Share the Yoke

As we drove up to the tall and austere building, within its compound of shaggy grass and tilled earth ready for planting, we were about to deliver our 3rd generator of the day. We walked around to the back of the building and saw the caretaker piling wood against the back wall to dry. My Ukrainian colleagues greeted him in their common tongue, and it became clear that he was expecting us.

I stepped forward and shook his hand. He met my look only fleetingly before shyly looking back down to the ground and directed us into the building. It was dimly lit by candles and there was warmth from the radiators against the wall, being heated by the wood burner he had installed a few months before; better to rely on the wood for heat than wait for the electricity to flow.

Pastor Stanislav aka the caretaker, and his wife care for 55 families in Makiv. He was working in Germany as a tile fitter when round two of the war started in February 2022. He came back home, and he and his wife recommissioned this old bible school into a functioning refuge for the displaced.

They used their savings to get the kitchens, bathrooms, bedrooms, and a common area transformed to provide comfort for those who arrive at their door. They have used up their savings to enable this and now live by faith that God will provide the resources they need to continue.

I listened as his wife talked about the families who now stay with them. She lit up when she spoke about the children and then shed a tear as she recounted how when they first arrived, they would dive under the tables when they heard the air-raid siren. Her pity and love for them was moving.

I had been watching Pastor Stanislav throughout our time together and could feel the burden that was on his shoulders. Whilst he relied on God, those around him relied on him to keep it all together.

I was moved to tears to see what they have done for 12 months and how they have opened the door to over 350 people who arrived with little other than themselves.

So, it feels like a true privilege to “share the yoke” with them both and we have committed to pay the monthly expenses for 12 months covering the heating, water, electricity, sewage, food, and petrol costs.