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Fleeing the Storm

September 27, 2023

With lungs burning, his face drenched in sweat Max carried his four-year-old autistic son, Leon, to the Ukrainian—Moldovan border. Max’s eyes held a fixed stare of desperation as the border loomed ahead. Could he get his family to safety?

Tatiana, Max’s wife, tried to match the determined pace of her husband. She recalled the moment her husband had brought the grim news that they had to flee the Russian onslaught. The deafening explosions of bombs and the screams of their neighbors would be forever imprinted on her mind. Tatiana caught a blank look from her son who gazed back at her. Smiling weakly, she fixed the strap of the heavy backpack slung over her shoulder. Tears streamed down her face as she remembered how her precious Leon endured sleepless nights as bombs rained down on their neighborhood. Because they didn’t have access to a bomb shelter, Max, Tatiana and Leon had huddled in the corridor of their apartment building, Tatiana singing to her son as she stroked his head. Now with hope on the horizon, she tried to ignore the weight of the suitcase she carried and the pain in her legs from their 10-kilometer (6.2-mi.) walk. They had abandoned their car in an endless line of vehicles as a sea of refugees tried to escape their beloved Ukraine.

Amidst the violence and pain surrounding them there was hope for a new life. Max and his family were Ukrainian Jews and the devastation of war had stirred within them the reality that another home awaited them: Israel, the homeland of their ancestors. They knew they would be cared for if only they could safely cross the border and reach the Israeli aid station. Max could see the Israeli flag beyond the border checkpoint. A Ukrainian soldier slowly approached them, demanding passports, and Max rehearsed in his mind what to say. He glanced back at Tatiana with reassurance and then kissed Leon on the cheek. Would they be able to cross together as a family? How would they survive in Israel? They had lost everything. Would there be someone there who would love and support them? Max could only pray that God would carry them to their ancient homeland and send someone to help his desperate family.

Max, Tatiana and Leon made it to Israel. They arrived with only a few bags stuffed with clothes and family mementos. All their questions of the unknown were miraculously answered through the love and support of Bridges for Peace. However, many precious Jewish Ukrainians remain while the war continues to rage. It is actually growing in intensity and destruction. The war has also impacted the 170,000 Jews of Russia, where tens of thousands are desperate to leave.

Bridges for Peace represents thousands of Christians around the world who support the Jewish people and the State of Israel. We have been called to stand in the gap in this dark hour as a beacon of light. We offer hope to these destitute Jewish people who feel abandoned and traumatized. We have mobilized to offer lifesaving aid in the lives of thousands of Jewish refugees who have arrived on the shores of Israel. We have assisted in bringing them to Israel where the need for assistance continues to loom. These Jewish refugees have come without adequate clothing, food, money or housing. Yet we know we have been called by God to make a difference (Phil. 4:13), to shoulder this task with joy and pour into their lives with the love of God.

Please remember the many Jewish refugees like Max, Tatiana, and Leon. Will you join us in impacting more lives and bringing light into their hearts? We count it a blessing that Christians like you and I can be the ones to shower this love upon those God calls the apple of His eye (Zech. 8:2; Matt. 25:3-36). These people have walked through valleys of shadows and death (Psalm 23:4) and we know that the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is the one who has guided and protected them.

Isaiah declared words of comfort to the Jewish people of his day, promising that there would come a time when the Lord would gather His people back to the Land from the ends of the earth. “Fear not, for I am with you; I will bring your descendants from the east, and gather you from the west; I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’ and to the south, ‘Do not keep them back!’ Bring My sons from afar, and my daughters from the ends of the earth” (Isa. 43:5–6).

It is clear in the Bible that Gentile believers in the God of Israel will be a part of this ingathering. We are seeing that realization in our day! We appeal to you not to ignore this divine calling, but to pray and financially give to rescue the Jews of Ukraine and Russia and to pour out the love of God upon their new lives in Israel. We need you!

Shalom,
Rev. Peter Fast
International CEO

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