This question keeps popping into my head, for the last few months. I can’t understand why this is all happening to us… We were completely devastated with what we saw as we drove through the cities and villages. It’s one thing to see the destruction in the news, it’s another to walk past it, touch it with your hand, and listen to the stories of people who have been through it. God blessed to visit 4 settlements. We had to drive through the rough terrain because the invaders destroyed most of the roads and blew up the bridges. We brought along food, medicine, hygiene products, water and rode in 4 mini vans.
In the first village, we were met by a family of ministers N. and M. Their village was under the occupation. N. shared with us, “When the occupiers came, they went from house to house to check if there were any Ukrainian soldiers. They would point machine guns at people, demanding passports and telephones. They rode the tanks through the streets. It was really scary…” This family packed all their belongings up, filled up their car with the gas and waited for one of the relatives, but could not leave… After that, M. often asked God why He did not give the wisdom to leave earlier? Why? But then, he realized that he had to help people here under conditions of occupation. When the battles for Hostomel began taking place not too far from them, the electricity and water were shut off. And M.’s brother had a portable power generator at home. So, they pumped water for the whole village. They were turning it on only when the occupiers were turning on theirs, so that they did not have a clue where the noise was coming from. His wife baked bread for everyone in the village. Because of this, people saw the hand of God: they would come by since they were more open to talk about eternity and salvation. Because of the war people began to listen to the gospel…
Then, we would go to the believers in the neighboring villages, bringing them food, so they could distribute it in their community. In another village, people said they had not seen bread for weeks because no one was delivering it there during the occupation. The great testimony to the villagers is that the volunteers who would visit them were believers. People can see themselves that the believers are a real family, and that they help each other and not only their own, but simply all the people in the village…
The next village came under crossfire from artillery. Russian shells often did not reach their destination and fell into the village…
We returned home late at night through Irpin. A shelled city without light and electricity looks very eerie. The life used to roar here, windows were lit brightly, lights shone, but now it is dark and desolate, only the wind howls through the holes in the houses …
During this trip, I realized that it is not quite right to ask God “Why?”, but rather to ask Him “What is it for?” As I listened to people’s stories, I realized that wartime is a great opportunity for the church to show people true oneness and communicate the gospel not only with the words but also with deeds: to cry with those who cry, with those who lost everything, to rejoice with those who will find out soon that their relatives are alive. Even a small contribution to the needs (100 UAH, a can of stew, a card with encouragement, or giving hugs to someone) is a great testimony for someone who does not know Christ. It is quite unfathomable for unbelievers – why strangers help them so much. And for believers, it is an understanding of God’s family and Church as one body that suffers and fights together for victory!”
Iryna Solianyk
