before our eyes. We still see this horror today. We realized that it was no longer safe to stay there. Even our little kitten was so traumatized by the explosions that the little animal died from shock. Over time, the health of all family members has deteriorated. Because of the constant emotional stress, worries, screaming, crying and hopelessness, we became depressed. In the last year of our lives, we aged 10 years. War does not make anyone healthy. We are waiting for the victory. We want to go home. At home, all the hardships are much easier to bear. Lord, help us all! We are grateful to everyone who cares for kindness and compassion! We are very grateful for the food aid and support from the mission and the sponsors who donate so much. May the good God protect you!
We are a family from outside of Kyiv (me and my two children). For almost two weeks since the beginning of the war, we did not leave the house at all. Then we spent all the time in the subway. We did not plan and did not want to go anywhere at all, but the children began to scream at night because of fear and explosions. My younger son became very ill because of a nervous breakdown. Yes, our son lost his memory because of a nervous breakdown. The child looked at us, at his parents, and he did not recognize us at first, and asked: who are you? Thank God, later we were able to escape and found shelter in western Ukraine. Here, the children still have persistent post-traumatic effects, and we are undergoing treatment and rehabilitation. Gradually, doctors are treating our little Bohdan, who is only four years old. He is getting better gradually, but the treatment is long, so we take medications. The government no longer provides us with payments, we have not received it since May 2022. It is very difficult, but thanks to the church’s help with food packages, we have a lot of support. We are very grateful that in such a difficult time we were shown a helping hand. We have learned to look up to heaven through difficulties, through tears, because there is a God who loves and cares for us through very good people!
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.