Pause Everything.

It’s been two weeks since Russia attacked Ukraine. Thousands of people have died. For some, it seems that life just carries on as usual and that this is a time to complain about current politics, inflation, rising gas prices, conspiracy theories 🙄, etc.

And for others this war is deeply personal, agonizing, and sorrowful.

I do not have any personal connections to Ukraine other than friends that have served missions there for our church. They are mourning deeply as they watch friends and loved ones suffer and I am mourning with them. I want to know what’s happening and have done everything I can to help in donating to organizations and individuals on the ground there to ease suffering of all the innocent civilians who are suffering because of the evil desires of wicked men.

One person I noticed early on was Andre Polonski. He lives in Kharkov and his city had just been attacked. Everything was closed and scary in these first few days. His story on Instagram showed up in explore and he shared that he had always listened to the prophets and had kept a small food storage. He was putting together whatever extra he had to take to a neighbor who needed food. His friend in the US saw his story too and offered to collect and send monies to Andre so that he could help more people. Overnight, over $12,000 was collected by donations through Venmo and they figured out a way to wire the funds to Andre. He wasn’t in the habit of sharing on Instagram so it seemed like it felt like a bit of a burden to keep everyone updated and show how he was using the funds to help many, many more people that he would have been able to on his own. Working in the food industry Andre had connections to warehouses and restaurants so that he could get food when the grocery stores quickly became inaccessible or bare. It has been remarkable to see the good that he has been able to do by simply sharing a small act of kindness in the first days of the attack. He has shared many times how his faith has been strengthened and how he has felt God intervene to get the right supplies to the right people. He has felt protected and guided all along the way. We have prayed for his safety and strength every day.

The horrors of war are present in real time with the 24-hour new cycle and social media now. This constant sharing and documentation are important. Kovalinskiy Design on Instagram shared a video and the translation that shared some of the many miracles that are happening even while Russia shells and bombs innocent civilians.

While you were praying for Ukraine, many of the rockets fired did NOT explode.

While you were praying for Ukraine, the man run over by a Russian tank survived.

While you were praying for Ukraine, Russian paratroopers coming in from Belarus were blown away by a very strong wind back into Belarus.

While you were praying for Ukraine, God sent snow that covered the enemies marks and targets.

While you were praying for Ukraine, there was a storm in the Black Sea that didn’t allow the Russian ships to land.

There are just a few of the miracles.

If God is for us, then who can be against us. Your prayers are working.

I talk about these things with my kids. We talk about what is important and what really matters. We talk about gratitude and the responsibility we have to give all we can to help those in need. We talk about focusing on greater kindness in our home and looking for ways to lift and serve others right here where we are. We talk about the greatness and the goodness of Jesus and our Heavenly Parents who are intimately involved in all the details and know the end from the beginning. And we talk about the importance of the gift of agency and how our choices matter.

Because we are in the middle of preparing to move to Germany, we feel an extra sense of caution. Is it ok for us to move closer to Russia? Would Germany be a target as things escalate? Should we stay in the US? Oddly, I have not felt overly worried or lost any sleep over our move. It feels like God is with us no matter what happens. I’ll hold on to that. Ultimately we don’t know if this assignment will be cancelled or if all will through. Maybe I am holding my breath a little bit!

For now, we are praying for the men, the women, and the children of Ukraine. We are praying for Andre and his family. We are praying for the innocent people of Russian who only know what their government-controlled media is telling them (evidently there is a lot of disinformation). We are praying for the whole world, increasing our faith, living with more service for others.

x

Dayna