Ukraine
Many people we first met at the beginning of the war were convinced that the war would be over soon and they would all be back home by the end of the summer. That was hope for all of us at the time. I will never forget the conversation we had with a Christian psychologist. We have been discussing how we help people get over the physiological trauma of the war and the evacuation. That was the main issue, the problem to address here and now. But for her, that was a minor issue; as a doctor, she looked into the future and foreseen more significant problems - depression, desperation, hopelessness, and suicidal inclinations. She looked at us and said: these are inevitable, and it will hit people hard. An invisible enemy that will attack from the inside, the battle of the mind.
We have been so overwhelmed with traumatic episodes HERE AND NOW that looking into the future was not something that would have come easily; we have prayed and thought, how can we be ready, what can we do to help people, but we have never been expecting such an enormous and an overwhelming wave of hopelessness. For many refugees, mainly women and mothers, this had come with the realization that their kids would have to be in school. We are getting hundreds of calls from mothers sobbing with hopelessness and frustration, fear and overwhelming anxiety. There are hours and hours of comforting and praying, but a smile is hidden. In the last several weeks the, words like “I have nothing to live for,”; “I have got no energy to face another day,”; “ I am so tired that I have no desire to see another day,”; “why am I still alive, it would have been better to die from the bombings in Ukraine.”.
With the time and procrastination of the war, with fading hope of the war ending soon, there are fewer and fewer people available to help people like them. I remember conversing with one of the mothers about their time and adjustment in the new country. I remember her saying to me: “as much as we are grateful for all the help we have been given, for the use of translations in the schools, for helping us understand the message in the church, there is need more than understanding a message, we need to be able to talk to someone, pray and worship with someone in the language we all understand. We need a time of fellowship.” Thus, we have to pray, asking the Lord for guidance, the place and time for people to help one another. Suddenly I realized, perhaps more than ever before, that the primary NEED, the church's main calling, IS fellowship.
While facing the challenges in the “safe” land, there is a non-stop challenge in the war zone. The flood of people seems to have no end; every week, two twenty-seater vans leave Ukraine with refugees. People that come to the House of Hope from Kherson, Mykolaiv, Primorsk, and Odesa with tears in their eyes say: “we were told that you would not cast us out, and you are the only one who would help us.” Non-stop flow of people, hurt, stories of atrocities they have gone through, pain, and anguish. At times hearing the stories of their lives and feeling like you have walked their alley of death with them, there are days I can’t write a word. My journaling or communication is minimized to almost none. THERE IS STILL WAR and vicious and painful and brutal WAR.
The war leaves people broken, hopeless, empty, and hungry. Simple and essential food is still a luxury for many people in southern Ukraine, even more so in the remote villages that had been hit hard with corona restrictions and now the war. The nonstop messages from the government of Ukraine to prepare for the most brutal winter ever do not help much. Older adults wish to die before the winter, not wanting to suffer from cold and starvation. Such a weird, weird thing, this is the country that has been invited to join the EU. The crisis of war, famine, and now energy crisis is hitting people in the southern part of Ukraine in an unthinkable way.
“IF YOU CAN’T FEED A HUNDRED PEOPLE, THEN FEED JUST ONE.” –SAID MOTHER TERESA. These words are so relevant to what we see now taking place around us. Not only in the southern part of Ukraine but here locally as well. How WONDERFUL that God placed the church and good people as agents of help, love, compassion, and mercy for the hurting people.
Thank you for your prayers. Because of your prayers, hundreds of women and children and finding refuge in the EU, hundreds are helped locally in Ukraine, and the team of people volunteering is still just amazing and keeps on moving. They are my heroes of faith - six months of persistent pain, hurt and hard work, but they are still moving, still going.
It has been a tough month for us in the midst of all that we have been going through; my mom went to be with the Lord 12 days ago. Having to go to the funeral and flying to Latvia from various places was difficult, but we are humbled and very thankful to those who knew and prayed for us. People often ask me - “how are you holding up,” and there is always a challenge, what do I say, the truth or polite? The polite - I am Ok or the fact - I am not well yet, but I will be.
Today, we celebrate our wedding anniversary, the first one without my mom's phone call and prayer of blessing over us. We have decided to go for a short getaway in Bergen this weekend to be alone, reflect on His mercies, and celebrate His faithfulness.
Thank you for your continued support.
Many people we first met at the beginning of the war were convinced that the war would be over soon and they would all be back home by the end of the summer. That was hope for all of us at the time. I will never forget the conversation we had with a Christian psychologist. We have been discussing how we help people get over the physiological trauma of the war and the evacuation. That was the main issue, the problem to address here and now. But for her, that was a minor issue; as a doctor, she looked into the future and foreseen more significant problems - depression, desperation, hopelessness, and suicidal inclinations. She looked at us and said: these are inevitable, and it will hit people hard. An invisible enemy that will attack from the inside, the battle of the mind.
We have been so overwhelmed with traumatic episodes HERE AND NOW that looking into the future was not something that would have come easily; we have prayed and thought, how can we be ready, what can we do to help people, but we have never been expecting such an enormous and an overwhelming wave of hopelessness. For many refugees, mainly women and mothers, this had come with the realization that their kids would have to be in school. We are getting hundreds of calls from mothers sobbing with hopelessness and frustration, fear and overwhelming anxiety. There are hours and hours of comforting and praying, but a smile is hidden. In the last several weeks the, words like “I have nothing to live for,”; “I have got no energy to face another day,”; “ I am so tired that I have no desire to see another day,”; “why am I still alive, it would have been better to die from the bombings in Ukraine.”.
With the time and procrastination of the war, with fading hope of the war ending soon, there are fewer and fewer people available to help people like them. I remember conversing with one of the mothers about their time and adjustment in the new country. I remember her saying to me: “as much as we are grateful for all the help we have been given, for the use of translations in the schools, for helping us understand the message in the church, there is need more than understanding a message, we need to be able to talk to someone, pray and worship with someone in the language we all understand. We need a time of fellowship.” Thus, we have to pray, asking the Lord for guidance, the place and time for people to help one another. Suddenly I realized, perhaps more than ever before, that the primary NEED, the church's main calling, IS fellowship.
While facing the challenges in the “safe” land, there is a non-stop challenge in the war zone. The flood of people seems to have no end; every week, two twenty-seater vans leave Ukraine with refugees. People that come to the House of Hope from Kherson, Mykolaiv, Primorsk, and Odesa with tears in their eyes say: “we were told that you would not cast us out, and you are the only one who would help us.” Non-stop flow of people, hurt, stories of atrocities they have gone through, pain, and anguish. At times hearing the stories of their lives and feeling like you have walked their alley of death with them, there are days I can’t write a word. My journaling or communication is minimized to almost none. THERE IS STILL WAR and vicious and painful and brutal WAR.
The war leaves people broken, hopeless, empty, and hungry. Simple and essential food is still a luxury for many people in southern Ukraine, even more so in the remote villages that had been hit hard with corona restrictions and now the war. The nonstop messages from the government of Ukraine to prepare for the most brutal winter ever do not help much. Older adults wish to die before the winter, not wanting to suffer from cold and starvation. Such a weird, weird thing, this is the country that has been invited to join the EU. The crisis of war, famine, and now energy crisis is hitting people in the southern part of Ukraine in an unthinkable way.
“IF YOU CAN’T FEED A HUNDRED PEOPLE, THEN FEED JUST ONE.” –SAID MOTHER TERESA. These words are so relevant to what we see now taking place around us. Not only in the southern part of Ukraine but here locally as well. How WONDERFUL that God placed the church and good people as agents of help, love, compassion, and mercy for the hurting people.
Thank you for your prayers. Because of your prayers, hundreds of women and children and finding refuge in the EU, hundreds are helped locally in Ukraine, and the team of people volunteering is still just amazing and keeps on moving. They are my heroes of faith - six months of persistent pain, hurt and hard work, but they are still moving, still going.
It has been a tough month for us in the midst of all that we have been going through; my mom went to be with the Lord 12 days ago. Having to go to the funeral and flying to Latvia from various places was difficult, but we are humbled and very thankful to those who knew and prayed for us. People often ask me - “how are you holding up,” and there is always a challenge, what do I say, the truth or polite? The polite - I am Ok or the fact - I am not well yet, but I will be.
Today, we celebrate our wedding anniversary, the first one without my mom's phone call and prayer of blessing over us. We have decided to go for a short getaway in Bergen this weekend to be alone, reflect on His mercies, and celebrate His faithfulness.
Thank you for your continued support.
