Our Stories

Svietlana’s Story

As missiles flew overhead, Svietlana stole into the apartment that she and her late husband Ruslan had called home in the town of Mykolaiv in southern Ukraine. With her 17-year-old daughter at her side, the recently widowed mother of two remembered the love and joy that had abounded in their home. Her thoughts were interrupted when a warhead slammed into a neighboring apartment complex. Svietlana and her terrified daughter held each other and wondered if they would live to rejoin the younger daughter, who was waiting in the relative safety of the city of Odesa. “We realized there was nothing we could do to save ourselves,” Svietlana recalls. “If God wanted to save us, He would.” They had risked the bombing to recover precious personal mementos and items from Svietlana’s baking business, hurriedly left behind when Russia first invaded nine months previously. Ukrainian towns close by had fallen in the first days of the invasion. Her husband Ruslan had taken his family to the border and then returned to fight. Svietlana stopped in her tracks when she entered their apartment and saw several carefully packed boxes, filled with all her baking supplies. Ruslan must have prepared them to give to her at their planned reunion. It was like a gift, sent from beyond the gave, but the sight of his thoughtful gesture filled Svietlana with pain. Overwhelmed by emotion, suddenly she didn’t want to have anything to do with those boxes, but she didn’t have a choice. Now that she was on her own, she would need their contents to revive her baking business and support her daughters. During the previous nine months, Ruslan had led a military patrol group of a dozen young men for whom he felt a fatherly affection. They had been part of a campaign that reclaimed a large amount of territory from the Russian army, but it came at great cost. Ruslan had grieved deeply as each of the men under his command was killed. Broken and wracked with guilt, he was only a few days away from leave to visit his family, now located in Budapest, Hungary, when he lost his life in a vehicular accident on a military highway. The funeral service for Ruslan occurred in Odesa on the very day the family had planned to be reunited before his death. Before he died, Ruslan had given his family another gift. Svietlana had been part of an evangelical church in their hometown. Ruslan attended occasionally, if somewhat grudgingly. But before enlisting in the army, Ruslan had given his life to Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior, and now his grieving family had the comfort of knowing they would be reunited in heaven. After moving to Budapest, Svietlana had connected with Pastor George Markey through a Bible discussion group for Ukrainians. George had been leading outreaches to many Ukrainian women and children who were struggling to adapt to life as refugees in a strange land. George was uniquely prepared to minister to them, having lived in Ukraine for thirty years prior to the full-scale Russian invasion. At the beginning of the full-scale war, the Russian army was trying to capture Kyiv, the city where George and his wife Sharon lived with their six kids. They evacuated to Hungary and began to minister to the many refugees flowing into the country. Eventually they started a ministry called Bridge UA with the dream that no refugee would have to feel alone, but that each would have the opportunity to become part of a vibrant community of people who loved and followed Jesus. This is exactly what Svietlana and her daughters experienced. When they got the news of Ruslan’s death, Svietlana knew they needed to travel home for the funeral, but she was in a state of shock, unable to figure out how to proceed. But the Bible discussion group came alongside them, finding them train tickets and helping them with travel expenses. When Svietlana and her daughters were ready to return from Ukraine, George met them with his van and drove them back to Budapest with all the things they had saved from their apartment. The Bible discussion group welcomed them back with a hot meal and helped them hold a small memorial service for Ruslan. “I don’t know how I would have made it through without them,” Svietlana says. “They are like family.” Even before Svietlana returned to Budapest, she began to experience God’s provision. Through an acquaintance, she got an order for her baking business. When the client asked if Svietlana would be able to fill the order, in light of everything that had happened, Svietlana realized that she needed the activity. She couldn’t allow herself to drown in her sorrow and drag her daughters down with her. She started making special-order cakes for friends and acquaintances and posting photos on social media. Little by little, orders came in, and new clients found Svietlana through word-of-mouth. At the same time all this was happening, George invited Svietlana to accompany the Bridge UA team on ministry trips to other cities, using the time on the road to ask insightful questions that helped her process everything she had been through. Eventually George asked her to become a Bridge UA missionary. Svietlana was hesitant, believing she had nothing to offer, but George and the rest of the team were insistent. Remembering that time, Svietlana says, “Through these people, I understood that God hadn’t forsaken me.” Driving a big van, Svietlana now routinely takes ministry teams to the Ukrainian cities of Győr, Veszprém, Kecskemét, and Miskolc. Inspired by how the Bible discussion group supported her through her loss, Svietlana wants to help start similar groups for Ukrainians in these cities so that no one will have to face their troubles alone. Most importantly, she wants everyone to have the opportunity to meet the God who cares for the hurting. “We don’t choose what happens to us in life—God does,” Svietlana says. “I’ve realized that every step, every millimeter, the Lord has always held me and carried me, and He carries me still.” Alluding to Isaiah 41:10, Svietlana adds, “The most important thing is that God is beside me and holds me by His right hand. I feel this every moment. He is a loving Father, and He never leaves me.”

Tetiana’s Story

“I’ll never have anything to do with any sort of Bible study!” She spoke defiantly, her chin jutting out, her eyes fierce. Seventy-two years old, Tetiana hadn’t gone soft with age. She was confident, outspoken, and clearly used to taking the lead. A product of Russian Communism, she was also a staunch atheist. A refugee from the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, Tetiana arrived in Hungary on March 4, 2022, day nine of the war. Her city was so close to the Russian border that residents had little to no warning of incoming bombs. Tetiana and five other women had been attending emotional health support groups led by Olya and Tanya, two displaced Ukrainian women who were part of a team of missionaries reaching out to Ukrainian refugees all over the country of Hungary. By that point, Bridge UA, a Calvary Chapel ministry to war-affected Ukrainians, had been visiting refugees in Tetiana’s city for over a year. The refugees trusted the Bridge UA missionaries, because they themselves had all been displaced by the war in Ukraine. They were also the only people who came to visit the refugees and minister to their most pressing needs. As the six-week course on emotional health was wrapping up, Olya invited the ladies to continue to meet for a Bible discussion group. All the ladies expressed pleasure at the idea, except for Tetiana. “That’s fine,” Olya assured her. “You don’t have to come.” They agreed that Svietlana, another Bridge UA missionary, would be in touch about starting weekly Bible discussions. After a month-long pause, Svietlana made her first trip to lead a Bible discussion in the city of Győr. Despite how many ladies had expressed interest in studying the Bible together, the only one to show up was antagonistic Tetiana! Svietlana read her the story of creation, and they discussed what makes humans unique, what it means to be created in the image of God, and the meaning of life. Unexpectedly, Tetiana was effusive in her thanks for the Bible study. Svietlana made the seventy-five-mile trip back to Budapest with a lot to think about. Over the next week, Svietlana contacted all the ladies from the emotional health group to remind them about the Bible discussion group, but once again, Tetiana was the only woman to show up. Svietlana continued to share the story of the Bible, asking questions about the universal truths it brought up. Again, Tetiana, the staunch atheist, was moved and profoundly grateful that our team had taken the time to travel to her and help her understand God’s Word. This pattern continued for about a month, then the Bridge UA team discussed if it was a wise use of time and money to continue to visit Győr weekly when only one person was coming to the Bible study. But they quickly realized that even if only Tetiana wanted to study the Bible, it was worth it for her sake. You can’t put a price on a human soul, and Jesus is the Good Shepherd who leaves the 99 sheep to seek the 1 that is lost. Each week, Svietlana continued to travel 150 miles round-trip to meet with Tetiana. Soon, Tetiana began to invite other women to join them. Like her, these ladies knew very little about the Bible, and they were getting in on the discussions late. Frequently, they needed to have the parts of the Biblical story that they’d missed explained. Tetiana, who just a few months earlier said she would never be part of any Bible study, was always quick to jump in and get the newcomers up to speed. They continued to study all the way through the life of Jesus and God’s shocking plan to save the world through the death of his son. The women drank in the truths they’d never heard before. One week, Tetiana had something to say to Svietlana after the Bible discussion. “I can tell I’ve gotten softer since starting to study the Bible. You know, the other day I even called my daughter and asked for her forgiveness.” Svietlana couldn’t have asked for a better confirmation that her tireless ministry to Tetiana and the other ladies in Győr was worth every mile traveled. Jesus told His disciples they could identify true followers of God by the fruit in their lives, and the humility and repentance Tetiana was displaying was beautiful fruit. Svietlana continues to meet with the ladies, and together, they are all growing in their trust and obedience to God.