Stories from the War Next Door
As we approach the official “one year” mark of the war in Ukraine, we wanted to take a look back at a firsthand experience of one of our interns who was serving with us at the time.
Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, during my time here in Budapest. I have been serving in Hungary for two months now, and there are a few weeks left before I return to the US and the war has really changed my internship here.
The past month has been a whirlwind of activity mixed with deep sadness and outrage, but also wonder at the miracles God has given us during this time. Everyone here is doing everything we can to love with hands and feet those displaced by this tragic situation, and send aid to those who are still trapped in it.
I think it is easy for a lot of us, myself included, to feel sad about something like this, briefly pray about it, and then go on our way. But I can no longer do that. These are real people going through such fear. Real people giving birth in air raid shelters, real people embracing their family, knowing they may never see them again.
There are so many stories I could share, but one that sticks in my memory was when one of our Ukraine team members was walking down a street here in Budapest. A man stopped him on the street and started speaking to him in broken English. The team member recognized his accent and started speaking to him in Russian. The man understood him and asked him if he knew a photo place that would work for Ukrainian passports. Our team member was able to find a place, and took him and his wife there. Apparently they had tried to do the passport photos at a different place, but they weren’t the right size. The photo lady at this place happened to be Ukrainian and made just what they needed. Our team member also found out that the man and his wife were from the same neighborhood that he and his wife lived in, in Kyiv, Ukraine.
The couple gave glory to God, saying they had seen too many miracles over the past few days to not believe. This was just the latest. The husband had told his wife before he met our team member that if they found a photo place that night he would start believing in God. He now believes.
As if these “coincidences” were not enough, the couple was looking to fly to Israel, and our OMS team from Israel just happened to be here helping us, so we connected them with that team for further assistance.
If there is one thing I will remember from all of this, it is that these people are exactly like us. The mother who gave birth in an air raid shelter wanted a newborn headband with the biggest, fluffiest bow on it for her child, just like most moms I know. The man working on his graduate degree in Kyiv was worried about how he was going to finish his degree somewhere else.
That could be you.
That could be me.
God loves his children in Ukraine just as much as he loves his people here in Budapest and in the United States. There are many valuable things I take away from this internship, but the most crucial is that from now on I commit to loving like our Father loves, actively and compassionately.
