June 2022 Update

 

Friends, family, kind strangers – it has now been 123 days since Russia’s invasion and the start of full-scale war in Ukraine. ** please do not share anything from this letter publicly without my permission.

While the war is no longer in headlines around the world, it remains a constant here in the lives of Ukrainians and those of us that call this land our home. Just this morning I was woken at 6:00 am to the air raid sirens and news that missiles are once again dropping on the capital city Kyiv. People died. Homes destroyed. More of the unbelievable.  In order to cope, we must grow accustomed to some things.. the low-flying helicopters, how the air raid sirens begin to fade into the background of your day, passing people in the park who are now missing limbs, the price of gas, and the military checkpoints on my way to the orphanage.  And as we cope, we also carry on.

In May I was able to travel down to Albania where I secured a volunteer visa, this allowed me to come back to Ukraine and apply for my temporary residency! I was approved just earlier this week and will receive it officially in a few weeks. This process is turbulent under normal circumstances, so this can be celebrated as a small miracle during a war!

My mom also came to visit for two weeks and we had the BEST time. Introducing her to the children I get to love and serve was truly a gift. Our time together was sweet, full, and everything I needed.

The past two weeks since my mom left have been spent partly overcoming a nasty stomach bug and partly finding my groove back into a routine after traveling and hosting. But who really likes routine anyway haha… (actually I do, a lot) but other times flexibility is more important. So this week my priorities get to shift quite a bit as I am traveling on an unexpected, last-minute trip to the US to visit my friends Joe and Schuylar. Schuylar was diagnosed with cervical cancer in March 2021 and today faces a fight for her life. She and her husband Joe have been good friends to me in some of my darker days and since hearing about Schuylar’s most recent prognosis, I need to be there and encourage my friends. I need to be there with my community in Georgia who all know and love Schuylar and are praying for and believing in healing.

So tomorrow I once again leave Ukraine unexpectedly and travel to Budapest where I’ll fly out on Tuesday morning. Thank you for your prayers over this travel and my time in Georgia. And thank you for your prayers over my friend Schuylar, her husband Joe, and their 2-year-old son.

Your generous donations have primarily gone to the following over the past month and a half… diapers and snacks for the orphanage. a place of rest for refugees traveling through Lviv. life-saving gear for men and women serving on the front lines. food money for families living in eastern Ukraine, many unable to leave their homes. a week’s worth of fuel costs for aid delivery and evacuations. fuel to travel back and forth to the orphanage. visa and residency expenses. my availability – your donations also support me as an independent missionary and my life here in Ukraine. Thank you, thank you, thank you. I am doing frequent updates on my Instagram, so follow along there.  with love, Lina