Today, I found myself standing on the door ledge of a Sprinter as we raced away from a town on the front lines in Eastern Ukraine.
As I stood there, a lot of thoughts went through my mind…
Sitting on the seven back seats were ten elderly people. They had been evacuated from the town while shells exploded a few hundred meters away and houses down the street still smoldered from being hit.
These people who had just become IDPs sat in silence as we bumped along. Some cried, others were solemn, all had sadness written on their face.
They had left their homes, gardens, and livelihoods behind, and most may never return.
All their belongings were carried along in a few bags. Looking over these people I started to try to grasp a bit of what they were going through. And it hurt to see these people having to leave all and run for their lives.
Knowing there was nothing I could personally do for them was hard. I wished I could at least talk to them, hear their stories, or share with them about Christ’s love, but I couldn’t.
A few of the other volunteers who were piled together in the front of the van quietly chatted and smiled. But standing in the back seeing sadness written on every face I could hardly put a cheerful countenance on my face.
Then the verse in Romans came to mind, about weeping with those who weep, but how would that help? I could only silently pray for them, and hope and trust they will find a place of peace, and maybe through it all, receive peace in their hearts.
It’s great to have the right contacts to get us past the block posts to reach these towns and villages. Also having the chaplain along, he was able to witness to the IDPs in the other van and then to the rest when we arrived at the destination. Our God is an awesome God, and He is at work! Continue to pray for these people as they start life over.
~from one of our volunteers
