We Are Refugees Now
How wrong I was when I wrote to you last time that Putin would not dare to do evil and attack Ukraine in front of the entire civilized world. He did it, and we see heartbreaking photos and videos of destroyed homes, hospitals, and kindergartens; of people hiding in basements for many days in a row without water, heat, and food. Putin is destroying our country in a brazen way right before the eyes of the whole world. And the whole world is afraid to intervene for fear of starting World War III. But the war is already underway, unfortunately. And the world is ready to sacrifice Ukraine for the sake of peace in their own countries. Will Putin stop there?
A little about us: On the first day of the war, we jumped into our car along with several friends and left Kyiv to the sound of exploding shells. The family that we helped to evacuate lived in Irpin, and the shooting was really close. Our hearts are crying, because Irpin has now been captured by the Russians. It is nearly impossible to evacuate from there.
God prepared a temporary home for us in a small village near Lviv. Sister Julia from our church had moved there a year ago. She knew God wanted her to live there, but she didn't know why. Now God is using Julia and her home to provide shelter for people fleeing the war. For a whole week, we prepared firewood to heat the rooms for the arriving refugees. We prayed and cried together because of the news from the front line.
Now our whole church has been dispersed. Our Christian family has evacuated to Poland, Romania, Germany, and Hungary. We are located in Switzerland now. (As a foreigner Vitaly was permitted to exit Ukraine with the family. Alexandra and the girls hold Ukrainian passports.) Next to us is the same family that we evacuated from Irpin. Pray for our young brothers from the church. They had never held weapons in their hands, and they are absolutely not ready for war, but they are not allowed out of Ukraine. These are programmers and customer-support workers. Two more sisters are trying to reach Ukraine’s border with Poland right now. A ten-hour drive can take up to four days now and is very dangerous. We had a bittersweet church meeting on Sunday via zoom. It was joyful to see familiar faces, but it was hard to realize that perhaps we will never again gather together in Kyiv as a church family.
Some very compassionate people are taking care of us in Switzerland. They are believers. The girls even have their own room. And the second family from Irpin is only two houses away from us. Now we are looking for opportunities to connect people in Switzerland who are willing to accept refugees with Ukrainians in need of housing. We are very grateful to God that Europe has opened its doors to everyone who wants to escape from the war. If you know of anyone who wishes to evacuate to Switzerland, please let us know.
Today, the first Ukrainian family we will help arrives. Perhaps this is what we will be doing for the next few months – meeting refugees and helping them settle in Switzerland. But truly, we are exhausted and feel as if someone has knocked the ground out from under our feet. We are surrounded by uncertainty. Please pray for us. Pray for our girls also; they are confused and do not understand the situation either. Keep praying for Ukraine as brave Ukrainian soldiers defend every square meter of their land.
Your Ukrainian family in Christ,
VK