Children of War
August 1st 2023
"When Kherson was under Russian occupation," Natalia says, "the Russian special services put my son-in-law on the 'wanted list' because he was a military man and went to defend the country from the Russian occupiers. It was extremely dangerous for my daughter Daryna and her children Anastasia and Nazar to stay in the city, so I decided having them evacuated as soon as possible was best.
On the morning of their departure, Daryna, her kids, and several other families left the city in a car convoy. After a long and tiring trip, they were finally approaching the last Russian checkpoint. Suddenly the convoy was fired upon by Russian soldiers with grenade launchers.
"Everyone was panicking," said Daryna, "as there was nowhere to go. They couldn't go back, and the road in front was blocked and filled with burning cars. The only option for escape was exactly what the Russian soldiers were forcing them to do - that was to escape by driving through a field full of mines. On the other side of the field - was freedom. The soldiers were doing this to have fun. For them, this 'game' was like Russian roulette."
"The driver took a sharp turn off the road, and after traveling only a few meters, the car hit a mine. The driver was thrown out of the car. We never saw him again and do not know what happened to him. He seemed to be alive. However, the woman sitting in the front seat was killed; her head was blown off by the explosion."
As Daryna recalled, "My kids and I were so shaken up. My head was aching. We heard screaming and saw fire and smoke all around us, and I didn't know what to do. We got out of the car, and the only way to escape was to run across the mined field toward freedom in the territory of Ukraine.
The shooting did not stop. To escape from machine gun fire, we ran across the field as fast as possible, stepping on the ground without knowing where the mines were hidden. It was terrifying.
Thank God we survived! Unfortunately, many of those traveling with us in the convoy, women and children, could not escape and were killed. When we reached the other side of the field, people met us and provided us with help and shelter. What we experienced that day cannot be described in any words."
"Before Daryna and the children left Kherson," Natalia continues, "I asked the local pastor, Serhii Deinekin (a HART partner), to pray for my children's safe journey. For several days we did not know anything about them. There was no communication at all. We only heard that the convoy of cars in which our children and granddaughter were traveling was under fire, with many people being killed, but we did not know if they were alive. A few days later, the phone rang, 'Oh my God!' I screamed, 'Daryna is calling!' Tears of joy, trembling voice, and gratitude to God poured out of my mouth when I heard they were all right."
Salvation of the Soul
Natalia continued, "We owe the salvation of our children to God alone! Before this situation, we had never been to church and had no faith. We saw God's power and love in what happened to our children. Now we believe in Him, we go to church, and we will thank and praise Our God until the end of our earthly life."
Natalia has accepted Christ and is preparing to be baptized. Every day,Oleksandr, Natalia's husband, comes to church to help repair the church, which was partially destroyed by shelling. "Oleksandr is always with me," says Pastor Serhii, "helping to deliver food, medicine, and building materials to the villages liberated from the occupiers. Having not read and not yet knowing the Bible, Oleksandr calls other people to faith in God, sharing the testimony of his children's salvation."
HART director Yevhen: "Passing near the village where Daryna and her children are now temporarily living, I needed to pick them up to move them to a safer place, but neither Daryna nor the children wanted to get into the car. Although almost six months have passed since the incident, the fear of getting into a car remains. Both kids were so traumatized that Nazar has only now started to speak again because he was silent all this time. Unfortunately, they will never be able to forget what happened to them that day."
On the morning of their departure, Daryna, her kids, and several other families left the city in a car convoy. After a long and tiring trip, they were finally approaching the last Russian checkpoint. Suddenly the convoy was fired upon by Russian soldiers with grenade launchers.
"Everyone was panicking," said Daryna, "as there was nowhere to go. They couldn't go back, and the road in front was blocked and filled with burning cars. The only option for escape was exactly what the Russian soldiers were forcing them to do - that was to escape by driving through a field full of mines. On the other side of the field - was freedom. The soldiers were doing this to have fun. For them, this 'game' was like Russian roulette."
"The driver took a sharp turn off the road, and after traveling only a few meters, the car hit a mine. The driver was thrown out of the car. We never saw him again and do not know what happened to him. He seemed to be alive. However, the woman sitting in the front seat was killed; her head was blown off by the explosion."
As Daryna recalled, "My kids and I were so shaken up. My head was aching. We heard screaming and saw fire and smoke all around us, and I didn't know what to do. We got out of the car, and the only way to escape was to run across the mined field toward freedom in the territory of Ukraine.
The shooting did not stop. To escape from machine gun fire, we ran across the field as fast as possible, stepping on the ground without knowing where the mines were hidden. It was terrifying.
Thank God we survived! Unfortunately, many of those traveling with us in the convoy, women and children, could not escape and were killed. When we reached the other side of the field, people met us and provided us with help and shelter. What we experienced that day cannot be described in any words."
"Before Daryna and the children left Kherson," Natalia continues, "I asked the local pastor, Serhii Deinekin (a HART partner), to pray for my children's safe journey. For several days we did not know anything about them. There was no communication at all. We only heard that the convoy of cars in which our children and granddaughter were traveling was under fire, with many people being killed, but we did not know if they were alive. A few days later, the phone rang, 'Oh my God!' I screamed, 'Daryna is calling!' Tears of joy, trembling voice, and gratitude to God poured out of my mouth when I heard they were all right."
Salvation of the Soul
Natalia continued, "We owe the salvation of our children to God alone! Before this situation, we had never been to church and had no faith. We saw God's power and love in what happened to our children. Now we believe in Him, we go to church, and we will thank and praise Our God until the end of our earthly life."
Natalia has accepted Christ and is preparing to be baptized. Every day,Oleksandr, Natalia's husband, comes to church to help repair the church, which was partially destroyed by shelling. "Oleksandr is always with me," says Pastor Serhii, "helping to deliver food, medicine, and building materials to the villages liberated from the occupiers. Having not read and not yet knowing the Bible, Oleksandr calls other people to faith in God, sharing the testimony of his children's salvation."
HART director Yevhen: "Passing near the village where Daryna and her children are now temporarily living, I needed to pick them up to move them to a safer place, but neither Daryna nor the children wanted to get into the car. Although almost six months have passed since the incident, the fear of getting into a car remains. Both kids were so traumatized that Nazar has only now started to speak again because he was silent all this time. Unfortunately, they will never be able to forget what happened to them that day."
Click to close
Click to close