‘God is bringing His people home and soon no one will be left behind’

We are traveling by bus from our shelter in Ukraine to the border with Moldova. We are bringing a group of Jewish refugees to Moldova and from there they will leave for Israel. During the journey I hear the stories of various people.

Travelling all alone
Her name is Victoria. She is 82 years old and from Kharkov, a city in the east of Ukraine. Since the outbreak of the war, the explosions did not stop. Stores were either closed or destroyed. It became too dangerous and that is why she had to flee.

Her son lives in a village a little further west, where it is still quiet. Her grandson already left for Israel last year. “Come to Israel, grandma, you have no future in Ukraine anymore,” he urged her. In the end, she decided to go. A difficult decision, since her son is not allowed to leave Ukraine because he can be deployed to defend the country. Victoria arrived at our shelter in western Ukraine on Monday. On Tuesday morning she and other refugees left for the border with Moldova. We spoke briefly on the bus, with the help of Nataliya, a very dedicated team member in Ukraine, who acted as interpreter.

Victoria (82)

Crossing the border

And there she went, crossing the bridge into Moldova. With all her possessions in just a small suitcase. What does she feel right now? Uncertainty, fear, sadness? We didn’t ask too much about it. Nataliya puts an arm around her shoulder. Once across the border, Victoria receives coffee and a hot sandwich at the shelter of the joint churches of Moldova. From the border town, it is a three-hour drive to Kishenov, the capital of Moldova. There we turn her and the other refugees over to the good care of the Jewish Agency, who will bring her and the other refugees to Israel. We wish her happiness, peace and blessings in her new homeland Israel, the land of her forefathers.

Fear of leaving everything behind
My eye catches a young woman together with an older woman. Her name is Sveta and she is 35 years old. She comes from a village about 60 kilometers from Donetsk. So from the war zone. The woman next to her is Galina. She is 80 years old and the mother-in-law of Sveta’s sister. Her sister and brother-in-law left for Israel earlier. Once they settled there, Sveta and the mother-in-law would follow.

The war has now accelerated these plans. When the first bombings began, the authorities said they’d better leave, because there was a possibility that everything would be destroyed. They had heard of our shelter and after a long journey they arrived there. After a hot meal, a shower and a good night’s sleep, they also join us on the bus to Moldova. Galina mentions to Nataliya, our Aliyah field worker, that she dreams of a good future in Israel. “Are you afraid?”, Nataliya asks. “No”, she replies, “but I am afraid to leave everything behind”.

Galina (80) and Sveta (35)

Rev. Cornelis Kant (Director C4I International) and Luca Hezel (Director C4I Germany) were in Ukraine for a few days.

Indeed, she had to leave everything behind. And most likely, everything that she leaves behind will be destroyed. We realize that we cannot possibly understand this. Tomorrow another big bus will be waiting to take several dozen Jewish refugees on their way to Israel.

God is bringing His people home and in the end, no one will be left behind. We are grateful to assist them on their way.

“Then they will know that I am the Lord their God, for though I sent them into exile among the nations, I will gather them to their own land, not leaving any behind. I will no longer hide my face from them, for I will pour out my Spirit on the people of Israel, declares the Sovereign Lord.”
Ezekiel 39:28-29