Ukrainian Refugee Ministry

03/11/2023

Hi all! I’m not sure how many will see this or check this page, but I wanted to let you all know that we are having a baby shower for Viktor and Snejana at the church in the Fellowship Hall on March 31 starting at 6:30.

I realize this is the same night as Fajita Friday. Unfortunately it was the only time we could coordinate with them. If you’re unable to come to the shower but would like to purchase a baby gift I will post the link to Snejana’s Target registry here and she also has an Amazon registry which I will post in the comments. It would also be great if we could gather some diapers for them to stock them up for a few months.

Thanks everyone!

10/28/2022

Hi everyone!

We are working with another Ukrainian family right now. They live in an area that doesn’t provide school buses for kids (because they’re just under two miles from the school), so she’s walking her kindergartner to school and back every day. She doesn’t drive (she doesn’t have a license or car), so I’d like to get a couple of bikes for them so they can at least ride their bikes to school rather than having to walk that distance.

If anyone has a child’s bike (6 year old boy) or an adult bike for a female that they’d be willing to donate that would be great! Thank you so much!

08/24/2022

Praise the Lord! The family has officially all been reunited! It was a beautiful evening getting all EIGHT of them settled together at their home.

Continue to pray for them as we try to help them get established. We hope that Viktor and Snejana will receive their work permits in a couple of weeks. Misha has his biometrics appointment for work authorization next week. We are still slogging through the paperwork to get them benefits so pray that that all gets ironed out soon so that they can gain a little more financial independence.

Thank you to everyone who has stepped into the gaps with us here. Now more than ever Lee and I need partners to help this family settle. We are grateful for the support of our church family. We love you all.

08/12/2022

Hi all! If any of you missed it, ABC Action News did a great piece on the Kurbanov family and their journey to Tampa. Click the link below to watch!

And an update: Grandma and Sister both got their passports last week, and we applied and got their travel authorization within 24 hours. I purchased their plane tickets today, so the whole family will be reunited on August 23!

Thank you for all the continued prayers and support as we help assimilate this sweet family!

https://www.abcactionnews.com/news/full-circle/from-a-war-zone-to-suburban-america-chronicling-the-journey-of-ukrainian-refugees?fbclid=IwAR0Oxr7JDvj2-HoaH-zChowYhmoTq5gWdIVJqOIscWd2kKfh66CEXCAlxnA

Uniting for Ukraine: How refugees were plucked from the ravages of war and dropped into suburban America.

08/09/2022

Hi everyone! It has been nearly 3 weeks since the Kurbanov family joined us and things are going well. Besides navigating and slogging through immigration paperwork, things have mostly gone very smoothly and they are so grateful and thankful for all the help and love and support that they received!

I was told today that there are three more families coming in from Ukraine this week. Obviously we are not in charge of hosting these families, but there are some needs that have cropped up. There is an immediate need for a couch and a desk. if anyone has either of these items to donate, or know someone who could donate one of these items, let me know and I will pass that information onto the woman who is putting together the house for this new family. Thank you all so much for all that you have done to meet these needs!

You have made a deep impact.

07/21/2022

Welcome to Tampa, Kurbanov family!

07/20/2022

Good morning! The Kurbanov family is en route to Tampa today! Please pray for safe and uneventful travels, and that the immigration and customs process goes smoothly. We will post pictures when they arrive.

07/16/2022

For anyone interested and available to help this weekend we will be at the house putting together furntire, finishing up painting and generally getting things together. We will be there around 9:00 tomorrow morning and for much of the day. And we will be back on Sunday afternoon!

If you think you can make it let me know in the comments and I will DM you the address!

07/13/2022

UPDATE:

Our Ukrainian friends arrive ONE WEEK FROM TODAY!

We are working feverishly to get everything prepared for them. Thank you to the many, many people who have partnered with us to make this all come together. Lee and I could not have done this without all of you!

The house we rented for them is coming together. It needed a little TLC, but thanks to many volunteers it is really starting to look like a home! A special shout out to Steve Klakring who has been working tirelessly on the painting all week! We have floors getting cleaned and replaced today and tomorrow, then a deep cleaning will take place. We should be ready to move furniture in this weekend.

And speaking of furniture, we haven't had to purchase a single item. The community has been so generous. We've received all beds and bedding, couches, tables, dressers, and all the things that are needed to fill a home from the church and others in the community. We can't say thank you enough!

ABC Action News has interviewed Lee and I a couple of times about this process of bringing Ukrainians to the Tampa Bay area. We've tried to highlight the community and church as a source of showing love to our Ukrainian neighbors. That segment should air around July 27.

I heard from Snejana yesterday and her mother and sister got their preliminary identity papers, so hopefully the international passport arrives soon and we can reunite them all.

Continue to pray over this family as they prepare for this transition. Let's not forget that this move comes at a deep loss for them. While we rejoice in the ability to show them love and safety, we mourn at all they've had to leave behind to get here.

When they arrive, there is much to be done to help them settle and get established. It will not be easy, but we know that this community will rally to make the transition as smooth as possible.

We are grateful for you all!

06/20/2022

We purchased the plane tickets today!

We are flying 6 of the 8 family members over on July 20. Pereskoiia and Gloria must remain in Ukraine until Gloria's passport is ready. As soon her passport arrives we will purchase the remaining two tickets. Please pray that her passport arrives soon!

06/13/2022

Good morning!

Tomorrow, Snejana will go back into Ukraine to take supplies to her mother and sister as they are still in the country waiting on Gloria’s passport. It’s very difficult for them in Ukraine. Supplies are limited, and they are anxious to get out of the country and be reunited with their family.

Please pray that Gloria’s passport will be ready soon! We would like to go ahead and purchase plane tickets but we have to wait until we know they have all their papers. Pray for continued safety and protection as they wait.

06/06/2022

Hi everyone! I wanted to post a video as a call to continued prayer, but also as a means of encouragement.

In early March, The Church at Odessa had the opportunity to financially support New Life Church in Kyiv, who are on the front lines of caring for those trapped in the cross hairs of this terrible war. That church continues to operate, caring for the needy and elderly not only in Kyiv but in many of the regions of Ukraine who have seen devastating effects of this war.

Yesterday, Pastor Anatoly video of New Life worshipping in Kyiv after six missiles struck the capital city earlier that morning.

This is a reminder that this war in Ukraine is far from over. It is also a reminder that our God is worthy to be praised. Pastor Anatoly’s message read: “Today, again, Russia launched six missiles at Kyiv, but we continue to Praise God without fear or doubt.”

I pray you’re blessed by this video as I was.

Also, please feel free to share this page with your own friends and family. We are still in need of funding to support the family we are bringing to the US (hopefully next month!) and can use all the support we can get in that endeavor.