Here is another wonderful testimony of God’s grace provided by a church we serve in Ukraine. He works through His faithful children, and all of us together can care for a poor family like the one you will read about below.
They have now seen and felt the love of God and heard of the hope we have in Jesus. This is how the body of Christ ministers in deed and truth. Read more . . .
War. Disaster. Loss. Pain. Nowadays, every person in Ukraine needs strength, support, recovery, tolerance, and love. Olena is a primary school teacher by education. Before the full-scale invasion of the Russian army, she also worked as a teacher’s assistant who worked with a child with cerebral palsy. At the beginning of March 2022, everyone was forcibly evacuated from the city of Toretsk in the Donetsk region, according to the lists. They were given a maximum of a couple of hours to pack their belongings. Olena’s parents had a small business so they could not leave, because they had to give away all the goods from the store or sell them to leave nothing for the invaders. It is a frontline city, so that’s why there was a forced evacuation. Today, the city is 70% destroyed. The town still has no electricity, gas, or water. People survive as best they can. Thanks to volunteers and various humanitarian aid that can get there, everything is distributed to those people who are still staying there.
Olena and her family left, but her parents stayed for a while, risking their lives. Olena’s husband worked for many years as a miner, but with the outbreak of war, this profession was already very dangerous, and the family with a little child fled. The day of the departure and the trip to an unknown destination was too hard for Olena and her family. In general, there were only two train destinations from their city, and all those who got on the train and left were very lucky. The trains were under constant shelling. People were traveling in silence all the way, no one was talking to anyone, no one was in conflict with anyone. This scene was reminiscent of World War II, when people were taken by train to unknown destinations. But it was also a true and real horror movie of its own. They were traveling all the way in the cold, in the dark, and were not allowed to use their cell phones at all. Along the way, people shared clothes, food, and water with other people. Some people had nothing at all with them. They jumped on the train in what they wore at home. Now it’s hard for them to remember those times, because they still have fear from everything they experienced.
During the train ride, there were so many people that some were just standing, because there were no seats on the train. Olena taught her little son to pronounce his name, surname, father’s and mother’s names, phone numbers, and address well in case something bad happens. God saved their lives! Initially, 12 people lived in one small old house with Olena’s family. Now there are less, because some have moved to other regions.
For Olena and her family, food aid today is an act of humanity and sacrifice. It is God’s care through faithful Evangelical Baptist Christians, she says. Thanks to the believers, as the church has become a place for such people to rest their hearts. Having gone through difficult times, Olena’s family is grateful to God for saving their lives! They are grateful that the church reads and interprets the Word of God clearly and understandably!
The love and compassion displaced Ukrainians are shown is a profound witness to God’s goodness and mercy. Through the emergency supplies generous friends like you help provide for Ukrainian churches to distribute, and the prayers you lift up for them, these families have seen the boundless love of Jesus Christ.