The first face I saw when I stepped into the Latvian Biblical Centre in March was Helena from Northwest Ukraine. She was surrounded by aid boxes waiting to be sent to help refugees at the Polish border. The thing that I noticed about Helena was her smile. How has she managed over the past few weeks?
‘It was a shock when I found out that the Russian Army had invaded us. This was a regular day when I was preparing my daughters for school. We heard a loud noise and thought that neighbours were doing some work on their building. It was then that we had a message from the school to say it would be safer for the girls to stay at home. Three days later we began to leave. This involved a 12-hour wait to get through the border; some of this journey was on foot. We were overwhelmed by the kindness of people at the border. Free buses, food, and people willing to offer accommodation, before being taken to family in Latvia.
‘What kept me going was not caring for myself but for my children. My focus was on survival. I tried to keep a cool head, gather information on social media, form a clear plan and follow it one step at a time.’
Helena said that her great desire was that the war would be over. Her daughters keep asking: ‘When will we go back home.’
Where is God in all of this? ‘He is in my heart,’ Helena said, with a smile on her face.
Many of my Christian friends in Latvia wrestle with a jumble of emotions, struggling to trust God, angry with Putin, heartbroken about what is happening in Ukraine, and nervous due to sharing a border with both Russia and Belarus. Pray for many Latvians who are sending aid, driving to the Polish border to collect refugees, and providing accommodation. Pray for a miracle of peace.
