Pentecost in Ukraine
Illustration
Stories
When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. (vv. 1-2)
One Sunday morning near the beginning of the war I watched a video of our sisters and brothers in Christ worshiping in a war zone in Ukraine, while air raid sirens were sounding in the city around them. I can only imagine what that must be like. But those present report that the presence of the Holy Spirit was more powerful than their fear. There is something about all the faithful being together in one place.
Maia Mikhaluk writes that “sixteen Sundays into the war no one even tenses up anymore.” How does one get used to the thought that a missile or a bomb may strike at any moment?
Perhaps they are steeled by the need to keep on doing the work of the church. Maia tells about a recent trip members of their congregation undertook to deliver relief supplies to villages north of Kiev that have been liberated from the Russian invaders.
Maia said they took “four cars on the trip with food packages, bed linens, hygiene packages, baby food and diapers, gifts for kids, and donated used clothes! Many people are helping us… by sending donations that are used to purchase different supplies and to fuel cars.”
The tales of horror they heard from the survivors when they arrived in the villages are chilling:
“Russians came into the village of Yagidne on March 4th. They rounded up all the people and put them in the basement of a village school. The elderly and sick that couldn’t walk were brought in carts. 400 people, the youngest a month and a half old, the oldest 93 stayed in that basement for 27 days. The basement was crammed, people had to sleep sitting, and there was no room for anybody to stretch out, except kids and the elderly who were sick. There was no air to breathe. For the first few days, there were flashlights, then batteries died and there was complete darkness. People were not allowed to go outside to use the bathroom. There were buckets in a corner. Once a day a few people were allowed outside to cook for everybody.
“People were dying from lack of oxygen, malnutrition, and sickness. 11 people died inside. Their bodies had to stay inside for a while before the Russians allowed them to take them out. The smell was sickening. On the door frames of the rooms, there are numbers written of how many people were there, and how many children. Kids were drawing on the walls while they could. In one of the rooms, people drew a calendar to keep track of time. On March 31st they wrote, “Our troops came”. People say they didn’t believe they would come out of that basement alive. Those who protested this treatment in the early days were taken out and shot. Overall 10% of the population of this village was killed.
“Every house was looted. Everything was stolen, from food to underwear. Many houses are burnt. Most dogs are killed, some eaten by Russians. The forest around is not safe to go to – there are a lot of landmines and booby traps left by Russians there.
“After visiting that basement the heaviness I felt could only compare to one time we visited Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland. How can a human treat other humans, including elderly and children, like that?
“We distributed food packages and bread here, some buckets with relief kits for those who lost their homes, and gifts to kids. Knowing the recent horror these villages lived through I was surprised to see some smiles. People seemed to be more grateful than any other place we have been to. I wonder if that gratefulness is not just for humanitarian aid, but for life, and it came from having to face death and unimaginable horrors.
“We also distributed food packages and gifts for kids in Zolotynka and Krasne villages. Zolotynka was under occupation and was also thoroughly looted. Krasne was in the line of fire. Both villages suffered significant damage and people were killed.
“As I have been writing this post a thunder roared outside. That’s probably the scariest non-war-related sound to all Ukrainians. I heard today a man describing that when an aviation bomb hits a house it looks like the whole house is lifted up in the air with its foundation and then it all falls on the ground as a pile of rubble. He said he still sees it in his nightmares. I haven’t seen anything like that, but the thunder outside made my heart race for a while.
“Please, keep praying for Ukraine!
“Thank you for helping us help people! If you want to help with future humanitarian aid trips you can donate through https://ipministry.org/donate/,” Maia wrote.
*****************************************
StoryShare, May 28, 2023 issue.
Copyright 2023 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to the StoryShare service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons, in worship and classroom settings, in brief devotions, in radio spots, and as newsletter fillers. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to permissions@csspub.com or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 5450 N. Dixie Highway, Lima, Ohio 45807.
One Sunday morning near the beginning of the war I watched a video of our sisters and brothers in Christ worshiping in a war zone in Ukraine, while air raid sirens were sounding in the city around them. I can only imagine what that must be like. But those present report that the presence of the Holy Spirit was more powerful than their fear. There is something about all the faithful being together in one place.
Maia Mikhaluk writes that “sixteen Sundays into the war no one even tenses up anymore.” How does one get used to the thought that a missile or a bomb may strike at any moment?
Perhaps they are steeled by the need to keep on doing the work of the church. Maia tells about a recent trip members of their congregation undertook to deliver relief supplies to villages north of Kiev that have been liberated from the Russian invaders.
Maia said they took “four cars on the trip with food packages, bed linens, hygiene packages, baby food and diapers, gifts for kids, and donated used clothes! Many people are helping us… by sending donations that are used to purchase different supplies and to fuel cars.”
The tales of horror they heard from the survivors when they arrived in the villages are chilling:
“Russians came into the village of Yagidne on March 4th. They rounded up all the people and put them in the basement of a village school. The elderly and sick that couldn’t walk were brought in carts. 400 people, the youngest a month and a half old, the oldest 93 stayed in that basement for 27 days. The basement was crammed, people had to sleep sitting, and there was no room for anybody to stretch out, except kids and the elderly who were sick. There was no air to breathe. For the first few days, there were flashlights, then batteries died and there was complete darkness. People were not allowed to go outside to use the bathroom. There were buckets in a corner. Once a day a few people were allowed outside to cook for everybody.
“People were dying from lack of oxygen, malnutrition, and sickness. 11 people died inside. Their bodies had to stay inside for a while before the Russians allowed them to take them out. The smell was sickening. On the door frames of the rooms, there are numbers written of how many people were there, and how many children. Kids were drawing on the walls while they could. In one of the rooms, people drew a calendar to keep track of time. On March 31st they wrote, “Our troops came”. People say they didn’t believe they would come out of that basement alive. Those who protested this treatment in the early days were taken out and shot. Overall 10% of the population of this village was killed.
“Every house was looted. Everything was stolen, from food to underwear. Many houses are burnt. Most dogs are killed, some eaten by Russians. The forest around is not safe to go to – there are a lot of landmines and booby traps left by Russians there.
“After visiting that basement the heaviness I felt could only compare to one time we visited Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland. How can a human treat other humans, including elderly and children, like that?
“We distributed food packages and bread here, some buckets with relief kits for those who lost their homes, and gifts to kids. Knowing the recent horror these villages lived through I was surprised to see some smiles. People seemed to be more grateful than any other place we have been to. I wonder if that gratefulness is not just for humanitarian aid, but for life, and it came from having to face death and unimaginable horrors.
“We also distributed food packages and gifts for kids in Zolotynka and Krasne villages. Zolotynka was under occupation and was also thoroughly looted. Krasne was in the line of fire. Both villages suffered significant damage and people were killed.
“As I have been writing this post a thunder roared outside. That’s probably the scariest non-war-related sound to all Ukrainians. I heard today a man describing that when an aviation bomb hits a house it looks like the whole house is lifted up in the air with its foundation and then it all falls on the ground as a pile of rubble. He said he still sees it in his nightmares. I haven’t seen anything like that, but the thunder outside made my heart race for a while.
“Please, keep praying for Ukraine!
“Thank you for helping us help people! If you want to help with future humanitarian aid trips you can donate through https://ipministry.org/donate/,” Maia wrote.
*****************************************
StoryShare, May 28, 2023 issue.
Copyright 2023 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to the StoryShare service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons, in worship and classroom settings, in brief devotions, in radio spots, and as newsletter fillers. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to permissions@csspub.com or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 5450 N. Dixie Highway, Lima, Ohio 45807.
