For God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of Power, and of Love, and of a Sound Mind. (IITimothy 1:7)
The current war began in 2014. Sveta and I were two years into our international marriage. We were living with her parents in the village while we looked for a house with property. We found a house with a nice large back yard! Using our life savings, we bought it with cash. This was an amazing experience. We were elated.
The same day, so it seemed, a protest erupted in Kiev. The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine decided to suspend the process of preparing for the signing of the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the European Union. They moved toward a trade relationship with Russia. Sveta and I understood what that would mean for Ukraine. Before we new it, Russian occupied Crimea, and the war of the separatists in eastern Ukraine erupted.
Russia’s President Putin was saying that he would occupy the full expanse of Ukraine’s Black Sea regions. Our new home was an hour from the Black Sea. That meant that we would be living in Russian territory. Fear filled our hearts. Would this become a reality? Would we loose our freedom?
This was war! Imagine knowing that you are at war with a country that is 2,733% larger than your country. Its population is 3.25 times, about one hundred million more people. These are statistics that should scare anyone. But statistics are only using facts to build a framework of what could be.
Sveta’s and my son joined the army when this war began. He wrote stories of seeing fellow soldiers being killed on the front line, only five feet from him. This was traumatic for him, of course. For Sveta, this war was tearing at her heart, testing her faith. Would we loose our son to this war? Would we loose freedom as we knew it? This word, freedom, has taken on a much deeper meaning for us.
These past thirty four months have changed my life. In late February and early March of 2022, Sveta and I discussed daily what we should do. We thought that we should stay and help whoever we could. Then, the banks were closed to foreign credit/debit cards. That limited our ability to access money.
When the bombings approached our neighborhood, the danger for Sveta and me set in. One house, that was two streets away was completely destroyed. Other houses were damaged, and the local school was destroyed. Could our property be next? What was the reason for this attack on civilians? When we learned that Putin wanted to kill all Ukrainians and exterminate the Ukrainian nation, our personal danger became clear.
Chris Lynch of ChristChurch, New Zealand’s Newsroom interviewed us via the internet. The bombing was actively close to us at that time. He could hear it during our interview! At night, it was difficult to sleep, fearing the unknown. When we were able to sleep, air raid sirens and bombings would wake us up in the middle of the night.
Finally fear had us in its grip. We packed our bags, waiting for the right moment to leave. Sveta’s brother drove us to our daughter’s house in the city. In this five floor walk up, a missile came in the back and went out the front of her next door neighbor’s flat. After two days of escalating fear, Sveta’s brother drove us through the city. After passing through military check points, we arrived at the location of the bus for evacuation. It took us to Warsaw. Crossing the boarder into Poland was like night and day, fear and peace.
Two years as refugees in Poland was a waiting game. When Sveta could wait no longer, she packed her bags and moved back to our house in Mykolaiv. I was not ready. I did not feel that it was safe. Four months later, we reunited in L’viv and traveled home.
From February through October, our minds gradually found peace amongst the continued bombings throughout Ukraine. Then, when we least expected it, missiles hit our city, once again. Should we ever allow ourselves to become comfortable? We will not evacuate again, but the thought of relocating within Ukraine comes to mind now an then. Even so, no place in Ukraine is safe in this war.
I believe that there is no place on earth that is void of danger, challenging the emotions of those present. This is our current status.
For God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of Power, and of Love, and of a Sound Mind. (IITimothy 1:7)
As long as we are able, Sveta and I will “fight the good fight”. We will walk by the sides of our Ukrainian brothers and sisters. Walk with us, as we build the future of Ukraine.
