I Care
Victor from Borodyanka
Borodyanka is one of the cities that the Russian troops came to “save” from peaceful lives, homes, loved ones, and life itself. Instead, the Russians left behind massive destruction and unbearable pain. Victor was one of those who suffered from that destruction. The most amazing part is that he and his entire family (five people) were able to leave the town at the very last moment, right before the Russians entered and occupied the town. Unfortunately, he couldn’t take his beloved dog with them, and it didn’t survive. Victor now shows others the ruins of his apartment that was completely destroyed. He shares that his family was so happy and enjoyed life so much there, but that now it is all gone. However, Victor is also very grateful that his whole family survived. He humbly received the iCare package from Mission Eurasia that his family needed so much. They now don’t have a place…
Anna from Kharkiv
“My mom and I are refugees from Kharkiv. I had an apartment there and lived with my dog Chaki. My mom lived in another area of the city. I am 57. I worked in a store, looked after my mom, and enjoyed my life. “On February 24, I woke up to the sounds of explosions and couldn’t believe that the war had started until I saw the tanks on our street. The first thought was about my mother. I quickly grabbed a couple things, my dog, and rushed to see her. Then life stopped. We had to spend 10 days in a cold basement, sometimes without electricity. Those were the scariest and hardest days of my life. I was really worried about my mom since she felt worse every day. During that time, my neighbor called me and told us something that was hard to process. Our apartment block had…
Anastasia and Little Kira
Anastasia Zyabko, her little daughter Kira (4 years old), and her mother Yelena became refugees in May 2022. That was when their village of Stariy Saltiv in the Kharkiv region was bombed. But before then, everything was quiet, and there were no signs of war in their area. But then the war started suddenly and was terrifying. The bombardment didn’t stop and people couldn’t leave their cellars for days. The village was cut off from all provisions, medical help, and even water. Anastasia shared that a missile hit one of the houses in the village, and a fire broke out. They quickly realized that the fire could reach the natural gas pipeline, which could cause a massive explosion. They knew that they had to put the fire out somehow, but there was already no water in the village. So people started bringing sand from the sand piles where children used…
From fearful Yazidi to child of God
“We are all going to hell!” Boris remembers his Yazidi grandmother in Armenia telling him this when he was a young man. These words frightened Boris, who turned to a Yazidi spiritual leader for hope. But he told Boris that only a select few would make it to paradise and that even spiritual leaders like himself couldn’t escape hell. Hopelessness and poverty surrounded Boris and led him to become an alcoholic. Despair among the Yazidi people is not surprising, says Don Parsons, Mission Eurasia’s ministry director for unreached people groups. “The Yazidis are a religious subgroup of the Kurdish people,” he says. “Most of them are animistic pagans who worship the sun and pay homage to Satan.” But someone shared the Light of the gospel with Boris. At first, when he heard about Jesus, Boris thought that Jesus was just the Armenian god. But he cried out to God and…
Grigorii’s Story: From Communist Party Leader to Follower of Christ
Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law. – Psalm 119:18 “I spent most of my adult life working as a local Communist Party leader,” shared Grigorii. “I ran meetings and kept lists of party members, including members who brought shame on our Party by doing things like attending church. My entire meaning in life was tied up in the Party. “When the Soviet Union fell, I lost my job and my life lost its meaning. I moved to a small town and struggled to make ends meet. I faced a lot of health problems, including difficulty walking and seeing. My old glasses were completely useless and I had no money for new ones. It got to the point where I could no longer watch TV or read a book, and instead I just listened to the radio. In the summer of 2014, I…
The Wonderful Gift of Mobility
For many years, Svetlana worked on a collective farm in a small village in the Chernigov region of Ukraine. This was very challenging, because she was often in poor health, but didn’t have time to take care of herself. For 15 years, the only thing that kept her going was her dream of retirement. She longed to spend time with her grandchildren and have a small farm of her own. In Svetlana’s words, “Life is so unpredictable.” When she was finally able to retire, her health worsened and she needed help with even the simplest of household tasks. Her husband lovingly cared for her, but sadly, he died not long after Svetlana’s retirement. His death was too much for Svetlana to handle, and she suffered a stroke, which left her bedridden. Since her children were working and unable to stay with her during the day, Svetlana just laid in bed…