🔵6 March, Sunday
We had a good sleep through the night, it’s quiet here at the moment. We’re hoping to go to church and have communion.
It was lovely to celebrate communion together with our church. To be able to strengthen, encourage each other through the bread and wine, through the music and through the word of God. We heard some amazing testimonies from people and how they are experiencing this time of war. A lot of very honest stories were shared. Stories of fear, panic, sadness, but also stories of God answering, peace of heart, faith and trust.
At the moment our church is the one of the few churches in our city (Brovary) which is still having services. Because of this we had many brothers and sisters from different denominations with us, celebrating communion together. All theological differences disappear during a war. The service is being held in a room underneath the church for safety and security reasons.
This afternoon Nazar Draga came over for lunch. He is the chief engineer for Zeelandia Ukraine. The past 11 days he hasn't left the Zeelandia building. He sleeps there and coordinates the security of the soupprogram. Aside from the regular security there's also a group of armed soldiers present at Zeelandia.
We had a good sleep through the night, it’s quiet here at the moment. We’re hoping to go to church and have communion.
It was lovely to celebrate communion together with our church. To be able to strengthen, encourage each other through the bread and wine, through the music and through the word of God. We heard some amazing testimonies from people and how they are experiencing this time of war. A lot of very honest stories were shared. Stories of fear, panic, sadness, but also stories of God answering, peace of heart, faith and trust.
At the moment our church is the one of the few churches in our city (Brovary) which is still having services. Because of this we had many brothers and sisters from different denominations with us, celebrating communion together. All theological differences disappear during a war. The service is being held in a room underneath the church for safety and security reasons.
This afternoon Nazar Draga came over for lunch. He is the chief engineer for Zeelandia Ukraine. The past 11 days he hasn't left the Zeelandia building. He sleeps there and coordinates the security of the soupprogram. Aside from the regular security there's also a group of armed soldiers present at Zeelandia.
🔵 7 March, Monday
We had a quiet night. This morning the first truck of supplies departed from the Netherlands. This will go to Poland where it will be transferred to another truck which'll go to Ukraine. another convoy departed this evening.
Nazar (who visited yesterday) told us that he could see explosions and fire in the distance from the Zeelandia building. Ukrainian soldiers have been fighting for our safety for 12 days now...
I really want to keep trusting in God, I see and believe that He is doing great things. But I also feel incredibly frustrated when I see the courage of our Ukrainian soldiers compared to the weakness of Europe.
On a completely different subject: Medicine. It's increasingly difficult to find medicne for Petro and we were almost running out. Thankfully a volunteer was able to provide us enough for the next 200 days, but there are still many other people and children who need them.
We've also run out of milk products, so we're trying to order some fresh milk from a nearby village.
There's also a lot of abandoned pets. A lot of beautiful dogs can be seen wandering the streets. A woman from church told me you can hear a lot of howling dogs and meowing cats in empty apartments.
We had an emergency meeting with some pastors because two large Zeelandia trucks will come to Brovary from Lviv (near the Polish border). Zeelandia will start dedicating a part of it's storage facilities to humanitarian supplies. We will continue planning this tomorrow. We're also planning to start a call centre for people who will attempt to find out what is most needed. We're also looking for a team of volunteers who will help unloading and the organising of further transport. We intend to organise this with the help of pastors from nearby villages and the city Chernigiv. A lot of landmines have been placed so we need to be very careful. We will contact the Ukrainian army to determine the safe transport routes. These may differ each day.
We also had many people use our cafe as an opportunity to warm up and have some soup and tea. Imagine! We are the only restaurant which is 'open' during war time!
It's very hard to see so many people leave. There's fewer and fewer people left who can help do the work needed all while there's more and more work to do.
Today the 'daycare' that is our home was open again. While two other mums stayed with the kids I drove to a nearby supermarket with another lady. They had milk (YAY!), long shelf milk. I honestly felt a little guilty loading 12 litres (3.2 gallons) into my cart because other people could also want the milk. But I'm not sure when I'll have another opportunity to go to this store. I also got some coloured paper, scissors, glue, clay, paint and coloured chalk for our little daycare. Tomorrow a young woman from our church hopes to come over with her mum with some activities for the kids. Darina is a teacher in the kindergarten of Brovary. I'm very curious to see what she came up with!
To end the day we played a game of charades with the kids. While Petro's skill in the game is legendary, it took us a good while before we guessed 'flying dinosaur'. It truly is a blessing to have a child with Down syndrome!
We had a quiet night. This morning the first truck of supplies departed from the Netherlands. This will go to Poland where it will be transferred to another truck which'll go to Ukraine. another convoy departed this evening.
Nazar (who visited yesterday) told us that he could see explosions and fire in the distance from the Zeelandia building. Ukrainian soldiers have been fighting for our safety for 12 days now...
I really want to keep trusting in God, I see and believe that He is doing great things. But I also feel incredibly frustrated when I see the courage of our Ukrainian soldiers compared to the weakness of Europe.
On a completely different subject: Medicine. It's increasingly difficult to find medicne for Petro and we were almost running out. Thankfully a volunteer was able to provide us enough for the next 200 days, but there are still many other people and children who need them.
We've also run out of milk products, so we're trying to order some fresh milk from a nearby village.
There's also a lot of abandoned pets. A lot of beautiful dogs can be seen wandering the streets. A woman from church told me you can hear a lot of howling dogs and meowing cats in empty apartments.
We had an emergency meeting with some pastors because two large Zeelandia trucks will come to Brovary from Lviv (near the Polish border). Zeelandia will start dedicating a part of it's storage facilities to humanitarian supplies. We will continue planning this tomorrow. We're also planning to start a call centre for people who will attempt to find out what is most needed. We're also looking for a team of volunteers who will help unloading and the organising of further transport. We intend to organise this with the help of pastors from nearby villages and the city Chernigiv. A lot of landmines have been placed so we need to be very careful. We will contact the Ukrainian army to determine the safe transport routes. These may differ each day.
We also had many people use our cafe as an opportunity to warm up and have some soup and tea. Imagine! We are the only restaurant which is 'open' during war time!
It's very hard to see so many people leave. There's fewer and fewer people left who can help do the work needed all while there's more and more work to do.
Today the 'daycare' that is our home was open again. While two other mums stayed with the kids I drove to a nearby supermarket with another lady. They had milk (YAY!), long shelf milk. I honestly felt a little guilty loading 12 litres (3.2 gallons) into my cart because other people could also want the milk. But I'm not sure when I'll have another opportunity to go to this store. I also got some coloured paper, scissors, glue, clay, paint and coloured chalk for our little daycare. Tomorrow a young woman from our church hopes to come over with her mum with some activities for the kids. Darina is a teacher in the kindergarten of Brovary. I'm very curious to see what she came up with!
To end the day we played a game of charades with the kids. While Petro's skill in the game is legendary, it took us a good while before we guessed 'flying dinosaur'. It truly is a blessing to have a child with Down syndrome!
🔵 8 March, Tuesday
Dear people,
Yesterday Andrey and I talked about me doubting if we are doing the right thing... staying here. The immense psychological pressure is a main cause for this feeling. Every time a reporter calls, I'm asked if we are using the existing humanitarian channels. But every time God points us to our task here. Today's verse was Proverbs 31:20'"She extends a helping hand to the poor and opens her arms to the needy"
As more people are leaving, those who remain are becoming poorer and needier. Of course this does also mean that we are now able to start receiving humanitarian supplies alongside our Bread and soup program. Does this mean I'd particularly like to be here? Not at all. But when I imagine myself somewhere different, having to leave Andrey behind, I know I can't and shouldn't leave. Please keep praying for us!
At the moment we can hear the Ukrainian troops shelling Russians near Bogdanovka, about 21 km (13 miles) away. We can see it from Zeelandia as we are loading up bread and soup to drop off throughout the city.
We just ready Judges 7 with the kids. The victory belongs to the Lord, but in our case it isn't torches and broken pots, but brave Ukrainian soldiers who are working hard to protect us.
I spent the main part of the day at home and while I could hear heavy artillery firing nearby, I had decided to mop all our floors. I was so encouraged by bible readings, songs and your messages that I told God “let them pray, I’m going to start cleaning!”.
It was a really odd realisation I had. I found that doing chores I don’t usually particularly enjoy was quite therapeutic actually. It gave me hope to be able to stay here longer because the house was clean again.
In the afternoon Andrey came home from Zeelandia and the sun started shining a bit. I suggested going for a short walk so we could spend some quality time together. However, at the last second I changed my mind and suggested it might be better to pick up my father in-law, so we did. We were just on our way as a Missile hit the city. Initially we thought it hit a residential area, but it later turned out to have hit a storage facility for washing powder. Regardless, it was quite a scare and Andrey quickly brought me home and picked up my father in-law.
Once we were all home Andrey went to pick up a good friend of my father in-law and will provide him with a car from Zeelandia so he can evacuate my father in-law to Mukachevo. From there friends of ours will bring him to the border with Hungary from where he will be picked up by my brother-in-law, Pavlik, who lives in Finland. My father in-law has Alzheimer's and doesn't understand it's war. If we need to stay in our neighbours basement for safety, it would be incredibly difficult if my father in-law were with us.
Let me tell you, when that missile hit… All the hope and courage that had been building up vanished instantly. Once again I started doubting whether I should stay. This was made worse when i was called by our colleague Lena Indylo. She’s going to attempt to evacuate to the Netherlands tomorrow…
I became so incredibly angry all of a sudden. Angry at everything, at everybody! Even angry at God… Yes, I got angry at God! It bothered me that the West isn’t closing the airspace, it’s really not ok. But this also goes to show how incredibly ugly the current situation is.
However, there’s such a strong wall of prayer surrounding us and I genuinely, 100% trust in God’s protection. I just read the kids some of the bible stories about God saving His people. And yet, despite all of this, a missile impact. It’s the first time in 13 days I was so incredibly upset which really isn’t good for our kids.
I prayed with Andrey for wisdom and a clear confirmation of the choice we made…
We, under no circumstance, want our family to be separated…
Anyway, I share these personal battles openly with you. I don’t know many of you personally, but I want this to be an honest story… With all the ups and downs.
Everyone is soundly asleep now.
Dear people,
Yesterday Andrey and I talked about me doubting if we are doing the right thing... staying here. The immense psychological pressure is a main cause for this feeling. Every time a reporter calls, I'm asked if we are using the existing humanitarian channels. But every time God points us to our task here. Today's verse was Proverbs 31:20'"She extends a helping hand to the poor and opens her arms to the needy"
As more people are leaving, those who remain are becoming poorer and needier. Of course this does also mean that we are now able to start receiving humanitarian supplies alongside our Bread and soup program. Does this mean I'd particularly like to be here? Not at all. But when I imagine myself somewhere different, having to leave Andrey behind, I know I can't and shouldn't leave. Please keep praying for us!
At the moment we can hear the Ukrainian troops shelling Russians near Bogdanovka, about 21 km (13 miles) away. We can see it from Zeelandia as we are loading up bread and soup to drop off throughout the city.
We just ready Judges 7 with the kids. The victory belongs to the Lord, but in our case it isn't torches and broken pots, but brave Ukrainian soldiers who are working hard to protect us.
I spent the main part of the day at home and while I could hear heavy artillery firing nearby, I had decided to mop all our floors. I was so encouraged by bible readings, songs and your messages that I told God “let them pray, I’m going to start cleaning!”.
It was a really odd realisation I had. I found that doing chores I don’t usually particularly enjoy was quite therapeutic actually. It gave me hope to be able to stay here longer because the house was clean again.
In the afternoon Andrey came home from Zeelandia and the sun started shining a bit. I suggested going for a short walk so we could spend some quality time together. However, at the last second I changed my mind and suggested it might be better to pick up my father in-law, so we did. We were just on our way as a Missile hit the city. Initially we thought it hit a residential area, but it later turned out to have hit a storage facility for washing powder. Regardless, it was quite a scare and Andrey quickly brought me home and picked up my father in-law.
Once we were all home Andrey went to pick up a good friend of my father in-law and will provide him with a car from Zeelandia so he can evacuate my father in-law to Mukachevo. From there friends of ours will bring him to the border with Hungary from where he will be picked up by my brother-in-law, Pavlik, who lives in Finland. My father in-law has Alzheimer's and doesn't understand it's war. If we need to stay in our neighbours basement for safety, it would be incredibly difficult if my father in-law were with us.
Let me tell you, when that missile hit… All the hope and courage that had been building up vanished instantly. Once again I started doubting whether I should stay. This was made worse when i was called by our colleague Lena Indylo. She’s going to attempt to evacuate to the Netherlands tomorrow…
I became so incredibly angry all of a sudden. Angry at everything, at everybody! Even angry at God… Yes, I got angry at God! It bothered me that the West isn’t closing the airspace, it’s really not ok. But this also goes to show how incredibly ugly the current situation is.
However, there’s such a strong wall of prayer surrounding us and I genuinely, 100% trust in God’s protection. I just read the kids some of the bible stories about God saving His people. And yet, despite all of this, a missile impact. It’s the first time in 13 days I was so incredibly upset which really isn’t good for our kids.
I prayed with Andrey for wisdom and a clear confirmation of the choice we made…
We, under no circumstance, want our family to be separated…
Anyway, I share these personal battles openly with you. I don’t know many of you personally, but I want this to be an honest story… With all the ups and downs.
Everyone is soundly asleep now.
🔵 9 March, Wednesday
We had a rather bad night due to a lot of air raid alarms and artillery in the area. Thank you for your prayers and encouragement through it all.
We just heard another two families with kids from our little group are leaving. Fathers aren’t allowed to leave the country. I just got a call from Darina (one of our teachers) who, in tears, told me her family had decided to leave as well. She asked me for forgiveness… But there’s nothing to forgive. There no longer are wrong decisions. Only one family with kids of school ages remains in our church. This is incredibly discouraging! I can finally understand what David meant when he said “My heart screams in pain” or as Jeremiah says to God “You are as a bear lying in wait”. These are real questions and emotions!
My father left this morning with his friend Misha. The farewell was surreal. For how long will we not see him? His friend hopes to return to Brovary after dropping him off.
After my father-in-law left Angelina, the manager of our cafe, was brought by her parents. She’s an only child and her father is bringing her mum and her aunt to western Ukraine. Her parents were very upset. We are now responsible for her.
My first reaction upon hearing even more people are leaving was that you’d have to be mad to stay… But that’s a psychological reaction fueled by fear and the immense discouragement that comes when people leave.
I’ve started packing my suitcase for the second time. ‘Just in case’. They are still standing there. In my heart I’m saying goodbye to this place, to all the work we could do.
Just called with Tantya, the judge from our church. She’s not allowed to leave due to her job. She’s hoping to visit us with her young daughter. We want to pray for peace and God’s support.
We don’t want to leave. I can’t leave Andrey behind, and I can’t imagine a different place with our children, but without Andrey. Definitely not now, after all we’ve been through.
I am sitting here, crying my eyes out. But this is a good thing because I haven’t cried this much during these 13 long days.
Elizabet has just started singing: You, You alone give peace for my soul…
Yes, this is what I need in this horrible reality we’re living…
We are trying to sleep after a very bad day. The air raid alarm just went off again, but we decided to stay in bed. The heavy artillery is still booming through the entire house.
We had a rather bad night due to a lot of air raid alarms and artillery in the area. Thank you for your prayers and encouragement through it all.
We just heard another two families with kids from our little group are leaving. Fathers aren’t allowed to leave the country. I just got a call from Darina (one of our teachers) who, in tears, told me her family had decided to leave as well. She asked me for forgiveness… But there’s nothing to forgive. There no longer are wrong decisions. Only one family with kids of school ages remains in our church. This is incredibly discouraging! I can finally understand what David meant when he said “My heart screams in pain” or as Jeremiah says to God “You are as a bear lying in wait”. These are real questions and emotions!
My father left this morning with his friend Misha. The farewell was surreal. For how long will we not see him? His friend hopes to return to Brovary after dropping him off.
After my father-in-law left Angelina, the manager of our cafe, was brought by her parents. She’s an only child and her father is bringing her mum and her aunt to western Ukraine. Her parents were very upset. We are now responsible for her.
My first reaction upon hearing even more people are leaving was that you’d have to be mad to stay… But that’s a psychological reaction fueled by fear and the immense discouragement that comes when people leave.
I’ve started packing my suitcase for the second time. ‘Just in case’. They are still standing there. In my heart I’m saying goodbye to this place, to all the work we could do.
Just called with Tantya, the judge from our church. She’s not allowed to leave due to her job. She’s hoping to visit us with her young daughter. We want to pray for peace and God’s support.
We don’t want to leave. I can’t leave Andrey behind, and I can’t imagine a different place with our children, but without Andrey. Definitely not now, after all we’ve been through.
I am sitting here, crying my eyes out. But this is a good thing because I haven’t cried this much during these 13 long days.
Elizabet has just started singing: You, You alone give peace for my soul…
Yes, this is what I need in this horrible reality we’re living…
We are trying to sleep after a very bad day. The air raid alarm just went off again, but we decided to stay in bed. The heavy artillery is still booming through the entire house.
🔵 10 March, Thursday
Dear people,
Yesterday was a hard day, both psychologically and spiritually. People started evacuating Brovary en-masse because it was designated as an evacuation by official sources. However, this was changed back after an hour because the Ukrainian army managed to basically wipe out a column of 200 Russian tanks after very tough fighting. This happened about 10 km (6.2 miles) from Brovary. There’s still a lot of heavy artillery to let loose enemies know they are not welcome. We are thanking God for this result!
Message from Maryia:
Some news from Kenya…
I made the hard decision to bring an end to my stay here, at least for now, and come to the Netherlands from where I will help organisations who are supporting Ukraine/Ukrainians. I booked my ticket for March 24th.
I’m going to find out where I can be of most help and then find a place to stay. Eventually my dream is to go to Brovary, but for now I’ll help Ukrainians from the Netherlands.
End message from Mariya
My father in-law was able to visit our previous church in Kyiv to pray for the 70 firemen staying there. He founded this church (and it’s building) himself. He poured his heart and soul into it! It’s very symbolically beautiful that he could visit this place before being evacuated. Even though he has forgotten this due to his Alzheimers, he can still pray just fine!
I intentionally decided to go to the cafe to talk with people. “If you will refresh others, you will be yourself refreshed.”
During one of the many air raid sirens we delivered supplies to one of the local hospitals. Needles, infusion systems, diapers and food, among other things.
Every evening we get some food from the cook, which he also cooks for the volunteers of the cafe. This is something we are incredibly thankful for! Angelina, the manager of our cafe, has come to live with us for the meantime. Her parents arrived safely in western Ukraine.
The plan for today was to bring Daniel and his dog, Jake, to the Carpathian mountains in western Ukraine. His friend Roma is there at the moment. Andrey was supposed to bring him to a certain point in Kyiv, but after 2 hours he called, saying they’d come back. The blockades caused too much wait. All cars are being searched and ID’s are being checked. There’s only 2 bridges at a time which are open to cross the river Dnepr. We had said goodbye for an undetermined amount of time… But that time turned out to be pretty short. Who knows, there may be another opportunity along the line. But for now he’s probably better off with us.
We have decided to stay, as long as we can continue our work here and there isn’t any fighting in the streets.
Because of this it’s incredibly important you stand with us and Brovary, forming a protective wall with your prayers.
The sound of artillery has become continuous, it was a bit quieter in the afternoon, but has become heavier with the evening. Russia isn’t keeping to any rules of engagement. Ravlov says that Russia hasn’t attacked Ukraine. This is just a peace mission to free those poor Ukrainians.
It’ll only get worse from here.
Earlier this week a group of five cars with families and kids left from the Chernihiv region. Andrey had talked with someone in the army for a safe route, but due to unclear reasons the group took a different route. They ran into two Russian tanks which opened fire. Almost nobody survived. Andrey feels terrible that they didn’t take the safe route…
Dear people,
Yesterday was a hard day, both psychologically and spiritually. People started evacuating Brovary en-masse because it was designated as an evacuation by official sources. However, this was changed back after an hour because the Ukrainian army managed to basically wipe out a column of 200 Russian tanks after very tough fighting. This happened about 10 km (6.2 miles) from Brovary. There’s still a lot of heavy artillery to let loose enemies know they are not welcome. We are thanking God for this result!
Message from Maryia:
Some news from Kenya…
I made the hard decision to bring an end to my stay here, at least for now, and come to the Netherlands from where I will help organisations who are supporting Ukraine/Ukrainians. I booked my ticket for March 24th.
I’m going to find out where I can be of most help and then find a place to stay. Eventually my dream is to go to Brovary, but for now I’ll help Ukrainians from the Netherlands.
End message from Mariya
My father in-law was able to visit our previous church in Kyiv to pray for the 70 firemen staying there. He founded this church (and it’s building) himself. He poured his heart and soul into it! It’s very symbolically beautiful that he could visit this place before being evacuated. Even though he has forgotten this due to his Alzheimers, he can still pray just fine!
I intentionally decided to go to the cafe to talk with people. “If you will refresh others, you will be yourself refreshed.”
During one of the many air raid sirens we delivered supplies to one of the local hospitals. Needles, infusion systems, diapers and food, among other things.
Every evening we get some food from the cook, which he also cooks for the volunteers of the cafe. This is something we are incredibly thankful for! Angelina, the manager of our cafe, has come to live with us for the meantime. Her parents arrived safely in western Ukraine.
The plan for today was to bring Daniel and his dog, Jake, to the Carpathian mountains in western Ukraine. His friend Roma is there at the moment. Andrey was supposed to bring him to a certain point in Kyiv, but after 2 hours he called, saying they’d come back. The blockades caused too much wait. All cars are being searched and ID’s are being checked. There’s only 2 bridges at a time which are open to cross the river Dnepr. We had said goodbye for an undetermined amount of time… But that time turned out to be pretty short. Who knows, there may be another opportunity along the line. But for now he’s probably better off with us.
We have decided to stay, as long as we can continue our work here and there isn’t any fighting in the streets.
Because of this it’s incredibly important you stand with us and Brovary, forming a protective wall with your prayers.
The sound of artillery has become continuous, it was a bit quieter in the afternoon, but has become heavier with the evening. Russia isn’t keeping to any rules of engagement. Ravlov says that Russia hasn’t attacked Ukraine. This is just a peace mission to free those poor Ukrainians.
It’ll only get worse from here.
Earlier this week a group of five cars with families and kids left from the Chernihiv region. Andrey had talked with someone in the army for a safe route, but due to unclear reasons the group took a different route. They ran into two Russian tanks which opened fire. Almost nobody survived. Andrey feels terrible that they didn’t take the safe route…
🔵 12 march, Saturday
We didn’t sleep well at all last night. Not just because of the constant noise of heavy artillery, but also because Daniel was leaving for his friend in the Carpathian mountains. While my brain knows this is very good for him (he can even take his dog, Jake, with him!) it will become very quiet when he’s gone. And we’re not certain when we will see each other again… My heart is being torn apart because I don’t want to choose between the children or staying by Andrey’s side.
Just as we were in the hallway, praying for protection, we heard a plane fly over close by. A couple of seconds later we heard the sound of two bombs being dropped. By now we know that these are aimed at the food storage of the local supermarkets. There were more warehouses containing food bombed, these were located in a town 5 km (3.1 miles) away.
And then you find yourself, about to depart, thinking: God! What’s the wise thing to do?! What’s the safe thing to do?! We tried to think ‘rationally’, got in the car and drove to Kyiv. Here we got to meet friends, brothers and sisters, who are still serving in our previous church. Andrey held a short sermon for the firemen living there and prayed for them.
Daniel and Jake (his dog) have a 15 hour journey ahead of them. Petro and Elizabet are very sad Daniel and Jake are now leaving as well. The intense sadness will often bring them to cry…
Daniel is being brought by Maxim, who has been bringing people from Kyiv to the Carpathian mountains and returning with a van full of supplies since the war started.
After dropping off Daniel and Jake we stopped by Tanya Litvinenko for a little bit. She lives close by our previous church and is one of the people left. She’s been working for our school for 10 years and started part-time work for our daycare last year. She has three children, the youngest two being twins with mental handicaps, Anatoliy and Oleksiy. Yesterday she called to check up on us. Her parents are living in a village outside Brovary, where there has been heavy fighting for days. As such, they can’t see each other.
Returning to Brovary we could see heavy smoke from all the bombing…
After coming home Andrey and I talked for a while. I was a bit off balance after a not very friendly reaction to comments of a brother from the church in Kyiv. He asked me why I didn’t take all the kids with me and left for the Carpathian mountains, saying that war isn’t good for the female psyche. It was well intentioned, but didn’t land well with me…
After a very good conversation with Andrey, in which I said I wished to get a very clear sign that it’s okay for me to stay here in the ‘danger zone’.... Andrey said “God has given you that sign 22 years ago, when He called me. And from the moment we got married we knew we would do everything TOGETHER. .. And we’ve been able to do this for many years now.”
Andrey is very certain that we are meant to be here, especially now, and I can lean on his strong shoulders and lift on his faith. Because God made us one through Him!
“Blessed is he that considereth the poor: The LORD will deliver him in time of trouble.” - Psalm 41:1 KJV
This is what we are practising. With God’s help and looking forward to His deliverance from evil!
In other news, the first pallets from the humanitarian supplies from the Netherlands have safely arrived in Brovary! Praise the Lord! A big Thank you to EVERYONE who helped make this happen! Now we need a lot of wisdom and protection to get everything to the places who are in most urgent need. Among the supplies delivered was a big Diesel generator. We donated that to our church. As it turned out, there was no emergency generator in case of power failure. At the moment there are quite a few people living/sleeping in the church basement and now they’ll be able to have light in case of a power failure.
We also got news that my father in-law managed to cross the border where he was picked up by my brother-in-law from Finland. They have since arrived in Budapest from where they will fly to Finland.
We didn’t sleep well at all last night. Not just because of the constant noise of heavy artillery, but also because Daniel was leaving for his friend in the Carpathian mountains. While my brain knows this is very good for him (he can even take his dog, Jake, with him!) it will become very quiet when he’s gone. And we’re not certain when we will see each other again… My heart is being torn apart because I don’t want to choose between the children or staying by Andrey’s side.
Just as we were in the hallway, praying for protection, we heard a plane fly over close by. A couple of seconds later we heard the sound of two bombs being dropped. By now we know that these are aimed at the food storage of the local supermarkets. There were more warehouses containing food bombed, these were located in a town 5 km (3.1 miles) away.
And then you find yourself, about to depart, thinking: God! What’s the wise thing to do?! What’s the safe thing to do?! We tried to think ‘rationally’, got in the car and drove to Kyiv. Here we got to meet friends, brothers and sisters, who are still serving in our previous church. Andrey held a short sermon for the firemen living there and prayed for them.
Daniel and Jake (his dog) have a 15 hour journey ahead of them. Petro and Elizabet are very sad Daniel and Jake are now leaving as well. The intense sadness will often bring them to cry…
Daniel is being brought by Maxim, who has been bringing people from Kyiv to the Carpathian mountains and returning with a van full of supplies since the war started.
After dropping off Daniel and Jake we stopped by Tanya Litvinenko for a little bit. She lives close by our previous church and is one of the people left. She’s been working for our school for 10 years and started part-time work for our daycare last year. She has three children, the youngest two being twins with mental handicaps, Anatoliy and Oleksiy. Yesterday she called to check up on us. Her parents are living in a village outside Brovary, where there has been heavy fighting for days. As such, they can’t see each other.
Returning to Brovary we could see heavy smoke from all the bombing…
After coming home Andrey and I talked for a while. I was a bit off balance after a not very friendly reaction to comments of a brother from the church in Kyiv. He asked me why I didn’t take all the kids with me and left for the Carpathian mountains, saying that war isn’t good for the female psyche. It was well intentioned, but didn’t land well with me…
After a very good conversation with Andrey, in which I said I wished to get a very clear sign that it’s okay for me to stay here in the ‘danger zone’.... Andrey said “God has given you that sign 22 years ago, when He called me. And from the moment we got married we knew we would do everything TOGETHER. .. And we’ve been able to do this for many years now.”
Andrey is very certain that we are meant to be here, especially now, and I can lean on his strong shoulders and lift on his faith. Because God made us one through Him!
“Blessed is he that considereth the poor: The LORD will deliver him in time of trouble.” - Psalm 41:1 KJV
This is what we are practising. With God’s help and looking forward to His deliverance from evil!
In other news, the first pallets from the humanitarian supplies from the Netherlands have safely arrived in Brovary! Praise the Lord! A big Thank you to EVERYONE who helped make this happen! Now we need a lot of wisdom and protection to get everything to the places who are in most urgent need. Among the supplies delivered was a big Diesel generator. We donated that to our church. As it turned out, there was no emergency generator in case of power failure. At the moment there are quite a few people living/sleeping in the church basement and now they’ll be able to have light in case of a power failure.
We also got news that my father in-law managed to cross the border where he was picked up by my brother-in-law from Finland. They have since arrived in Budapest from where they will fly to Finland.
12 march, Saturday
We didn’t sleep well at all last night. Not just because of the constant noise of heavy artillery, but also because Daniel was leaving for his friend in the Carpathian mountains. While my brain knows this is very good for him (he can even take his dog, Jake, with him!) it will become very quiet when he’s gone. And we’re not certain when we will see each other again… My heart is being torn apart because I don’t want to choose between the children or staying by Andrey’s side.
Just as we were in the hallway, praying for protection, we heard a plane fly over close by. A couple of seconds later we heard the sound of two bombs being dropped. By now we know that these are aimed at the food storage of the local supermarkets. There were more warehouses containing food bombed, these were located in a town 5 km (3.1 miles) away.
And then you find yourself, about to depart, thinking: God! What’s the wise thing to do?! What’s the safe thing to do?! We tried to think ‘rationally’, got in the car and drove to Kyiv. Here we got to meet friends, brothers and sisters, who are still serving in our previous church. Andrey held a short sermon for the firemen living there and prayed for them.
Daniel and Jake (his dog) have a 15 hour journey ahead of them. Petro and Elizabet are very sad Daniel and Jake are now leaving as well. The intense sadness will often bring them to cry…
Daniel is being brought by Maxim, who has been bringing people from Kyiv to the Carpathian mountains and returning with a van full of supplies since the war started.
After dropping off Daniel and Jake we stopped by Tanya Litvinenko for a little bit. She lives close by our previous church and is one of the people left. She’s been working for our school for 10 years and started part-time work for our daycare last year. She has three children, the youngest two being twins with mental handicaps, Anatoliy and Oleksiy. Yesterday she called to check up on us. Her parents are living in a village outside Brovary, where there has been heavy fighting for days. As such, they can’t see each other.
Returning to Brovary we could see heavy smoke from all the bombing…
After coming home Andrey and I talked for a while. I was a bit off balance after a not very friendly reaction to comments of a brother from the church in Kyiv. He asked me why I didn’t take all the kids with me and left for the Carpathian mountains, saying that war isn’t good for the female psyche. It was well intentioned, but didn’t land well with me…
After a very good conversation with Andrey, in which I said I wished to get a very clear sign that it’s okay for me to stay here in the ‘danger zone’.... Andrey said “God has given you that sign 22 years ago, when He called me. And from the moment we got married we knew we would do everything TOGETHER. .. And we’ve been able to do this for many years now.”
Andrey is very certain that we are meant to be here, especially now, and I can lean on his strong shoulders and lift on his faith. Because God made us one through Him!
“Blessed is he that considereth the poor: The LORD will deliver him in time of trouble.” - Psalm 41:1 KJV
This is what we are practising. With God’s help and looking forward to His deliverance from evil!
In other news, the first pallets from the humanitarian supplies from the Netherlands have safely arrived in Brovary! Praise the Lord! A big Thank you to EVERYONE who helped make this happen! Now we need a lot of wisdom and protection to get everything to the places who are in most urgent need. Among the supplies delivered was a big Diesel generator. We donated that to our church. As it turned out, there was no emergency generator in case of power failure. At the moment there are quite a few people living/sleeping in the church basement and now they’ll be able to have light in case of a power failure.
We also got news that my father in-law managed to cross the border where he was picked up by my brother-in-law from Finland. They have since arrived in Budapest from where they will fly to Finland
We didn’t sleep well at all last night. Not just because of the constant noise of heavy artillery, but also because Daniel was leaving for his friend in the Carpathian mountains. While my brain knows this is very good for him (he can even take his dog, Jake, with him!) it will become very quiet when he’s gone. And we’re not certain when we will see each other again… My heart is being torn apart because I don’t want to choose between the children or staying by Andrey’s side.
Just as we were in the hallway, praying for protection, we heard a plane fly over close by. A couple of seconds later we heard the sound of two bombs being dropped. By now we know that these are aimed at the food storage of the local supermarkets. There were more warehouses containing food bombed, these were located in a town 5 km (3.1 miles) away.
And then you find yourself, about to depart, thinking: God! What’s the wise thing to do?! What’s the safe thing to do?! We tried to think ‘rationally’, got in the car and drove to Kyiv. Here we got to meet friends, brothers and sisters, who are still serving in our previous church. Andrey held a short sermon for the firemen living there and prayed for them.
Daniel and Jake (his dog) have a 15 hour journey ahead of them. Petro and Elizabet are very sad Daniel and Jake are now leaving as well. The intense sadness will often bring them to cry…
Daniel is being brought by Maxim, who has been bringing people from Kyiv to the Carpathian mountains and returning with a van full of supplies since the war started.
After dropping off Daniel and Jake we stopped by Tanya Litvinenko for a little bit. She lives close by our previous church and is one of the people left. She’s been working for our school for 10 years and started part-time work for our daycare last year. She has three children, the youngest two being twins with mental handicaps, Anatoliy and Oleksiy. Yesterday she called to check up on us. Her parents are living in a village outside Brovary, where there has been heavy fighting for days. As such, they can’t see each other.
Returning to Brovary we could see heavy smoke from all the bombing…
After coming home Andrey and I talked for a while. I was a bit off balance after a not very friendly reaction to comments of a brother from the church in Kyiv. He asked me why I didn’t take all the kids with me and left for the Carpathian mountains, saying that war isn’t good for the female psyche. It was well intentioned, but didn’t land well with me…
After a very good conversation with Andrey, in which I said I wished to get a very clear sign that it’s okay for me to stay here in the ‘danger zone’.... Andrey said “God has given you that sign 22 years ago, when He called me. And from the moment we got married we knew we would do everything TOGETHER. .. And we’ve been able to do this for many years now.”
Andrey is very certain that we are meant to be here, especially now, and I can lean on his strong shoulders and lift on his faith. Because God made us one through Him!
“Blessed is he that considereth the poor: The LORD will deliver him in time of trouble.” - Psalm 41:1 KJV
This is what we are practising. With God’s help and looking forward to His deliverance from evil!
In other news, the first pallets from the humanitarian supplies from the Netherlands have safely arrived in Brovary! Praise the Lord! A big Thank you to EVERYONE who helped make this happen! Now we need a lot of wisdom and protection to get everything to the places who are in most urgent need. Among the supplies delivered was a big Diesel generator. We donated that to our church. As it turned out, there was no emergency generator in case of power failure. At the moment there are quite a few people living/sleeping in the church basement and now they’ll be able to have light in case of a power failure.
We also got news that my father in-law managed to cross the border where he was picked up by my brother-in-law from Finland. They have since arrived in Budapest from where they will fly to Finland
🔵 13 March, Sunday
We slept relatively well. The artillery is still firing in the background and there’s a thin layer of snow.
From Mariya:
“I always thought war brings out the worst in people. Now in Ukraine, I see how war brings out the best in people.” I have found this to be a really beautiful and powerful quote. I happen to know the girl who posted this online personally. We’d often go to an international church in Kyiv. She’s not Ukrainian herself but has decided to stay regardless.
In our church in Kenya we prayed for Inna (the founder of mission Zamu, which I’m a part of at the moment) today. She leaves for Romania today to help at the Romanian-Ukrainian border for a week. Hopefully this will be a good experience for her. She’ll return to Kenya the day before I leave».
Like every other day since the war started, we distributed soup and bread. A good part of this will be brought to a big sports hall, where it is sorted by volunteers and transported to the Ukrainian military. The volunteers, who are working here 24/7, receive free food here as well.
Today was relatively quiet, compared to the last three days at least, bar the air raid sirens going off occasionally and some artillery shelling. I’m thankful for days like these, but it’s also a bit scary, in a weird way. When will the heavy fighting break out again? Every time it feels as if it’s the quiet before the storm.
In church, we heard testimonies from our brothers and sisters. A lady, whose family lives in Mariupol, told us two of her cousins died and she had lost contact with the rest of her family for several days now. She said that she usually read the new testament or books of the prophets a lot, but now she’s basically living in the book of psalms.
This afternoon we had a true Ukrainian meal, unplanned and with unexpected guests. The only difference being that most of our guests had evacuated large parts of their families. Still, we ate, shared and sang as we would’ve before.
Today my Father-in-law also arrived safely in Tempere, Finland where he’ll stay with my brother-in-law’s family!
Once again I'd like to repeat how important your prayer and public acts of solidarity for Ukraine are. Sometimes we are so incredibly tired. We have such a burning desire for peace and freedom! But we also believe that God had a plan with all of this. This doesn’t mean I don’t have an uncountable amount of questions that I’ll ‘discuss’ with Him though…
Despite all this we are looking forward to God’s strong hand changing our situation for the better. DON’T GET USED TO this war!
A big thank you to everyone who is taking action, in whatever form it may take. Whether it’s donating financially or in another way, the gathering of humanitarian supplies and especially your encouragement, genuine interest and last but not least, your prayer!
We slept relatively well. The artillery is still firing in the background and there’s a thin layer of snow.
From Mariya:
“I always thought war brings out the worst in people. Now in Ukraine, I see how war brings out the best in people.” I have found this to be a really beautiful and powerful quote. I happen to know the girl who posted this online personally. We’d often go to an international church in Kyiv. She’s not Ukrainian herself but has decided to stay regardless.
In our church in Kenya we prayed for Inna (the founder of mission Zamu, which I’m a part of at the moment) today. She leaves for Romania today to help at the Romanian-Ukrainian border for a week. Hopefully this will be a good experience for her. She’ll return to Kenya the day before I leave».
Like every other day since the war started, we distributed soup and bread. A good part of this will be brought to a big sports hall, where it is sorted by volunteers and transported to the Ukrainian military. The volunteers, who are working here 24/7, receive free food here as well.
Today was relatively quiet, compared to the last three days at least, bar the air raid sirens going off occasionally and some artillery shelling. I’m thankful for days like these, but it’s also a bit scary, in a weird way. When will the heavy fighting break out again? Every time it feels as if it’s the quiet before the storm.
In church, we heard testimonies from our brothers and sisters. A lady, whose family lives in Mariupol, told us two of her cousins died and she had lost contact with the rest of her family for several days now. She said that she usually read the new testament or books of the prophets a lot, but now she’s basically living in the book of psalms.
This afternoon we had a true Ukrainian meal, unplanned and with unexpected guests. The only difference being that most of our guests had evacuated large parts of their families. Still, we ate, shared and sang as we would’ve before.
Today my Father-in-law also arrived safely in Tempere, Finland where he’ll stay with my brother-in-law’s family!
Once again I'd like to repeat how important your prayer and public acts of solidarity for Ukraine are. Sometimes we are so incredibly tired. We have such a burning desire for peace and freedom! But we also believe that God had a plan with all of this. This doesn’t mean I don’t have an uncountable amount of questions that I’ll ‘discuss’ with Him though…
Despite all this we are looking forward to God’s strong hand changing our situation for the better. DON’T GET USED TO this war!
A big thank you to everyone who is taking action, in whatever form it may take. Whether it’s donating financially or in another way, the gathering of humanitarian supplies and especially your encouragement, genuine interest and last but not least, your prayer!
🔵 14 March, Monday
Once again we woke up to the booming sound of artillery and rattling windows.
Today the Ukrainian military is doing a special operation near Brovary with the help of some Chechen soldiers. Sasha Ponomarenko, a friend of ours, is also fighting today as his wife and three daughters are fleeing to France.
Elizabet managed to find a new friend today. Zjana, who lives nearby. She has a handicapped brother and can’t leave because their grandma is terminally ill. Liliya, the middle sibling, is one of the few youth that remain. They hope to visit again tomorrow.
Once again we woke up to the booming sound of artillery and rattling windows.
Today the Ukrainian military is doing a special operation near Brovary with the help of some Chechen soldiers. Sasha Ponomarenko, a friend of ours, is also fighting today as his wife and three daughters are fleeing to France.
Elizabet managed to find a new friend today. Zjana, who lives nearby. She has a handicapped brother and can’t leave because their grandma is terminally ill. Liliya, the middle sibling, is one of the few youth that remain. They hope to visit again tomorrow.