“When I hug them, they tremble with happiness that they are safe…” How European Christians serve Ukrainian refugees

Over 3.7 million people have left Ukraine since the outbreak of hostilities, the Axios portal reported on March 27, citing data from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

The largest number of refugees were received in Poland – 2.1 million. 555 thousand people crossed the border with Romania, 371 thousand with Moldova, 324 thousand with Hungary and 256 thousand with Slovakia. 271 thousand refugees arrived in Russia, another 4.9 thousand – to Belarus.
An additional 6.5 million people are considered internally displaced.

The response to the humanitarian and social catastrophe in Ukraine was not only the unprecedented sanctions against Russia, but also the unprecedented solidarity of Christians (primarily from European countries) who are ready to sacrifice their resources and even risk their lives to help millions of people.

The town of Chelm (Poland), 25 kilometers from the border with Ukraine.

With their clothes on their backs, hundreds of Ukrainian women and children queue for hours to get into Poland as part of the largest relocation of people in Europe since World War II. They anxiously wander into an unknown future in an unfamiliar country.
But later, when they reach their destination, fear is replaced by surprise. Volunteers have sealed the windows of their cars with Ukrainian flags and signs in Ukrainian: “Free travel to the shelter.”

Drivers take refugees to a Baptist church in Chełm, just a few miles up the road, where people from all over the world – Poland, Latvia, England, the United States and many other countries – offer a safe place for hours, days, or as long as needed.
In a makeshift waiting room, women with children are confused and stunned when church volunteers tell them that the church has free food, drinks, showers and places to sleep for them. The community even has an equipped children’s area where children can play with bubbles or watch educational videos projected on a screen.

“What we are seeing is a real movement of love and generosity across the country. Poles open their doors and embrace Ukrainians. They take them to their churches, to their homes. They feed them. They take care of them,” said Marek Glodek, president of the Polish Baptist Union. “And this is what Jesus constantly calls His disciples to do.”

At the warehouse in Chełm, donations for Ukrainians arrive as quickly as they go to Ukraine and to shelters throughout Poland.

Near the border with Belarus, the church provides shelter to about 50 refugees and sends humanitarian aid to Ukraine. This work is led in part by Natasha and Sergey, Ukrainians who came to Poland 10 years ago.

Natasha calls her parents in Ukraine twice a day to find out if they are still alive. Hearing their voices briefly, she continues to work helping her compatriots.
“I can see the fear on their faces. I see their pain. I see tears in their eyes. I see fear for my family they left behind. But I also see how safe they feel here. When I hug them, they tremble with happiness to be safe,” she said. “I feel like I’m doing so little. I feel like I could do a lot more. But I try to do everything so that these people know that we did everything we could. ”

Christians from all over the world in one way or another carry out their ministry to people fleeing from shelling, destroyed houses and death.
People in dozens of shelters on the border with Ukraine speak in English, in Latvian, in Russian, in Polish, in German, un Icelandic, in Ukrainian and other languages.

Despite the multiplication of evil, fear and lawlessness, God pours out grace through His children on a shocked world – through the ministry of those who serve with their cars to take Ukrainians out of dangerous areas, those who collect finances for the needy, those who meet, feed, help with paperwork, comfort and preach about the love and mercy of God.

According to The Christian Post.

Source: «Когда я обнимаю их, они дрожат от счастья быть в безопасности…» Как европейские христиане служат украинским беженцам – ВО СВЕТЕ (inlight.news)