She’s about four feet nine inches tall but she is every inch pure determination. I would like to introduce you to an old friend. Natasha visited our congregation in Nikopol Ukraine about 2013. She worked in Nikopol for a short period of time, before moving back to her village outside Kherson. She attended church with us for about a year.
In so many places in Ukraine, Russians have committed terrible atrocities. In Kherson, they used villagers like human shields. Russia wanted Kherson as it was a strategic point toward Mykolaiv. They concentrated military efforts here and by March 2nd only six days after the start of the war, Kherson surrendered. Odesa is the headquarters of the Ukrainian navy, which makes Kherson and Mykolaiv important points for the Russian army to gain control.
Natasha and her five children were part of the mass of humanity in the way. They ate potatoes and pasta the last day they were in their house but even that, there wasn’t much. They knew they must get out. They walked through Russian territory for eight hours. through bushes and swamps, hiding from Russians. She had to carry her two-year-old much of the way. She says the scariest thing was when the rockets flew over their heads. The kids cried and walked. They walked for fifteen kilometers when the Ukrainian army picked them up and brought them to a safe place, gave them some hot tea, and then took them on to Nikopol. She left Everything she had, her home, family, and friends.
They were able to make it to the church for Easter on April 22nd. She says the events of that day will remain in their memories forever. She is thankful for the help the church has given her. Her kids enjoyed the “Club Smile” ministry the church hosts on Saturday. The kids still suffer from PTSD however, her youngest does not do well in crowds. She hopes with some counseling, he will be able to function in a normal society. Nikopol is only sixty-two miles from Kherson, we pray the Russians will not advance further north.
She says “We believe God will protect us, he will liberate us because we don’t have anything else to believe in.” It is these moments that make or break us. Over the course of the war, there have been a lot of positive stories, and we try to highlight those, but many in difficult circumstances ask why God is allowing such terrible things to happen to them. So many respond in bitterness. Natasha wants to share with you that this story is not only hers. More than a thousand people from her village alone walked the same road.
Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, Whose hope is in the Lord his God. Psalms 146:5
What else can we have hope in? Why would we put our hope in anything else? Control is an illusion and it creates a spirit of complacency. Satan has us in a state where we are more worried about what we will wear or what we will eat, or where we will work, than where our souls will spend eternity. We aren’t constantly faced with our mortality. It’s easy to prioritize other things over a relationship with God.
Many people are drawn closer to God, through difficult circumstances others are driven away. Many in Natasha’s circumstances harbor bitterness toward a God who doesn’t seem to answer their prayers. Many in Ukraine woke up this morning not sure if this could be the day they face eternity. We don’t grapple with that decision on a daily basis, but our complacency can be a spiritual death sentence. Choose this day, whom you will serve.