3.15.2022. We are leaving Ukraine today. I have no words. It is very emotional. We left around 8:30am and are now sitting at the border at 12:30, but we have been here for awhile. Maybe since 12. The line is not too bad. We are only a 1/4 mile away now. We are praying theyContinue reading “War Stories: Day 20-21, From Ukraine to Romania”
Category Archives: Ukraine
War Stories: Days 12-19, Bittersweet days in Kolomyya.
By the end, it was just the 2 of us and Galya’s family. Everyone else had made their decision and moved on. And now what? We no longer had a ministry or a plan. On March 7th, we moved to an empty house that belonged to a friend of a friend of a friend inContinue reading “War Stories: Days 12-19, Bittersweet days in Kolomyya.”
War Stories: Days 5-11, Uneasy Rest in Ternopil
2/28/22 Time moves differently in war. Our 2.5 days in the basement felt like a week. Even though it had only been two days since we had seen Galya and the others, it felt so much longer. We were joyfully reunited the morning of the 28th, relieved they had made it safely out of Kyiv.Continue reading “War Stories: Days 5-11, Uneasy Rest in Ternopil”
War Stories: Day 4, The Long Drive Out
From this point on, my journal entries became pretty sparse. I have some key dates and timeline events, but not much else. I was struggling with a sinus infection from the mold and damp of the basement plus early and unknown pregnancy symptoms. Not to mention the stress from the war, which compounded everything andContinue reading “War Stories: Day 4, The Long Drive Out”
War Journal: Day 3, Leaving Kyiv
2/26/2022 Day 3. Nobody can agree what to do. What is safest. What is best for all. We cannot get ahold of one man who has a big bus and said he would take us. We do not know if he still alive, still in the country, or had to leave his phone behind. OurContinue reading “War Journal: Day 3, Leaving Kyiv”
War Journal: Day 2, Losing Power
2/25/2022 7am. We slept in the basement last night. It was cold. We didn’t sleep very well. Every time there was bombing we woke up and listened. I got up at 11 and then again at 3, then 4. There was supposedly an air raid at 3am across all Kyiv. It was very nerve-wracking. SaraContinue reading “War Journal: Day 2, Losing Power”
War Journal: Day 1, Laying Low
It has been exactly one year since the war in Ukraine escalated from mild skirmishes on the eastern front to a full out invasion of the whole country. At the time, I knew how important it would be to keep a journal of events, whether that was so I could remember and process it later,Continue reading “War Journal: Day 1, Laying Low”
For Such a Time As This: 2022
It’s hard to believe the year is nearly over. In some ways it has been one of the longest years ever, and in others it has flown by. If you had told us in January that we would spend the majority of the year living and serving in Romania, and that we would have aContinue reading “For Such a Time As This: 2022”
Ukrainian Decal Stickers
My dad organized this awesome fundraiser for us! These Stand With Ukraine decal stickers are beautiful and full of symbolism. But if you’re not familiar with Ukrainian culture and history, it’s a little harder to understand. So I’ve broken it down, letter by letter. U: Wheat Fields Starting with the letter U we can seeContinue reading “Ukrainian Decal Stickers”
Bittersweet Pascha
Today, Orthodox Christians around the globe celebrate Pascha, or Easter. Actually the services started yesterday, vigils held at midnight. Lent is over, fasting is broken, and Christ is Risen! This is always, always Good News. And yet there is a pervasive, bittersweet sorrow among Ukrainians who celebrate today. It has been 60 days of war.Continue reading “Bittersweet Pascha”