Below is an email I sent out to my family, various friends, and my church group in which I included the emails I had received from friends in Ukraine when the invasion had begun. I had been in more extensive email contact than usual with I**** and M**** over the couple of weeks before the invasion, and I had asked the members of the Euro zoom discussion group that I am part of to pray for our friends in Ukraine, adding them to the prayer list with the friends and relatives in Ukraine of two other members of the group.
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From: Chris Orozco []
Sent: Thursday, February 24, 2022 9:22 AM
To: Subject: Emails from Friends in Ukraine
Family,
Below are the emails I received this morning from our friends in Ukraine.
I have attached a photo of most of our friends in Ukraine. These men have all stayed with us for about five times over the years. From L-R:
1. I**** – lives very close to the Russian border, pastor of a church, two teenage daughters. Close friend.
2. Z**** – lives in the Kyiv area, professor at seminary, five children, ages 15-5.
3. M**** – lives in the Kyiv area, professor at seminary, three children, ages 16-13. Very close friend.
4. R**** – lives in the Kyiv area, professor at seminary, four children ages 14-8. One child on the way, due in September.
Emails received:
I**** : Dear Chris,
Thank you for your prayers. Tonight Russia launched missile strikes against military targets throughout Ukraine. We trust in our Lord!!!
M**** : Kiev and other Ukrainian cities are being shelled from different sides from the air. This morning we woke up to several explosions. Several military units near Kiev were hit.
The situation is very alarming. Many are leaving the city and going to the west of the country.
My brothers and I are staying where we are.
When M**** refers to his brothers, he is referring to those men, such as shone in the photo and listed above, who work with him at the seminary or are members of the church they attend, a church building they were themselves with their hands in the process of repairing and remodeling to accommodate the needs of the congregation, now…
I wanted to send this message out so that people can put faces on at least a few Ukrainians and understand that these are persons just like us whose lives, and those of their families, and their world were just shattered.
It actually broke my heart seeing the news reporting of the subways in Kiev crowded with people – families, grandparents, parents, and children, some very young – taking shelter. Some were in tears because they were separated from family members. I was reminded of my own mother being evacuated from London at age thirteen at the start of WW2. I feel it most important to always understand global events in terms of individual persons, and families, and even those all alone.
Dad/Chris
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Email Sent From Me to M**** 02/26/2022
M****,
We have all been watching the news coverage from Ukraine which has been extensive and has shown much of the tragedy, suffering, and chaos that the invasion has caused. Every time I see news reports with children, teenagers, wives and fathers, and grandparents, hurrying to safety, pushing babies in strollers, crowding the train stations, with little brown doggies on lease, or men driving cars trying to escape west with their families crammed inside and him holding the cat, I think of you and your family. What is happening in Ukraine is being watched by the world, and the Russian president and Russia as a whole is being condemned by the world.
I know in your present circumstances this may not comfort you, but please know that many people of goodwill are doing what they can. I am coordinating prayer requests for my on-line church group, I will be featuring you and your initial emails to me on my website with commentary on Monday and each week I will write of another aspect of your plight in Ukraine to constantly remind my readers about the effects of this war upon you and Ukraine. I will also write of the evil men in this country who spoke out in praise of the Russian president and the invasion.
God’s protection and blessings upon you. Please communicate with me when you can to tell me how you and your family are. Also give me any news of R**** and Z**** and their families. I hope that you are all together. If you hear from I*** also let me know.
You all are constantly in my thoughts and prayers.
Chris
***
One Facebook Message Received a Few Days After the Invasion
I have only received one message from I****, our friend in Chernihiv, which is near the northern border with Russia, who reported on the damage from a rocket:
An hour ago a RUSSIAN rocket exploded near the prayer house of our church (First Baptist Church of Chernihiv). Other houses and apartments that were in the path of the “red army” were also hit. Praise the Lord no one was killed or hurt! Thank Him that there was no fire! But a corner of the building and part of the roof was seriously damaged. The insulation was torn off. House windows on one side of the building were broken. The gas pipe was broken. There is a lot of cleaning to be done. Unfortunately, we will not be able to hold meetings in the near future.
I have not heard from our friends in Kyiv. I believe all of them, and their families, in Kyiv must be sheltering in as safe a location as possible, perhaps in the subways, because the city is essentially now surrounded by the army and the shelling continues. However, I don’t know. Perhaps they have taken their families and joined the mass exodus west towards Poland, though all the men would have to return to help defend the city. But again, I just don’t know.
***
To View all Postings on Ukraine, Please Use the Link Below
Ukraine — Friends, the War, & Hope – Writing In The Shade Of Trees
Для перегляду всіх публікацій по Україні, будь ласка, скористайтеся посиланням нижче
Ukraine — Friends, the War, & Hope – Writing In The Shade Of Trees
To view all posts in the Moments of Seeing & Occasional Pieces, please use the link below.
Moments of Seeing & Occasional Pieces – Writing In The Shade Of Trees
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