We know that each country will be different; the culture will be different, the language, the needs- it will be different everywhere we go. The GWP is set up to serve the women around the world, not to dictate. With that being said, Ukraine became a vision trip. We wanted to see where we could be the most useful. We spent the lions share of our time in Kiev, the capital, where we trained girls and women of all ages at high schools and universities as well as social centers and churches. But we also went to the east where Ukraine is at war with Russia. We saw with our own eyes, the scarcity and the destruction that the people lived in, day after day. We stayed on the front lines, in one of their houses; a house that had previously been bombed, with shrapnel still in the walls. It was outside of this house that I heard my first bomb.
Out of this trip, our future GWP leader emerged. Her name is Rimma and her and her husband pastor a church on the front lines for the people that remain there. They don’t have much, but they were incredibly hospitable, giving us gifts and cooking us a wonderful meal.
Their church (which is this tent on the front lines) has become a safe haven for the people that are left to live in this active war zone. As the winter is approaching, the temperatures will drop below freezing. Because of your generosity, we were able to give them the money that they needed to buy the last two sides of the tent so that they can be a little bit warmer this winter.
Living on the front lines means that they hear gunfire and bombings regularly. Knowing that Rimma and her husband had been there for quite a while, we wanted to give them a break. When I told her that we all wanted to contribute to send her and her husband away for the weekend- just to get out of it and clear their heads and hearts, she hid her face in her hands. The relief that washed over her was palpable. After we left, she couldn’t stop thanking us, telling us that before we came, she had to borrow money from her sister to buy sausages. I realized that these were the sausages that she cooked for us. They don’t have very much, but they give everything they have to those around them. When she finally went on her weekend getaway with her husband, she took pictures of everything, wanting to savor it all. She sent me pictures of them eating at McDonalds and KFC; pictures of them watching a movie in a theater; pictures of them walking in the park. Giving them a break like this enables them to go back into the war zone a little bit more refreshed so that they can continue to help those around them. This happened because of you. We can’t thank you enough for your continued generosity.
When we were staying in Kiev, we were working closely with a church there called New Life. Because of you, we were able to contribute to the blue mats that you see in the photo above. We trained nearly every day that we were there with girls and women from all over the city.
