On my trip to Ukraine in May, I met several priests. For example, the priest Slava from the town of Chernivtsi, a town north of Ukraine's border with Moldova. Many have fled to this city from eastern Ukraine.
Slava leads the relief work of the Protestant churches in the city. After a full day of showing us the churches' relief work, he gives us time for an interview after dinner. He tells us: "At the first explosion we started planning and preparing for the work. (...) We created a network with all Protestant churches in the city working together to help. In four hours, we distributed 350 liters of tea to people who were queuing on their way out of Ukraine (...) The queues stopped for 9 hours and the churches served food. This was in late February and early March. For example, there was a sign on the van that said free breakfast. We gave apples to people."
On my trip to Ukraine, I saw with my own eyes how many churches had literally become refugee centers where, for example, children's church rooms had become dormitories. It's poignant to walk the aisles of churches and see them filled with refugees.
The refugees include both Christians and non-Christians. Through relief work, churches have the opportunity to demonstrate God's love in a very practical way. In these refugee centers, the internally displaced are fed, with the support of the Danish European Mission's donors.
We don't want tea or food, but give us a Bible - we have never read it - Ukrainian refugee
Slava continues: "Many cry because of the war. Some say: I had a family and a house, but now everything is gone. Because of stress, some have fallen ill. We are very grateful that we can take care of their soul and body."
"In Eastern Ukraine there have always been more atheists, while in Western Ukraine there are more Christians. The war has changed the atheists' view of the church. Some said: We don't want tea or food, but give us a Bible - we have never read it. We see a revival where many are open. We see many people starting to come to church. We never tell them to come to church because they get help. We never force them, but they come and want to see what church is." Slava concludes.
