Meet Nastia.
She’s a 13 year old Ukrainian girl. She learned to play the saxophone as a refugee in Romania, waiting to get her life back. In the words of her mom, “We weren’t poor. We owned a factory with many employees. Then the Russians bombed it. Now we have nothing.” Home is now a hotel room in Romania and the future is a question mark. Her brother is 19 and still in Ukraine because men of fighting age cannot leave the country. He was a dental student at a University. Now, he wonders if his future is war.
I met many people like this, whose stories really could be mine. We are so far removed over here on our own safe little continent. Because we don’t share a border with bullies like Russia, identifying with the Ukrainian people can be so difficult for us. Sometimes, their stories are really just reduced to overwhelming statistics that numb us.
My eyes will never unsee the desperation I experienced in Ukraine and my heart will never be unbroken for these people who live in the fear-filled unknown.
Before I left on this trip, I had just completed a Bible study with a sweet group of girls about the feeding of the 5,000. It will always be one of my favorites. Because Jesus took the little lunch that a boy offered him and with this small sacrifice, he did more than anyone expected or imagined. And then, he gathered up the leftovers. Because he wastes nothing.
I think of that little boy every time I read the story. In a crowd of 5,000 there was no way he was the only one with a lunch. But he was the one willing to hand his over to Jesus. He was willing to sacrifice. And that step of faith led to a miracle. An opportunity for thousands to experience the power of Jesus.
Often, I identify with that little boy. I don’t feel like I have much to offer. Jesus needs to feed thousands and all I have is a tiny lunch. But when I boarded that plane for Eastern Europe, I said a simple prayer to the Lord, Here is my lunch.
My experiences in Romania and Ukraine were so rich and beautiful. Heart-breaking and eye-opening. I was challenged and inspired. Convicted and encouraged. The Romanian and Ukrainian believers I encountered showed me a life lived out sacrificially and faithfully.
They truly live the gospel.
Romania
Hope Partners operates a Hope Center in Romania for orphans as well as day programs for children living in extreme poverty. These children still need sponsorships which provide them with food, clothing and education as well as also meeting the needs of their family. The vision of Hope Partners is not just to feed and clothe, but to bring life transformation through the hope of Jesus.
I joined a food distribution, visiting the places these children call home. What I saw shocked me.
Ceilings covered with black mold, walls with gaping holes. No running water. No bathrooms. Air thick with things children shouldn’t be breathing in. It’s late April and so incredibly cold I cannot fathom what it must feel like to live here in the winter. The needs just for these centers are many. There are plans to install showers at the day center so these children can bathe. Often when the team arrives in the morning the kids are already waiting outside. Hungry and cold, knowing refuge and food await them.
The passion of the team at the Hope Center to love these children is evident in everything they do. This isn’t their job. It’s their life mission. They truly love the least of these. The need is overwhelming.
(If you’ve ever considered sponsoring a child, there is one waiting for you here. I assure you based on what I saw with my own eyes, your partnership will bring radical transformation to a desperate life.)
War
When the war broke out across the border, the Hope Partners team responded immediately. They didn’t have to be asked. They live life with intention. With great passion and conviction. The Hope Partners’ director along with local pastors filled vans with food and water, generators and Bibles. And they headed north.
At the early stages of the war, many NGO’s and ministries stationed themselves in Poland and other countries on the western border of Ukraine. But at the small border crossing on the Danube River into Romania, there was no one.
So these pastors went. Wearing vests which said in several different languages, “How can I help?” they faced a sea of shell-shocked women and children. They gave them rides. They found them housing. Often, they welcomed them into their own homes. And they didn’t stop there. They drove into the war zone, bringing truth and hope.
These Romanians, with the support of Hope Partners, were the only ones we are aware of bringing in relief from the southern border. Over a year later it’s still these brave pastors who make the trips with supplies and support that come from your generous donations.
One of these men, Pastor Florine, drove the van I rode in. He is a friend of everyone and must smile in his sleep. He told us about the early days of the war when a few of them headed into Ukraine with water and food and Bibles. The satellites and GPS were a scrambled mess back then and resulted in them weaving throughout the Ukrainian countryside, unable to find their original destination and mysteriously missing the multiple military checkpoints. Suddenly, they found themselves at the front lines of the war, shocking the Ukrainian soldiers who confiscated their passports, took their phones, accused them of being spies and threatened arrest all while bombs exploded nearby. Florine tells this all with laughter and joy. “We go by faith. We share the gospel. Used to be maybe 4 people would listen. Now we have huge crowds.”
They caravan, these men. They plan trips around their church services and daily commitments. They sit for hours at the ferry. They count it all joy. This trip they brought their sons and there was great friendship shared between these boys. My heart is full.
One of these brave pastors is in need of a vehicle. We’d like to supply a van for his ministry. He believes he is called to plant a church in Ukraine. I’ve seen first hand his bravery and life lived on mission. His van will no doubt transport countless supplies and refugees. His focus is for the Kingdom.
(If you’d like to contribute to this, you can do so here. Please put “Van for Sandu” in the note. I can say with confidence, this is an investment for lives changed. For hope. For eternity.)
Romanians don’t have a lot to spare. But I witnessed them giving everything they have. Their time, their resources, their homes. It is so convicting. And so beautiful.
Ukraine
Across the border into Ukraine we were warmly accepted at Skinia Church in Izmail. This is the center of the refugee work Hope Partners does in Ukraine. They are part of a network that moves supplies farther into the war zone. They welcome the refugees and invite them into their homes, their church, their lives. They distribute food and clothing to the thousands of displaced people filling their city. They’ve been doing this for over a year without growing weary.
This church here and these beautiful people live hope.
They not only love refugees well, they loved us well. They fed us the most amazing meals and graciously put up with us not understanding their language and culture. All night, they worked assembling the supplies we brought and stood by while people thanked us, the Americans who have done so little, while they sacrifice it all and live on the front lines of a war zone.
The distribution brought many women and children who have suffered much. Their reality is beyond what I can comprehend. They have so little. And while we were able to give them food and shoes and backpacks for their kids, we still had to watch them walk away, back into their desperate unknown.
These Ukrainians are a strong and beautiful people. And the nightmare they live is ongoing. To look into the eyes of little kids, and then look into the eyes of their mothers is a sacred experience. This is the picture of fighting to survive. This is desperation. This is a call for justice and action.
So I come back to my comfy home in America. With no threat of war at my border. What can I do?
I may not have refugees to take in. But I do now have a story to tell.
And so I think of my prayer. My offer to the Lord, Here is my lunch.
And I will give what little I can.
So today, it is the story. The picture of what I experienced. The testimony of these faithful men. The beauty of the gospel being lived out with so much hope. The need. The reality that war is still raging and people are still desperate. And we have an opportunity to help. And contrary to what we tell ourselves, we truly live in great abundance.
Living in America, so far from the reality of war can feel helpless. But we have Romanians and Ukrainians on the front lines, willing to go. Ready for anything. Committed to the end, no matter how long that will be.
They need us.
The fields are ripe. And these fearless people are willing. Please partner with us to support them.
Sponsor a child. Help purchase a van headed to the front lines. Buy supplies.
This is true Kingdom work.
And what we give to the Lord will never be wasted.
