Testimonies from the Ukrainian border
Our team just returned from the Ukraine-Moldova border where they were working to help the continuous flow of refugees crossing the border to find shelter and safety.
There are so many difficult stories, as well as some amazing testimonies. There’s so much sorrow, tragedy and destruction — war is war. It is absolutely horrifying. The vast majority of people crossing the border are mothers with children, since there’s martial law in place currently, and men have to stay behind to join the war efforts.
Our associate pastor Vasily along with our team of volunteers shared powerful stories of families torn by this terrible war. They met two teenagers who were crossing the border alone, they were brother and sister whose parents had to stay behind in Ukraine. However, they sent them away to cross the border and try to get to Israel, where they have relatives and where they would be safe.
Two young kids were walking miles and miles, taking buses and trains, just to reach the border in hopes of crossing it and finding someone to help them get to Israel.
Our team happened to arrive at that very border and they met these kids. It was a divine appointment! Our team picked them up, sheltered them, and organized for them to fly out to Israel where they are finally safe.
It turned out that one of these kids’ relatives is their uncle who is involved in the local political scene in Israel. He got in touch with us and in tears he shared that he had no idea his nephews were crossing the border all alone, all contact was lost with the family, and he was just so grateful that our team happened to be there to rescue them and bring them safely to Israel to reunite with their uncle.
Our team has been able to touch so many lives in the time they spent working with refugees along the Ukraine border; feeding people, distributing medical supplies, accommodating them in shelters, giving them clothes, and liaising with local churches to help them connect with local believers where they will be hosted in people’s homes.
The situation is so heartbreaking and devastating, but it is also absolutely amazing to see what God is doing right now through people who recognized a crucial time of need and decided to become an answer to someone’s desperate prayer.
God is using every single one of us, whether near or far, whether we can do much or little, everything counts and every bit of kindness helps. It’s all about being available to God, and allowing Him to use us all any way He can in these dark moments where so many lives need our help.
We’re especially thankful to you, for being a vital part of this Exodus from Ukraine, your generosity in helping us with this refugee crisis, especially Jewish people that are currently fleeing the war and are coming to Israel, where they will be starting from scratch, needing all the help we can get them.
That is a fulfillment of biblical prophecies! And there is so much more to come. Our next team is gearing up to leave for the Polish border with Ukraine in the upcoming days.
In the meantime our local Israeli teams are working non-stop in Ashdod helping refugees that are arriving here, many of them are large families with small children. They need everything and anything, from food to clothes to shelter, and everything in between.
We have been helping families that have shared horror stories of how they had to flee with their small children under fire and heavy bombing, in hopes of reaching safety, crossing the border and getting to Israel.
These are the people you are actively helping during this time. Your generosity is absolutely invaluable and deeply appreciated.
The crisis is real, and the help that is needed is truly crucial at a time like this!
Beit Hallel is a Messianic Jewish congregation in Ashdod, led by pastor Israel Pochtar, serving holocaust survivors and the poor and needy locally and throughout the nation of Israel, while building up the body of Messiah in the promised land of Israel.