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From Sarah Elizabeth in Ukraine:
Ukraine is an amazing country. It's hard to explain the mix of joy and sadness I feel each day here. I have met some of the most beautiful-hearted, strong people while living and volunteering here.
While the war began in 2014 when Russia invaded the Donbas region and annexed Crimea, the full scale invasion that started on February 24, 2022 brought the horrors of war to every corner of Ukraine and those horrors have permeated every part of everyday life: air raid sirens, anti-tank “hedgehogs,” missing fathers, and worshiping to the hum of generators during power outages.
An estimated one-third of Ukrainians have had to leave their homes to find safety. Despite the destruction of houses, families, and cultural centers, these resilient people have held onto hope and persevered through so much tragedy. It is an honor to serve wherever God leads.
Serving the Displaced
When I first arrived in western Ukraine, I mainly volunteered at a shelter that hosted people as they evacuated and sought safety. Some passed through and others stayed longer term. In May 2024, however, we closed that shelter as the Lord led. Little did we know, it was because our focus would soon turn toward a specific community seeking safety.
Just a few months later in August, we hosted a camp for teens from a small border city in the Sumy region called Hlukhiv. We had partnered with a local church there since the war began, and this wasn’t our first camp. But on the second day of camp, missiles started hitting their city, and what was meant to be a peaceful time of laughter away from the “noise” of war became something so much more.
Twenty-six of the thirty-five teens stayed with host families until they could be reunited with their families. Some stayed longer, as we turned the camp location into a shelter that quickly filled. Some families now rent apartments in Mukachevo, and some teens are still living with host families. I myself have hosted eleven girls; two of those teen girls are still with me and plan to stay until they either launch into adult life or can reunite with their parents in safety.
Biblical Counseling
Women and youth remain close to my heart. I have been blessed beyond imagination to work with some of the women in the church and at the refugee center. As always, we focus on the healing of the whole person: body, soul, and spirit. It has been an honor to serve many of the women who came from Hlukhiv through counseling, group programs, art therapy, and other forms of support.
It’s also been a blessing to equip some of those women to mentor and disciple others, multiplying the impact we can make here.
Living Out Isaiah 6
When Isaiah responded to God by saying, “Here I am, send me,” he didn’t know what that would look like. I relate deeply to that. When I arrived, I simply knew I would do whatever God placed in front of me.
That has meant many different things over the last few years: translating for a visiting team, sorting humanitarian aid, mentoring a young missionary from the East, being a house mother for displaced teens, equipping other young missionaries, counseling, and partnering with other families whose hearts were drawn to this displaced community, and honestly so much more that’s just become a normal part of daily life here.
Together, we have been blessed to visit, prepare meals, worship and pray, and host monthly “Hlukhiv family dinners” to provide a safe place to grieve, relax, and rest. Every day I ask for wisdom because no two days are the same and there is always something new to do or someone new to support.
Local Partnership
I am serving in connection with Living Water Mukachevo, a small local church in western Ukraine. They also have a volunteer organization that’s been meeting needs in their community (and beyond) for many years. However, when the invasion of 2022 sent a flood of people seeking safety to this region, the church became the hands and feet of Jesus and the organization adapted to meet the changing needs of a country under constant attack.
The work their humanitarian organization does includes receiving refugees, coordinating with organizations around the world to get aid to those in need both in the western part of Ukraine and all the way to frontline communities, and partnering with ministries in the East to bring physical aid as well as spiritual and emotional support. I’m thankful to get to be a part of that and work with others who are, too. There’s so much to do, and together we are making a difference.
We recognize that being in a quieter area of the country gives us an amazing opportunity to help others refresh, heal, and continue their work. Below are some photos from daily life and ministry over the past year, and I’m so excited to see what God will do in the coming year and what new faces and stories will be in the photos yet to be taken.
I am also praying that soon the healing work will include rebuilding a post-war society grounded in the hope of Christ and ask you to join me in praying for Ukraine.
Ukraine is an amazing country. It's hard to explain the mix of joy and sadness I feel each day here. I have met some of the most beautiful-hearted, strong people while living and volunteering here.
While the war began in 2014 when Russia invaded the Donbas region and annexed Crimea, the full scale invasion that started on February 24, 2022 brought the horrors of war to every corner of Ukraine and those horrors have permeated every part of everyday life: air raid sirens, anti-tank “hedgehogs,” missing fathers, and worshiping to the hum of generators during power outages.
An estimated one-third of Ukrainians have had to leave their homes to find safety. Despite the destruction of houses, families, and cultural centers, these resilient people have held onto hope and persevered through so much tragedy. It is an honor to serve wherever God leads.
Serving the Displaced
When I first arrived in western Ukraine, I mainly volunteered at a shelter that hosted people as they evacuated and sought safety. Some passed through and others stayed longer term. In May 2024, however, we closed that shelter as the Lord led. Little did we know, it was because our focus would soon turn toward a specific community seeking safety.
Just a few months later in August, we hosted a camp for teens from a small border city in the Sumy region called Hlukhiv. We had partnered with a local church there since the war began, and this wasn’t our first camp. But on the second day of camp, missiles started hitting their city, and what was meant to be a peaceful time of laughter away from the “noise” of war became something so much more.
Twenty-six of the thirty-five teens stayed with host families until they could be reunited with their families. Some stayed longer, as we turned the camp location into a shelter that quickly filled. Some families now rent apartments in Mukachevo, and some teens are still living with host families. I myself have hosted eleven girls; two of those teen girls are still with me and plan to stay until they either launch into adult life or can reunite with their parents in safety.
Biblical Counseling
Women and youth remain close to my heart. I have been blessed beyond imagination to work with some of the women in the church and at the refugee center. As always, we focus on the healing of the whole person: body, soul, and spirit. It has been an honor to serve many of the women who came from Hlukhiv through counseling, group programs, art therapy, and other forms of support.
It’s also been a blessing to equip some of those women to mentor and disciple others, multiplying the impact we can make here.
Living Out Isaiah 6
When Isaiah responded to God by saying, “Here I am, send me,” he didn’t know what that would look like. I relate deeply to that. When I arrived, I simply knew I would do whatever God placed in front of me.
That has meant many different things over the last few years: translating for a visiting team, sorting humanitarian aid, mentoring a young missionary from the East, being a house mother for displaced teens, equipping other young missionaries, counseling, and partnering with other families whose hearts were drawn to this displaced community, and honestly so much more that’s just become a normal part of daily life here.
Together, we have been blessed to visit, prepare meals, worship and pray, and host monthly “Hlukhiv family dinners” to provide a safe place to grieve, relax, and rest. Every day I ask for wisdom because no two days are the same and there is always something new to do or someone new to support.
Local Partnership
I am serving in connection with Living Water Mukachevo, a small local church in western Ukraine. They also have a volunteer organization that’s been meeting needs in their community (and beyond) for many years. However, when the invasion of 2022 sent a flood of people seeking safety to this region, the church became the hands and feet of Jesus and the organization adapted to meet the changing needs of a country under constant attack.
The work their humanitarian organization does includes receiving refugees, coordinating with organizations around the world to get aid to those in need both in the western part of Ukraine and all the way to frontline communities, and partnering with ministries in the East to bring physical aid as well as spiritual and emotional support. I’m thankful to get to be a part of that and work with others who are, too. There’s so much to do, and together we are making a difference.
We recognize that being in a quieter area of the country gives us an amazing opportunity to help others refresh, heal, and continue their work. Below are some photos from daily life and ministry over the past year, and I’m so excited to see what God will do in the coming year and what new faces and stories will be in the photos yet to be taken.
I am also praying that soon the healing work will include rebuilding a post-war society grounded in the hope of Christ and ask you to join me in praying for Ukraine.
