Still offering hope after one year in a war zone

When Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, few predicted the war would still be raging a year later. Yet during this time, Elim’s biggest-ever relief effort has brought aid to hundreds of Ukrainians. 

Senior Missions Assistant Tim Cobham was overwhelmed by the unprecedented amount raised through Elim’s ERA fund. He has seen first-hand how partnering with Samaritan’s Purse to distribute some of it in Ukraine has brought vital practical relief.

“When Russia first invaded Ukraine and began bombing hospitals, I told Samaritan’s Purse we might be able to send £10,000 for an emergency field hospital they were building. Actually, we sent £50,000, then multiples of that since. We never anticipated we’d raise anywhere over £100,000 – it’s amazing what we can do when we work together as Elim.

“In those early days, we realised we needed strategic partners who could do things on a far bigger scale than we could. We joined forces with Samaritan’s Purse, which had a lot of people on the ground to assess needs, and church contacts linked with Operation Christmas Child.

“Since then, they’ve built hospitals, brought in thousands of tonnes of food per week and produced nearly 190,000 litres of fresh drinking water per day. They’ve also created eight distribution centres where pastors can collect food to give out locally. Through ERA, we’ve been able to support this.

“I got to see the work we’re supporting when I visited the country in October. We saw normal neighbourhoods blasted to smithereens, and with temperatures set to fall as low as 20 degrees below freezing, the main priority was getting people through winter, so Samaritan’s Purse was repairing roofs. Everywhere we went, we saw their blue tarpaulins covering holes and being used to make at least one room in a home safe for winter. They’d had 6,000 stoves delivered too.

“I heard so many stories while I was there. In Chernihiv, we met some elderly ladies who had survived in their basements for 40 days with whatever food they had in their homes when the Russians invaded. They had moved drain pipes to allow rain to run into a bowl so they could have water. And we also heard stories of people coming to faith.

As churches give out aid packages, they explain they’re helping because they want to share hope and invite people to services. At one meeting, 125 people became Christians.

“In Poland, we met two families who had fled their homes when Putin took Crimea in 2014. They’d lost everything and had spent the past eight years rebuilding their lives. Then Putin invaded last year, and they had to run again. You hear this story over and over. The question for the vast majority of people now is how do they get back to where they were, to their communities?”

Through his work on the Polish border and in Ukraine, Elim minister Christy Smith has assessed the situation and distributed ERA funds where they were most needed, bringing aid and trauma counselling.

“One of the worst things I saw in this conflict was thousands of women and children walking across the border into Poland carrying Aldi bags, desperate, destitute and traumatised. But with Elim's funds, we were able to help. At the beginning, we were on the Polish border, bringing people across, meeting them off trains and helping them get on buses to other places in Europe. We were able to buy essentials like bottled water, deodorants, shower gel and placed them at the station for people to take.

“Later, we went into Ukraine, to Bucha, and worked with an evangelical Bible college to provide aid. “The college Principal has organised so many distributions and rescues. At the start of the invasion, he was trapped behind enemy lines for five days in a basement with 100 people. He had to sneak past the Russians to bring people out.

“The college has a network of around 70 churches all over Ukraine which was distributing food, and we helped them feed a couple of hundred families in a village where a massacre took place.

“We’ve also trained a group of leaders in Poland to provide trauma counselling because people were taking in families but didn’t know how to cope with people who were crying and had no idea how to process their grief.

“More recently, we’ve been helping people through winter because temperatures in Ukraine drop to -20C. Electricity is a big problem because Russia has destroyed so much infrastructure, so the biggest need is generators, power packs and cooking equipment.

“We sent five generators, seven power packs, hundreds of torches, thermal underwear, warm clothing and sleeping bags. We sent power banks to Kharkiv hospital to keep equipment working when the power goes out.

“Village after village has been bombed out. They have nothing – no water or electricity – and are taking water from rivers and cutting down trees to get wood for cooking. We’ve given out family packs with basins, cups, water purification tablets, torches, thermal underwear, cutlery, plates and food.

“Being able to provide help like this through ERA has been great. I wanted Elim to leave a footprint in Ukraine because, for me, humanitarian aid is also an opportunity to evangelise. Everywhere we go, we tell people we’re here for one reason – God loves them – and we’re demonstrating that in a practical way. ERA made that possible.”

Helping refugees

Since the fateful day Putin launched his illegal and immoral invasion of Ukraine, more than six million Ukrainians have fled their homeland, leaving behind families, homes, livelihoods and communities. Over 100,000 found their way to the UK.

In April, some of those displaced people arrived in Northern Ireland and were welcomed into the homes of families from Ballymena’s Elim Church. A year on, how are these families? Lead pastor Paul Stone reports.

Not everyone could take people in, but many wanted to help, so as a church, we began to host Sunday lunches where Ukrainians could gather.

As more refugees arrived, the numbers grew, and now between 40 and 60 meet each week. A WhatsApp group has formed, with more than 100 Ukrainians on it. People travel to Ballymena from surrounding towns and communities, often coming long distances simply to connect.

Out of this, relationships and friendships have formed. Other churches began to show interest, and now an inter-church network has formed, with 17 churches contributing and helping to support the growing Ukrainian diaspora.

English classes began at First Ballymena Presbyterian Church and, more recently in Wellington Presbyterian Church. As Ukrainians began to find their own places to rent, the churches sourced furniture and met needs in a variety of ways.

Out of this unity, Ballymena Elim hosted an inter-church Ukrainian service. Some of those arriving are believers, and so on their national day – which happened to coincide with the six-month marker of the invasion – they gathered to thank God and give witness to Christ’s great love.

It was a remarkable, moving and humbling evening. Many from other churches stood with ministers from the town to pray. Many unchurched Ukrainians came and heard about Christ. Some have since become followers of Jesus.

All were encouraged as we heard praise sung in Ukrainian and heard the testimony of those who had fled the war but found that God had met their every need. We heard of people who had found a new spiritual family far from home. It was a powerful picture of what the church can be and how Christ still calls us to welcome strangers. It was a powerful picture of the beauty of the Gospel in the face of great darkness.

The war in Ukraine forced Svetlana and her son Maksym to flee their home and, with the support of Ballymena Elim, build a new future.

Svetlana explains: “Our journey from Ukraine to Ballymena was long. It took us almost two days to reach the border of Ukraine and Romania. We then stayed in Romania for a week, travelled 36 hours on a bus to Germany and after a while, flew from Amsterdam to Belfast.

“In Northern Ireland, it felt like we were going through the motions initially, not really knowing how we felt about anything.

“The first challenge we faced was filling out all the different forms and applications – that seemed like an endless procedure.

“My son Maksym was planning to go to technical college back home last autumn, but instead, he had to return to school in a different country, not really knowing the language.

“For me, I had planned to stay in my job at Evangel Theological Seminary in Kyiv until I retired, but instead, I had to look for a new job and learn new skills. I completed a course on community interpreting and am presently working in a grammar school as a sixth-form supervisor. Maksym is getting better at school and is very happy learning about car repairs with a local mechanic. “Praise God that he is watching over us. He has promised he will never leave or forsake us!

“For me, it’s been very important to have church support to feel I am not alone. Ballymena has organised lunches where Ukrainian people can enjoy fellowship and great food.

“For the majority of us Ukrainians, it is difficult to communicate in English, so just being able to talk to each other in our own language is a joy.

“Thank you for opening your doors to us and for your hospitality and support.

Please continue to pray for us and our country.”

Mariia (Masha), 19, lives with veteran Elim Missions advocate Bobbie Tinnion in Northern Ireland. There may be 60 years difference in age, but Bobbie says this was a God appointment.

“As a young teenager in Ukraine, I often dreamed of travelling to the UK and other countries, but at 18 years old, with my 24-year-old sister, I suddenly had to flee the war in Ukraine.

After an arduous journey, we arrived in Poland. Life was difficult, and I tried to continue online study with my Ukrainian university. We were frightened and concerned about family we had left behind. Through Ballymena Elim, we both found sponsors, and I prepared to learn English.

When my visa arrived, my sister decided to return home to Ukraine. I was now alone. My concern for my family increased, but with the help of my sponsor, I travelled to Kraków and took a flight to Belfast.

This was my first flight and everything was new and confusing, particularly the English language. I was determined to ‘conquer’ English, but this was an enormous task.

Five weeks after arriving, I was successful in gaining part-time employment at the Mid & East Antrim Advice Centre. This proved a huge learning curve, but I continued to study hard and used every opportunity to learn about my colleagues’ roles. Imagine my surprise when I was chosen to train as an advisor.

I missed my mum and grandma so much, and when the internet allowed, I FaceTimed them every day.

I have applied via UCAS for further study and will be so grateful if I am successful in my chosen career pathway.

During this past year, my emotions have fluctuated between fear, frustration, excitement, loneliness and anger towards Putin and Russia.

Thanks to Ballymena Elim and my sponsor for receiving and caring for me.

My faith in God has grown during the past year, and I trust him to care for my family and direct my future.

This article first appeared in the February 2023 edition of Direction Magazine. For further details, please click here.

A year on from the invasion of Ukraine, our Impact Report regarding the Elim Relief Appeal for the European Conflict has been published. It has been unprecedented in its scale, and we are grateful to all who have given.

Read the report here and flick through the images below.

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