Where are they now?
Posted on April 3, 2022 by Editor No comments
Driving around the city after the last night’s bombing, seeing destroyed apartment buildings, my head was spinning with a question: where are they, the people who used to live in there? People, who lived comfortably in their apartments but went to bed with an uneasy feeling of a trouble. Suddenly, in the middle of the night, they were awakened to the roar of shells, shattering windows, secure walls crumbling and balconies collapsing. Where are they now?
Some were lying down on the ground sprinkled with snow, an old woman was leaning on a stick with disheveled hair, crying over someone; utility workers were trying to somehow put things in order. My mind and heart are looking for answers to the questions: where are the rest? How can I help them?
My heart shrinks from pain, from helplessness and the inability to prevent tragedy.
Some of the people moved from cozy apartments to the subway, and formed a kind of a tent camp. The rest are scattered.
The 24th day of hostilities gave a dark-sad color to everything around. People’s faces have no emotions, and, for some reason, everyone’s eyes are black. Bright light colored outfits have disappeared. Everyone is dressed in gray tones and tears are pouring and pouring from these gray tones. There are no words to comfort them. In an instant, an explosion blew up their lives upside down, everything they hold dear collapsed. They lost loved ones, they lost homes, and they themselves became lost.
With a small group of friends from the church, we find them in different places in half-destroyed houses without water, heat or electricity; at subway stations or in apartments with broken windows and doors, and under the rubble. We share what we get from friends who deliver food through dozens of checkpoints, all over Ukraine.
The food package comforts people very little, because they still have to sleep on the concrete floor in the subway, they still have no light or water, they still have sad thoughts that pierce from inside, and there are no answers to questions: “When will it all end? What will the night or a new day bring?” Despair is creeping into the soul. Where are they?
They are at the crossroads, in the subway waiting in line to get lunch. We try to answer this desperate call for help in many areas of our big city.
It is amazing how open they are for God’s words of strength and comfort. There are so many people in need, so our group of friends works really hard from 10:00 am until curfew. We do our best- receiving goods, arranging packages, delivering them to addresses and requests of people. Working at such an intense pace means a lot of wear and tear on our vehicles; the second car had broken down.
We fix cars ourselves as much as we can, and try to make them last as long as possible. Our hope is in the Lord, that He will not leave us without the ability and means to help so many in desperate needs. He has kept us up to this day, and will continue to see all the needs for serving Him and the people.
A shell fell on the neighboring area of the Prayer House, damaging the owners’ building and breaking the windows in the neighboring houses. People plead for help. All that the hand can do, brothers and sisters do under the roar of explosions and in spite of fears and worries. This senseless tragedy has been burning down our physical and spiritual strengths. We ask for Prayer support, we ask the Lord that the souls of His children wouldn’t suffer from night terrors, fear, horrors they’d seen and heard, that everyone stay healthy, that despite all the distress and anxiousness of work, cooperation between friends will not be disrupted. We pray for a special miracle, we pray this horror will eventually stop, and that the peace of God will fill our hearts.
We’re very grateful to all our dear friends around the world who pray, call, text, donate funds and show their support and encouragement in every possible way. I do want to hug and thank you all. May the Lord keep us all safe!
Leonid Tkachev, Pastor of God’s Church in Kharkiv, Ukraine
March 19, 2022
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