Serving in a War Zone: Following the Call of God
War in Ukraine
On February 24, 2022, Pastor Sergey Eremin awoke at 1:30 a.m. with a deep heaviness in his spirit. He began to pray. Three hours later, still in fervent prayer and unable to sit still, he went for a walk outside.
“I could hear things going on,” he says. “The sky was filled with military aircraft. Ukraine was being hit with rockets. Thousands of planes were firing missiles.” Other than interrupted sleep, Pastor Sergey had no warning Ukraine was about to be invaded.
Roman Sobol, on the other hand, knew the invasion was coming. The day before, global worker Ed Dickson had called him with the news.
Roman Becomes a Humanitarian
Roman grew up active in a church where his father was an evangelist and pastor. He is famous in Ukraine, having played drums in a band that toured all over Europe. Roman would fly back to Ukraine mid-tour to serve on his church’s worship team. So, when he found himself in western Ukraine without his family, he couldn’t sit still.
He had some friends in Poland who asked how they could help. Roman replied that he would be sending people. He posted an update on Instagram, and messages flooded in from morning to evening. Roman gave out his phone number and started contacting people in trouble. But he soon realized his friends in Poland couldn’t take in any more refugees. He began talking to people all over western Ukraine through Instagram, seeing who could take in families. Roman then turned to his church contacts. He called seminaries, helping them convert into refugee centres. He was now arranging logistics for over 100 people a day.
At the same time, Roman went out with believers to nearby villages, bringing food, supplies and Bibles to homes. Often, he didn’t know what to say to people in difficult circumstances, but he found they were open to the gospel. Even when there were no more beds for people to sleep in, the phone calls kept coming. Then, God started working miracles. Roman would think of a need, and God would provide, responding to Roman’s thoughts.
They needed transportation and were given five buses. The buses ran 24 hours a day until there was no gas left. But God would meet each need. They would find gas and continue evacuating people to nearby countries. Funds from ERDO and Mission Global came in the same way. They would think about their next need, and Ed Dickson would call right on time, telling them he was sending resources.
Roman said, “This revolutionized the way I think about God and His genuine care for us—for our little thoughts and sometimes small needs, He is ready to answer everything.”