Stories from Ukraine –
“The day the last of my friends left I cried bitterly all day. I knew I couldn’t leave. My mother is disabled and there was no way to get her out. When I went out to get food for my mother and son, I had to learn to drive alongside tanks to get to the grocery store.”
My birthday falls on February 23rd and so that night my friends threw me a party and we had so much fun. I never dreamed the next morning I would wake up to the sound of bombs. Despite the attacks, I got ready and went to work that day as I had several important appointments. However, the attacks only increased, and I realized I should find a safe place to hide.
“As it turns out, my apartment was the safest place out of all my friends’ homes and so for several days we had 10 people and a dog laid out on mattresses in my living room and hallway. Within a few days, however, we realized the war wasn’t going to stop soon and, one by one, my friends gathered their family members and fled the country.
“The day the last of my friends left I cried bitterly all day. I knew I couldn’t leave. My mother is disabled and there was no way to get her out. When I went out to get food for my mother and son, I had to learn to drive alongside tanks to get to the grocery store. Several times we had to flee the grocery store because of aerial attacks. I felt such a heaviness for all those around me who didn’t know God and had no one to turn to with their fear and pain. I, on the other hand, could trust in the Lord to protect me, and I was thankful that in the struggle I was able to be a light to those around me.
“Now, there’s a group of us in the neighborhood who volunteer to drive around and deliver items to people who can’t go out on their own. We pool together any money we can find and divide up food and other items for the elderly and handicapped. I know that driving around is dangerous, but it is my choice to make. I may not be a soldier, but I am a fighter, and I will be part of our great victory”.
