It was late at night when they arrived. A couple of adults and many children. The next morning I saw them in our center. Some kids were playing ping pong, the younger ones were drawing under the careful eyes of their mothers while others were having fun at the fuss-ball table.
Even though we couldn’t speak a common language, you could see in the mom’s teary eyes (when the kids weren’t around) a part of the tragedy they are living through.
At noon we gathered in the conference hall to pray. It was the time they were uniting with their brothers and sisters in Ukraine to intercede for their country. After the kids settled down, we kneeled down together, praying, adults and children as well, in Ukrainian, English and Romanian for peace and protection.
The next day they got in their cars and continued their journey to Germany.
At some point, a couple hours after they left, I went through the kitchen of our center and there, I saw a bag of Ukrainian candy.
I recognised them on the spot. Most ex-USSR have factories that still produce candy to this day. During various missions trips (in Ukraine, Moldova or Kazakhstan) I was offered this type of candy many times. I was also gifted full boxes or bags of local candy as a sign of their appreciation.
I asked our kitchen staff where the candy came from and the answer was exactly the one I was expecting: from our guests that just left.
I was completely overwhelmed. Somehow, it was all too much for me.
Imagine this: you’re forced to pack your entire life in a few suitcases, to leave your home not knowing when you will return, thinking what to pack for your kids (if you have time to plan) and to travel for many hours in the car with kids (where a sweet snack would go a long way), with very limited luggage space, running away from war to save your life…
…to still think about packing candy to offer as a thank you gift for people who take you in for a night or two is absolutely overwhelming.
In the middle of the biggest problems these people were living through, Jesus’ light was shining so strong…even through a bag of candy.
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