Together with members of the Board and leaders of the Otchiy Dim/Father’s House, we began to prepare for a possible evacuation within a month. A lot of preparatory work has been done! But trouble caught us by surprise.
As it usually happens, we almost always miss something by one day. As Viktor Mykhailovych said, we were exactly 1 day late in our preparation and decisions. But God also works sincerely with sincere people, despite their imperfections.
We turned to many bus rental companies, but all of them, for various reasons, refused to help us with transport. Our entire evacuation plan was hanging by a thread in an instant due to the lack of transport for this evacuation. I thank everyone who prayed for us at this time in different parts of the world, and in response to the prayer, the Lord miraculously and unexpectedly, found us one carrier, Valeriy. He called us and told us that in 2 hours 2 of his buses are driving to Kovel and could take our children to a safe place in Poland.
The children did not have international passports, but thanks to the head of the Children and Family Services of Kyiv Region, Iryna Antoshkoa, who was already under fire attacks at the risk of her own life, together with the entire document services, we decided to take this step to protect and preserve children’s lives.
However, there was not enough seats in 2 large buses for all. Therefore, only children were evacuated and the minimum number of adults needed to ensure the livelihood of children. There were 147 children and 30 adults. In addition to the two Z-TIME buses by Valeriy Myronyuk, we had to send our Mercedes Sprinter minibus and Elbakyan’s foster family’s minibus, as well as hire another bus, which agreed to take our children to Kovel for 22,000 UAH. Valery and his friend Oleksandr accompanied our children in a patrol police car, which made our way smoother on every turn of the way. Thanks to them, we successfully overcame all the traffic jams on the Zhytomyr highway and arrived at the border with Poland rather quickly. We will all remember the trip through Rivne region with a special attention.
The first reason for that is how we underwent air attack at the airport in Rivne and how our escorts professionally organized our defense. And the second reason became the words spoken by a police officer, Sergiy: “Do not be afraid, do not cry, and do not be sad! Go with the Lord and believe that with God’s help, we will soon overcome the enemy and you will return to your homeland in peace and safety! Pray for us. “
Our Sprinter minibus broke down in Kovel and we had to leave it there. The foster parent, who drove some of the children in his own minibus, was not allowed to leave the border. Valeriy, the carrier, became an Angel for us, assigned by God to assist us here as well. He replaced the bus we rented with his own, and instead of two failed minibuses, he provided us with a fourth bus. As there was one driver less, he personally sat behind the wheel and helped to defend the interests of children during the border crossing. After 12 hours of crossing all the borders, he took us to the territory of Poland, exhaled with relief, and said: “I have fulfilled my mission!” To my question, how much do we owe him for all that He has done for us, as a carrier and as a MAN in capital letters. He replied that this was his contribution to saving the lives of children left without parents and that it was an honor to have an opportunity to help save their lives.
My children and I are grateful to Valery and Oleksandr Yuriyovych for their selfless and sacrificial help in saving children’s lives! May the Lord God, who calls Himself the Father of orphans, bless them in all aspects of their lives, as well as the lives of their children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren!
During our trip, so many of our friends in different parts of the world prayed for our evacuation and offered a variety of help. We thank Rostislav Radchuk, Leosh, Vaclav Bednar, Julia Demerau and her partners, Luis Ruiz, Alyona Goretska, the Akatriniy family, our mentors and drivers, all those who continued to serve in such a difficult time in the Child Care and Family Services of our region, Anya Bergeren and the Wings of Angels, Valentina and Patrick Lundqvist, the Kingdom Center team, our S’Einladele Partners, and Stadt Mission of Freiburg City, as well as the Land Management, where they are ready to welcome us indefinitely. Thank God for all of you!
Each of us have our own part of reward from God in the destiny and life of saved children!