Ministry in Moldova connecting thousands of Ukrainian refugees with gospel and community

With 100,000 Ukrainian refugees left in Moldova, Mission Eurasia is working to bring the gospel and necessities to people in need. 

When the war first broke out roughly two years ago when Russia invaded Ukraine, a million Ukrainians fled to the small neighbouring country of Moldova. Many have since relocated however roughly 100,000 remain. 

"I miss home," says Iryna Mishina, a Ukrainian refugee living in a one-bedroom apartment in Moldova. "My work. My son used to be in school. My mom used to have work."

Mishina fled her region of Donetsk in Ukraine just shy of two years ago with her 15-year-old son, mother, and their family cat. 

"We cannot go to Donetsk region right now because there's a war. It's impossible to live there. There's no electricity, no water."

Mishina's husband, like many men in the region, is still in Ukraine fighting on the frontlines. 

"It's awful when we don't hear from him. I remember for one week we had no communication."

Twice a week Mishina and her mother travel for hours on a bus to connect with other Ukrainian refugees to a church. The group is led by Inna Tokarchuk with Mission Eurasia. It provides a space for refugees to be in a community with other women who understand the hardships, as well as talk about their faith. 

"I'm serving people who've experienced war, who've lost their homes and maybe their loved ones and have for the last two years been forced to live in a different country in hard conditions," says Tokarchuk. "Every one of our meetings begins with fellowship and ends with a message from God's Word. My goal is to share what the Bible says relating to their situation. I want them to know who this Jesus is and how His Word can be made applicable in their daily lives."

With so many uncertainties in their lives, Mishina has witnessed the value these meetings have had in her life. 

"We feel so relieved in our souls because the knowledge we get, stories from the Bible, the icebreakers, all of this makes us calm and peaceful."

In the past two years Mission Eurasia believes it's been able to minister to roughly 60,000 refugees, physically, emotionally, and spiritually.