Greetings from Zhytomer, Ukraine where I arrived after an early morning departure and three hour ride by van from Kyiv.
A startling conversation…
I asked Nicholi (our trusted consignee and good friend in our efforts), “How is the work? Have any of our guys had problems?” Nicholi looked down and signed and then said, “Yes. One of our drivers was killed last week. A sniper shot him as he was returning from taking food and clothing to those in need. He was in a location around Mariupol.” He went on to say that Russian snipers go into the free zones and have begun targeting the trucks bringing supplies or ever civilian cars. This driver had delivered a truckload of dry food mixes, family buckets, and clothing to locations around Mariupol. Mariupol is uppose to be the free and safe zone but the snipers do not care—their purpose is to strike terror and intimidation so the society will be paralyzed. That driver had made many trips to deliver items. He had driven through artillery shelling and returned with shrapnel holes in his truck, but he had always returned safely.
We work with a network of drivers that run vans into the areas where the greatest needs are. The drivers know the danger but are willing to do this because they see it as their part in fighting the Russian aggression and the anarchy that has seized the east. We load the vans and have a prayer. And they are off on what sometimes is a 24 hour driving task.
In the Zhytomer Oblast I am visiting a number of locations—the city itself where we have helped with 28 distribution sites to the displaced people. I will also visit Korosten, Olevsk, and several other locations. Each of these will have a number of distribution locations.
The three oblasts that have the heaviest influx of those displaced by Russia’s invasion and occupation are—Ivano-Frankivsk, Zhytomer, and Kyiv. IDPs are scatted throughout the other regions of Ukraine but these three have the greatest population.
In the Zhitomyr visits I met with the following groups: various displaced people from Lugansk and Donetsk; families that had loved ones killed by the war; those civilians disabled by mines and bombs; soldiers who came to get some items for their family, families who have been affected by the ATO (Anti-Terrorist Operations) either by the husband being sent to fight or by other traumas associated with the ATO.
The need is unimaginable. The scope is overwhelming. The faces of the women and children are unforgettable.
Everywhere I go I see our Family Buckets that so many have collected and shipped to those in need! The Glen Allen church of Christ sent hundreds of buckets to Judsonia and we sent those to Zhitomyr where Glen Allan has been working for many years. I saw some of those buckets being given to widows with children.
The clothes and toys and hygiene items are all prized treasures. These are sorted and arranged so that those coming for help can easily find what they need. When one comes to get assistance the first thing is to show the official documents that are given to displaced people. There are groups that go into the distribution rooms. These are 10-15 people and after they find what they need another group is allowed to enter. The entire process is documented, checked, and orderly.
AS I watched group after group go and select a few things and each was given a family bucket and the a bag of food mixes (the food mixes have come from A Child’s Hope International; Kids Against Hunger; British Columbia Gleaners), I could not help but think, “What is such a small amount in the face of such an enormous need?” But we are doing something and that something is greatly appreciated. Faith tells us…IF God can take the few loaves and fishes and made it sufficient then He can take our meager efforts and make them sufficient!
The gratitude expressed to me was sincere.
The visuals will move you in the deepest parts of your spirit.
One moment is unforgettable…I wish each reader could have been present…
Among those being assisted were the families of soldiers fighting in the ATO. Today I walked into the distribution site located downtown Zhytomer and instantly saw four young men in their BDUs. Seeing young men in BDUs is not unusual because of the war. But this scene was strikingly different. Tanya immediately leaned over and said, “See what they are looking at?” They were huddled around a box that had stuffed animals for children.
Each was looking over the assortment and selecting just one of the stuffed animals for his family.
These were troops from Ukraine’s 93rd and 95th Airborne brigades. Each of the boys seemed to tower over me so they had to be 6’5” or taller. They were physically fit, well disciplined, and soldierly. They wore the aged faces of those whose youth had been stolen by the forever indelible memories of evil’s horrors.
They were so young…and they were huddled around a box filled with stuffed animals and talking about each one…The visual was surreal.
They were to be deployed within a matter of days and they had come to the distribution site to see if they could find anything to leave with their families…and they found a box of stuffed animals.
I am not sure what you would choose to leave with your family if you were being deployed to the front lines. But I can tell you what these four thought about…they walked in and saw the box of stuffed animals and thought of their little children.
I tried to get them to take more than one but they declined saying there were many others who would like to have one so all they would take was one.
There was so much I wanted to tell them but my throat closed up and my eyes welled with moisture and I could only speak in a soft broken tone.
This trip is quickly coming to an end. Please continue praying for us!
John L. Kachelman, Jr.
Zhytomer, Ukraine
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