When the war in Ukraine broke out, we sat watching the horrific images on our screens, hearts aching. While many longed to help, they felt helpless to do so. You took action.
Because of you, hundreds of families are receiving hot meals, lodging and art therapy. A mobile medical clinic is providing medical care in some of the hardest-hit areas. And thousands of our displaced neighbors are being comforted by quilts and kits.
Quilts can be used as warm bedding, simple tents or floor coverings. Personal Care Kits restore dignity to those who have lost everything.
The fruits of your labor are making a difference in the lives of so many. This is how you are reminding our Ukrainian neighbors of God's loving presence.
The quilts and kits are not just a material possession,” said LWR’s Rev. Tim Krick. “They really do represent love and kindness and hope that there are other people in the world who care.
Yurij Butrin lives with his wife near the Russian border. Your kindness distributed warmth in the form of a stove and a quilt. “When it was cold during the winter, there was nothing,” he said. “And then the potbelly stove was delivered. It helped us survive.”
Conflict forced Tetiana Besedina to flee with her family twice in the last several years. Your generosity welcomed them in their direst moments. “We have a place to sleep at night, a roof over our heads, we're given food, and we’re treated well,” she said. “We’re really grateful for that.”
A woman from Kharkiv, Ukraine receives a Personal Care Kit and quilt during a distribution. "War can be so isolating," said Rev. Tim Krick. “I continually heard ‘Thank you for remembering us. Thank you for praying for us.’
Natalia Chernenka “ran out of everything” during the war. She didn’t have water, electricity or gas, even resorting to cooking on bricks and planting her own garden to eat. When she received her LWR quilt, she said, “Thank God. Thank you for not forgetting us. Thank you very much.”
Nina Cherkashyna and her husband were taken into Russia at the start of the war, while soldiers occupied their home back in Ukraine. When they returned, they found their house destroyed and looted. A wood burning stove and quilt, given through your love, helped carry them through. “It's a significant help,” she said. “Thanks a lot, to the people. They responded to our call and because of them, we received these things.”
You are bringing tangible expressions of God’s grace to people like Valentyna Danylenko. But most importantly, you are bringing comfort and reassurance to God's children caught in conflict. “People were extremely grateful for the actual quilt,” Rev. Krick said. “But they were equally grateful for being remembered by people.
