3 Things You Should Know About the War in Ukraine This Week
Update from Buddy, missionary
1. This war is not ending soon.
The fact that the west is tired of hearing about the war in Ukraine will not make it end any faster. There was a sense in this past week that if the Russian army would take Lugansk, then maybe that would be enough. They would understand that this is as good as they can do and go home. That sense did not last very long. Random bombing across the country began almost as soon as Lysychansk fell.
We were in Odessa this past week for a couple of days and were staying at the old seminary there. It has been abandoned since the war began, but the facilities are still in good shape and they were kind to let us stay there. As we stood on the balcony watching the horizon, suddenly the glow of bombs exploding in the distance shook us to attention. It was then that we understood that there will not be a soon peace. The next day as we were leaving Odessa the Russians bombed a recreational area killing 16 civilians. There is no understandable reasoning for the useless bombing of innocent civilians, except un-pure evil. All of the U.S. was honestly and correctly shocked when a young man senselessly shot 6 civilians at a 4th of July parade this week near Chicago. It makes our souls hurt, and we are angry at the vileness of this act. You should know that this kind of wickedness is still happening every single day in Ukraine.
It is as if Moscow feeds on innocent blood and as long as they can hide behind their bombs so that they do not have to engage in strategy or precision, they will continue. I feel like David sometimes crying out to God…”How Long?…” and then I realise that it has only been 5 months.
2. The Ukrainians Will Not Give Up
There is a new verb in the Ukrainian language. It is to “Macronit”. It was created in honour of the president of France. It means to say a lot and do little. Macron wants the Ukrainians to settle for giving up in order to have peace. He wants the Ukrainians to forget the thousands that have been murdered and the enduring sadness of the people that have to live with unbelievable loss, in order to appease a narcissistic mad man from Moscow. What Macron has discovered is that the Ukrainians are having none of it. There is a depth to the people that he is unfamiliar with as he sits comfortably in Paris. I’ve yet to find a Ukrainian who is ready to give up. However, I meet people every day who have a real belief that in the end, their righteous cause will prevail. I side with them.
3. The Church In Ukraine is Standing
I am proud of God’s people in Ukraine. In almost every region the Church is leading the way in reaching out to those who are hurting. We were in Irpin recently and heard again the stories of how the church was first in line to get the people to safety when the Russians first invaded. How the church sheltered, fed, clothed and protected hundreds and hundreds of victims, long before the government had the chance or the means to do anything. Now the process of caring for many in the aftermath of battles and bombings is also left to the people of the churches. Their need is for help from sister churches in safe and protected places in the world. The need is for those who have been blessed to now be a blessing. I am proud to have found a place to stand shoulder to shoulder with them and we along with all of them are grateful for how those of you at home have reached across these thousands of miles to join hands with you brothers and sisters in Christ in their time of need. Please don’t stop in the middle of the fight. I tell the Ukrainians often, that I am sure they will do the same if we are in need someday. It should always be in the back of our minds, that someday we, or our children or grandchildren, may be in the conditions that the Ukrainians find themselves. It is not beyond consideration that war will find it’s way to our shores. For this reason, while we have the wherewithal, we must invest and cast our bread upon the water, for there may come a day when we will need the return.
