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Verse:When my spirit grows faint within me, it is you who watch over my way. In the path where I walk people have hidden a snare for me. —Psalm 142:3, NIV
I lived in the small Ukrainian town of Gorodnya, not far from the Belarussian border and thirty kilometers, or almost nineteen miles, from Russia.
Right from the first days of the war that started in 2022, Gorodnya was under occupation for more than a month. At that time there were no border controls, and many people tried to leave the country through Belarus. My friend’s daughter Sasha was visiting her father in our region while her mother remained in the western part of the country.
Due to the danger in our area, Sasha decided to go to her relatives in Gomel, Belarus, when her father left to join the army. Because she was a minor at seventeen, officials from the city guardianship service went to her grandmother’s home and said, “We have received a report from Belarusian customs that a girl crossed the border as a minor. Do you have any guardianship documents?” Without proof of guardianship, Sasha would be taken to an orphanage if her parents did not come for her. It was an impossible situation.
When the Russian troops were leaving the Chernihiv region, it meant Sasha could return to our area once the town was liberated.
My friend called and asked if Sasha could live with me.
Of course I said yes. I arranged for a car to take me to meet her at the border. I called all my friends to pray for Sasha’s safety. With no border controls and a no-man’s land of two kilometers, she was in great danger. Her grandmother and aunt had loaded her with food and clothing, and she had many bags to carry. She had to go back and forth, moving the bags. As she did, she saw a sign with the words, “Be careful, the road is mined.” In the middle of a war, anything could happen. Our prayers for her safety were answered.
She made it across the border without stepping on a landmine. We were all so relieved. This was an incredibly stressful experience for Sasha. She had heard a lot about God but did not have a personal relationship with Him.
But in this troublesome time, she experienced firsthand how God protects us and walks beside us on the way. But we need not wait for difficult times to start praying to God. He is always ready to answer our prayers. Even when it seems to us that God is silent, He knows the best way to answer our prayers, and He watches over us.
Natalia Nikolenko