Liza and a Story from Bucha

Liza and a Story from Bucha

On February 23rd I wrote a story about a girl, named Liza, from a town called Bucha, near Kyiv. The story was scheduled to go out that coming Saturday, just like this one, as one of the “Miracles that we were seeing…”

The story talked about Liza’s blooming relationship with God, her upcoming training as a YL leader, and His unique plan for her life.

The next day, on February 24th, Russia attacked Ukraine.

The story never went out.

Last week, in the news, we watched in disbelief the atrocities the Russian military had committed in Bucha. ​ Through one of our leaders in Ukraine, we learned Liza and her family were able to flee to Vinnytsia, where they found safety.

We also learned Liza decided to step away from Young Life and to go on without God.

We hear all the time how God has been showing up in different ways during these past 6 weeks. And we praise Him for the miracles that we’ve been seeing – miraculous protection, safe passages, open roads, rays of sunshine…

But there is also another side - a very dark one, and it is just as real.

The town of Bucha is demolished. The Young Life ministry in Bucha, which was just a year old but already thriving, no longer exists.

Three Bucha leaders remained in the town for nearly three weeks, witnessing horrors no one should ever witness. One of them, who was finally able to leave, left a cold-hearted message to his fellow YL leader:

“I’m leaving a place where dogs are eating corpses laying all around me.”

The reality of war is harsh and cruel and inhuman. And it changes us. It changes our relationships with ourselves, with others, and with God. At best, it numbs our senses, at worst, it makes us lose hope.

Misha, the captain of the college ministry in Kyiv, who also poured his heart into the YL ministry in Bucha, is at a loss for words. ​ ​ ​

“I don’t understand what to do next. There is emptiness inside me. I’m trying to hear God in all this noise but it is hard. But I know He is near. And I choose to push forward."

Misha’s college team that he led in Kyiv fell apart when the war started. Everyone left and ended up in different towns. Last week, they were able to get together on Zoom ​ for the first time.

Even now, while the war is still raging, Misha longs to go back to Kyiv but he does not have a car to get there.

“I feel like Kyiv is where I’m supposed to be. So, I plan to get back and start over.”

In John 16:33 Jesus made it clear: "In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

Our brothers and sisters in Ukraine are living out this prophecy. They are in the thick of it, where the darkness is so deep that it can be almost impossible to see God:

Liza, who made a decision to do life on her own without him, or the leader whose heart was hardened as he was witnessing the horrors of war … and countless others who were changed because of what they had experienced….

Perhaps, you know what this darkness feels like. And perhaps, you were blessed to have someone during that time who lifted you up and helped you put one foot in front of the other, holding on to hope for you, until you could finally see the light on your own.

Our leaders and kids like Liza need us to do this for them right now. ​

They need us to help them carry their cross and fight for their hearts and souls. They need us to continue to pray for them, for their children, and for the children of their children because the repercussions of this war will last through generations.

And we can believe on their behalf for the miracles that are yet to come.

Because the work God has started in the hearts of Liza and hundreds of others is just beginning and the hope of resurrection is ours.

May the Lord continue to richly bless you and your loved ones. And may he continue to show you his grace and mercy as you follow in his steps.

We are grateful to have you walking this challenging path with us.