“It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you nor forsake you.” Deuteronomy 31:8
One of our team members, Sarah Archer, was happy to write this blog about our last trip to Ukraine. And what a trip it was! So do enjoy reading about it, we pray you may be encouraged by the faithfulness of the Lord, even among difficult circumstances. What a joy and privilege it was to visit our brothers and sisters who serve so faithfully! We are so thankful for the time we could spend together, that we could mourn and rejoice together.
Thursday & Friday
We started off our trip reflecting on Deuteronomy 31.8. It was inscribed on a card, attached to some delicious banana bread – thank you Aude! We left Maastricht at around 4:30pm (our tummies full) and made our way to Dortmund airport. Travelling in Germany at rush hour resulted in us cutting things quite fine! We sprinted to the departure gate and made it onto the flight. We were very thankful that RyanAir accepted our bulging bags, packed full of donated coats and Ukrainian Bibles. Our flight went smoothly and we arrived safely in Katowice. We met up with Volva, Sergey, and Anastasia who drove us to Krakow, where we slept for the night.
5 am came around quickly! Bleary eyed, we packed into the van and made our way to the Ukrainian border. Thankfully, the queues were minimal and we made our way into the country without any problems. Driving into a country at war is a discombobulating experience. On the surface, life seemed to be carrying on as usual. However, the missile alert app on our phones, the donated clothes and food packages, and the stories from refugees, reminded us that this was a country at war.
We made it to Lviv, where we were warmly greeted by our wonderful hosts, Olga and Sasha. We renamed this couple our ‘Ukrainian Mum and Dad’! Olga translated for us and Sasha cooked the most delicious Ukrainian food. At the end of the trip we likened ourselves to little ducklings who followed dear mother Olga around. We could not have done this trip without both her and Sasha!
After a delicious bowl of Borsht we set to work, creating packages of food. We packed plastic bags full of donated items which had been donated by our family of churches. These packages are delivered across Lviv to refugees who are in need. We were amazed by how tirelessly and selflessly the church works together to serve their community.
Thanks Giving
For God’s protection as we travelled into Ukraine.
For Olga and Sasha’s warm hospitality
Prayer
For rest for Olga and Sasha as they work long hours and use their home to welcome refugees and serve the church.
For the people of Ukraine that they would know the hope and comfort of Jesus, the Prince of Peace.
