Update #10: Our visit to Bucha, Ukraine
Brenda Poor
One of the most memorable moments of our visit to Ukraine was to Bucha, the small town near Kyiv that Russia tried to obliterate. Not only did they indiscriminately destroy houses, apartment buildings, and businesses, they are also suspected of torture, raping, and executing hundreds of innocent civilians, leaving bodies laying on the streets for days and weeks. When the Russians knew they would have to retreat in the face of the advancing Ukrainians, they dug mass graves to hide their atrocities.

In the midst of this hellish scene, Pastor Sergiy Dziba is making visits to elderly shut-ins, delivering food and medicine. We were privileged to spend the day with him making his house calls in Bucha and Irpin.

In Bucha, we stopped at the house of an elderly woman, delivering food and medicines, and evaluating her heart failure. She and her family were members of the Nazarene church, and knew former missionary Bob Skinner. What an incredible scene when we knocked, and she opened the gate to see Bob standing outside! She wept tears of joy! Later, as we sat with her and she told us what it was like to live through the Russian attack and occupation, she wept in sorrow. Before we left, we stood in a tight circle with our arms holding the person on either side of us, and prayed.

Sergiy and I talked later, and thought how much basic mobile medical teams could help, going from village to village. This is something that is right up the alley of Global Care Force. It’s what we were doing during the COVID crisis. Sergiy has invited Global Care Force to send in small primary care medical teams to visit rural villages and provide food and basic medical care.

In our visit to hospitals near the front lines of the war in the east, we’ve also been asked to send in surgical teams to care for wounded soldiers. They’re also asking for medicines and supplies, including wound vacuums.

But to do this, we will need to raise enough funds to cover the expenses of our volunteers, and to ship the supplies they need. To donate, or volunteer, please go our website at GlobalCareForce.org.