Zaporozhye, Ukraine is cold! The last two days have been cold, cloudy and damp with a biting cold wind blowing. Thankfully today (Thursday) it has cleared up and the sun was shining.
I am writing this post at the end of several long days…there is just not enough hours in the day or energy in the body…
The picture at the top of this report was drawn by a ten-year old girl who was displaced by Russian aggression. It was one of many that were drawn by children and taped on a wall in one of the battalion posts I have visited. The child’s drawing aptly present war’s sorrows through the eyes of a child. These drawings are used by counselors to help the children process their emotions and come through the horrors they have endured. Over TWO MILLION have been displaced by Russian aggression.
In today’s post I want you to see some photos of a center where displaced families are living.
We have delivered dry food mixes, clothing, personal hygiene supplies and bedding (mattresses and linens) to the families living in many locations like this one.
As we load containers from Arkansas, Cincinnati, Mississippi, Indiana, and British Columbia (Canada) the reality of just how critical those supplies are to those who will receive them is not fully grasped. Today I saw the value of providing even a cup for drinking and could not help but think of our Lord’s words in Matthew 10:42!
The shower is staged under a stairway and its water supply is rigged in an unbelievable manner, the cook stove is wood fired and outside, the seating for eating is upon the roughest cut planks I have ever seen and some have plastic to hinder injury from splinters, the sleeping is arranged on the floor with pieces of wood to give some space from the concrete, the wash room is a trough on the outside with nine spigots for water to gravity feed water to the wash station.
There is no privacy. Humiliation is overpowering. Helplessness is weighing on all present.
The delivery of the relief items that many of you have sent is made by troops in their off-time as well as by a host of our partners in the effort.
I have presented the environment of a typical displaced people’s quarters but I have not taken photos of those living there. The picture drawn by the ten-year old at the top more than presents the hearts and faces of those living here.
I was overwhelmed with words of gratitude and tears from hearts that cannot believe why so many of you would care for people so far away and whose lives have been destroyed. Over and over the question was asked, “Why do you send us help?” Over and over the response was “Because God loves you.”
The most impressive and humbling point in all of this interaction is the tremendous gratitude over the smallest of items. The Family Buckets are opened with excited applause as piece by piece the items are removed. Exclamations and shouts of “Thank You” follow as every item is taken from the bucket and shown to those watching. Tears are seen in every adult’s eyes…
This scene moves you in the deepest center of your being and stirs the well of emotions that has often been calloused by life’s brutal bruisings.
Here in this cold concrete shell of a building is life that is colored in an uncomfortable reality.
As cold as it has been, I cannot imagine how cold it will be inside this concrete building when winter’s fury arrives in a few weeks. Thankfully we have included a number of blankets, winter clothing, and other items that will help keep these people warm.
The dry food mixes are received with such joy and gratitude. Especially will these be helpful in the coming cold as they offer a hot nutritious meal! Added to these dry mixes will be various food stuffs supplied by fellow Ukrainians—potatoes, cabbages, carrots, beets, etc.
In these photos you are able to see dry food mixes from Kidz Against Hunger, and Thrive. In addition to these we have been blessed with a shipment of dry food from A Child’s Hope.
After this visit I am reminded of…
how critical our shipments are…
how valuable those Family Buckets are…
how significant are the most insignificant things in life when there is nothing.
Mushrooms…this Spring I arrived in time for the crawfish spawning season…now I arrived in time for the mushroom harvesting…Here are some photos of the mushrooms harvested and being prepared for the meal…
Please continue praying for our efforts. There are so many actions that are on-going in our efforts and often discouragement seems overwhelming. But our call is not to solve every problem but to remain active in seeking the resolution and in faith that the Almighty God will resolve matters in an absolutely righteous manner!
John L. Kachelman, Jr.
Zaporozhye, Ukraine
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