Impacted by Ukraine
In August 2022, Shane and his wife Agnes joined a small group of Aussies. They travelled to Ukraine to deliver aid and offer help to some smaller organisations, making a big difference in the effort to protect and re-house families who had lost everything during the invasion.
Shane had his camera, of course, and was able to capture some incredible stories of strength and resilience amongst the rubble.
As you could imagine, the experience was intense and impacting in so many ways, here is a collection of small stories from the people we met.
Angel's at the Gate
We met this incredible couple who lived near the Hostomal airport, which the invading army tried to capture early in the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
However, three months prior, the wife had seen in a dream a pair of angels standing guard at the entrance to their property. At the time, it didn’t make any sense because they had no idea that an invasion was imminent.
Shaking it off, she didn’t think of it again until 30+ helicopters flew over their roof, and explosions started shaking the area.
Immediately, the dream returned to her, and she had complete peace that they would be protected.
Miracle after miracle took place for this couple and the story is long. The craziest thing was when walking towards their gates; you could see hundreds of bullet holes on the fences and gates on either side, but not a single touch to the property of this couple.
These guys were able to help so many of the people around them and in their village escape and be kept safe throughout the occupation and afterwards in the rebuild.
My Bible is My Weapon
This champion power lifter and strong man took a different approach to helping his fellow country men.
We met him at a small village outside Kyiv which had been significantly destroyed by the invaders as they rolled towards the city. His heart was torn when he saw what was happening and turned to God for direction. His instinct was to pick up a weapon and defend his country.
However, he felt strongly that his mission was to feed the hungry, clothe them, and protect the innocent left behind.
It is an incredibly touching scene to see this powerful man cooking and feeding the elderly in a park while sharing the message of hope with the broken people.
Building Tiny Homes
Dima, a local working in Kyiv was challenged to pick up his tool belt and start building again, something he thought he’d never return to.
The Painters of the Gate
In our final days in Ukraine, we were driving through a small village where the aid team were preparing for the delivery of more tiny homes when we came across a gate that captured us.
Everything in this village is full of bullet holes, which wasn’t unique. But what caught our eye was the beautiful flowers and love hearts painted around these holes.
This triggered us to search for and find the young children responsible and learn their story. What unfolded in the following moments we shared with this family impacted us forever.