Ukraine Appeal — Light Amid the Darkness
“Among whom you shine as lights in the world.” Philippians 2:15
Since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, The Outreach Foundation has partnered with Beni Husarciuc, a staff member of Cru in Romania, to provide medical and other supplies for relief efforts in Lviv that our friends in the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church are providing. In June, a friend of Outreach joined Beni on one of his supply runs into Ukraine. What follows is a personal account of this visit that provides insight into the ways God is utilizing friendships developed over many years to come alongside people in Ukraine during the current crisis. For security purposes, we are withholding the identity of our friend who visited Ukraine.
Just as I was dropping off to sleep, the sound of an air raid siren blasted into the night. It was such a foreign sound that it took a minute for the meaning to sink into my tired brain. Beni and I were spending the night in a western Ukraine town far away from the war zone. Making my way downstairs, I wondered what was happening. By the time I stepped out into the parking lot, the noise had ceased. It was either a test of the nationwide siren system or a false alarm, but it brought a stark reminder of the war that continues to take the lives of tens of thousands and has displaced over 12 million people.
Watching the news and the horrible scenes of war and the terrible loss of life and property has often left me perplexed, angry, and sad. I know God is able to hold the breadth of suffering, pain, and loss in His outstretched arms on the cross, but I have found my heart breaking. These thoughts weighed heavily on my mind as I stood in the dark parking lot looking up at the night sky. Then I saw points of light amidst the darkness and my mind went back through the day I had spent with Beni Husarciuc. That day we had crossed from Romania and made our way into Mukachevo to deliver aid. We drove a van filled with supplies and met up with Genia and Lilya. I have known Genia and Lilya since they were ministry leaders for southern Ukraine and Mykolaiv.
When Russia invaded Ukraine in 2014, Genia became a chaplain for the army and continues in that capacity. He is also the pastor of a Protestant church. When the war started in February, their city of Mykolaiv was attacked. Several men in the church were military officers and were able to rally a defense of the city which pushed the Russians back. Mykolaiv continues to be one of the main Russian targets in the south. If it falls, the invading army will be able to move on to Odessa, Ukraine’s last large port.
Within a few days of the attack, over 60% of the city’s population had fled. Women and children from the church in Mykolaiv were received by the church we were visiting in Mukachevo. The men and a small team stayed behind in Mykolaiv, and the church’s mission and work entered a new phase.
Lilya and Genia are an amazing team. Lilya has been coordinating aid shipments and making sure the church has what it needs to minister to those left in the city. Every day there is shelling in Mykolaiv. Bombs have fallen near the church and the pastor’s house, but these leaders have stayed and are carrying aid and the love of Christ to the elderly and others who remained. Around 160 people attend the church service on Sundays, and they have four additional meetings a week with 60-90 in attendance each time. Most of these people are new to the church. Genia continues in his role as chaplain and leads small groups with the soldiers, many of whom are rotated away from the front for a few days’ rest and then sent back into the battle.
While Beni and I shared tea and some green borsch with Genia and Liliya, as well as the pastor and his wife hosting the displaced families from Mykolaiv, Genia received a call from one of the elders in his church. This elder is a young father in his mid-30s, second in command for a tactical group of over 500 men. They were in the hottest area of the war in Severodonetsk, which has since fallen. Genia took time to listen to, pray with, and be present for his friend and fellow elder. Dimitry shared with his pastor that the hardest thing had been clearing the battlefield of their dead. They had lost over 60 men from their tactical group earlier that week. Genia was steady, loving, and comforting as he spoke with Dimitry. This was just another day for Genia — this type of call and situation happens all the time. Another one of their elders, a lieutenant commander of 100 soldiers, had been killed three weeks before. When they held his funeral in the church in Mykolaiv, the mayor and many in the city attended and heard not only this fallen man honored but also Jesus Christ proclaimed. The lieutenant commander who had been killed was well known and highly respected, so there was much sadness and loss. The next day, a young soldier and his fiancée were wed in the same room where the funeral had been conducted. This juxtaposition is the reality of their lives and ministry.
All these things came into my mind as I looked up at the stars. My eyes filled with tears as I thought about the men and women serving in the midst of this war, shining as lights to bring comfort and help in the name of Jesus. While this did not eradicate my sadness or perplexity about the loss of life and pain, my heart was filled with awe and worship of our God who doesn't always give us an answer to the why questions. Instead, He shows up amid the darkness and brings His light, presence, and comfort. He does this through you and me and faithful, courageous followers like Lilya and Genia. One trip and shipment of supplies is not even a drop in the bucket, but it is the privilege and small part we all play in showing up and supporting others while they are amid the darkness. We are all placed in families, workplaces, and communities where our giving blesses and empowers others. His stretched arms hold the breadth of pain and darkness. Thank you for your partnership with us in blessing those who work in often unseen places bringing light into the darkness.
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