Lives Interrupted: 365 Days of Russia's War on Ukraine Through the Eyes of Missionaries

By Lindsay Blessing, Mark Blessing and Rhonda Blessing

Lives Interrupted portrays life in a country at war, through compiling the Facebook posts of long-term American missionaries to Ukraine, Mark & Rhonda Blessing. Insight is given into Russia's war on Ukraine, how it affected the lives of Ukrainians, and how it impacted their ministry as missionaries. Stories are told of displaced Ukrainians, Ukrainian soldiers, and international volunteers. There are real-time portrayals of what it felt like in the moment to have missiles hitting your city. Through it all, the thread is woven of how standing on the firm foundation of Jesus Christ carries us through the darkest moments.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: May 4, 2023
• ISBN: 9781664298989

Lindsay Blessing

Lindsay Blessing moved to Ukraine at the age of 11 as a missionary kid with her parents and two sisters. She ended up spending 24 years of her life there, working in missions. She now resides in Louisiana and enjoys working with children and speaking on Ukraine whenever she has opportunity.

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Contents

Introduction

Index of terms and places mentioned in this book

Section 1     War Comes to Ukraine

Section 2     Mass Migration: Providing Refuge

Section 3     The Daily Uncertainties and Horrors of War

Section 4     Glimmers of Hope

Section 5     Darkness Increases

Section 6     Light in Darkness

Afterword

Introduction

In March 1993, Mark & Rhonda Blessing moved, with their 3 young daughters, from Texas to Ukraine. They were following the Lord, as He called them to go and serve the nation of Ukraine. Not knowing exactly what it would look like or how long they would be there, they went on faith, trusting God to lead them each step of the way. In 1993, they never would have guessed that, 30 years later, they would still be in Ukraine; through the course of those 30 years, God has made clear to them that this call to Ukraine was a lifelong call.

As of February 2023, their ministry consists of pastoring Living Word Church in Lviv, Ukraine; and overseeing Bethel House, a ministry center that holds 30 guests, in a village outside of Lviv.

Since 1993, their ministry has been based in western Ukraine, in the Lviv region. Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began on February 24, 2022. As they watched the movements of the Russian military leading up to the invasion and heard the directives of the American government for all American citizens to leave Ukraine, dozens of possible scenarios were looked at and possible responses to those scenarios considered. The conclusion was that the decision to leave or stay would be based on daily evaluating the situation and seeking the Lord on His will for them. Each day, the peace and assurance came that the Lord wanted them to stay. Recognizing that they simply didn’t know what each day might bring and there was a real possibility that, one day, the Lord could lead them to leave quickly, appropriate measures were taken to be ready for a quick evacuation. But the directive from the Lord to leave has, thus far, never come, and they continue to stay.

Mark & Rhonda are my parents. I lived and worked in Ukraine with their ministry through April of 2022. In 2021, the Lord began to show me that a new chapter of my life with Him was about to begin; by mid-January 2022, He had made clear that He wanted me to move back to the States in April. When the war began at the end of February, it only took a moment for me to think about what I should do – the Lord had already given me a clear directive to move back to the States in April. When He spoke that, He knew what was coming in February. I continued to work with my parents’ ministry in Ukraine through the first 5 weeks of the war, leaving at the beginning of April, and moving to the States.

Technically, Russia’s war on Ukraine started in 2014, when they invaded the Crimean peninsula and some eastern regions of Ukraine. Since 2014, Ukraine has been fighting to take back those territories – mostly focusing on the eastern regions. From 2014-2022, the battles were contained to the front lines in eastern Ukraine and there were no direct attacks by Russia on other parts of Ukraine. February 24, 2022 marks the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, when they attacked the capital, Kyiv, and in the following days and months, almost every other region across Ukraine. While I do not negate the battles of 2014-2022 or the lives of Ukrainians that were lost in that time, I mark February 24, 2022 as the start of the full-on war, fighting for Ukraine’s freedom as a nation against Russia’s full-scale invasion. This is when Russia moved to take the capital and, it appeared, overthrow the government. Their actions since have shown February 24 as the beginning of their move to take over the entire nation of Ukraine and obliterate Ukrainian identity. Therefore, in this book, unless otherwise stated, references to war, the start of the war, etc., refer to the conflict that began on February 24, 2022.

As the war started, my parents tried to post frequent updates on Facebook, to allow their family, friends, and supporters to keep up with what was going on in Ukraine and how they were doing. Now, as a whole year of this war has passed, those Facebook posts have become an insightful minute-to-minute look at what has happened in Ukraine and what it’s like for people living through this war. Publishing this collection of Facebook posts from over the course of one year is done with the hope of raising awareness of what Ukraine is going through by looking through the eyes of two people that have adopted this country as home and have felt deeply the numerous, multi-faceted emotions of watching the nation & people they love suffer so greatly. As you experience 365 days of war in Ukraine through my parents’ eyes and hearts, may it spur you to pray to the only One who can rescue Ukraine from all her troubles. May God bless Ukraine!

Notes: I have edited these Facebook posts, where I felt it would help the readability of the post and better serve the purpose of this book. All italics are notes I have added to give background information, context, clarification, or additional details. As of publishing date, all posts are still publicly viewable on Rhonda Blessing’s Facebook page -

www.facebook.com/rhonda.blessing.1

Come, behold the works of the Lord, Who has made desolations in the earth. He makes wars cease to the end of the earth; He breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two; He burns the chariot in the fire. (Psalm 46:8-9, NKJV)

Index of terms and places

mentioned in this book

Bakhmut – town in eastern Ukraine; 2021 population - ~71,000; located in Donetsk oblast; consistently located on the front lines, in Ukrainian territory; very heavily fought over

Bucha – town northwest of Kyiv; 2021 population - ~37,000; located in Kyiv oblast; key town in Kyiv offensive; the battle for Bucha raged from February 27 – March 31, 2022, during which time Russia took complete control of the city; Ukraine retook the town at the end of March, after Russian forces withdrew under the pressure of the Ukrainian forces offensive

Chernihiv – city in northern Ukraine; 2021 population - ~290,000; administrative center of the Chernihiv oblast; heavily fought over

Crimea – southern peninsula of Ukraine; 2013 population – ~2,000,000; occupied and annexed by Russia in 2014 (an act not recognized by Ukraine or the majority of the international community)

Donbas – a term denoting the combined Donetsk & Luhansk oblasts in eastern Ukraine

Donetsk – city in eastern Ukraine; 2021 population - ~900,000; administrative center of the Donetsk oblast; taken over by Russian-backed separatists in 2014; annexed by Russia on September 30, 2022 (an act not recognized by Ukraine or the majority of the international community)

Dnipro – city in eastern Ukraine; 2021 population - ~950,000; administrative center of Dnipropetrovsk oblast; frequently experiences Russian missile attacks

Irpin – town west of Kyiv; 2021 population – ~65,000; located in Kyiv oblast; key town in Kyiv offensive; the battle for Irpin raged from February 27 – March 28, 2022, during which Russian and Ukrainian forces went back and forth, controlling different parts of the town, until Ukraine fully retook the town at the end of March

IDPs – Internally Displaced People

Ivano-Frankivsk – city in western Ukraine to the southeast of Lviv; 2021 population - ~240,000; administrative center of Ivano-Frankivsk oblast; occasionally experiences Russian missile attacks

Izium – town in eastern Ukraine; 2021 population - ~46,000; located in Kharkiv oblast; heavily fought over; occupied by Russian forces from March 2022 – September 2022, when it was liberated by Ukrainian forces

Kharkiv – city in northeastern Ukraine; 2021 population - ~1,400,000; administrative center of Kharkiv oblast; heavily fought over

Kherson – city in southern Ukraine; 2021 population - ~280,000; administrative center of Kherson oblast; heavily fought over; captured by Russian forces on March 2, 2022; on November 9, 2022, Russian forces began to withdraw from the city under the pressure of the Ukrainian forces’ offensive; on November 11, 2022, Ukraine retook the city

Khmelnytskyi – city in western Ukraine to the southeast of Lviv; 2021 population - ~270,000; administrative center of Khmelnytskyi oblast; occasionally experiences Russian missile attacks

Kramatorsk – city in eastern Ukraine; 2021 population - ~150,000; located in the Donetsk oblast; controlled by pro-Russian militants April 12-July 5, 2015, when it was retaken by Ukraine; heavily fought over in current conflict

Kremenchuk – city in central Ukraine; 2021 population - ~220,000; located in the Poltava oblast; occasionally experiences Russian missile attacks

Kryvyi Rih – city in central Ukraine; 2021 population - ~600,000; located in Dnipropetrovsk oblast; occasionally experiences Russian missile attacks

Kyiv – capital of Ukraine; located in northern-central Ukraine; 2021 population - ~3,000,000; administrative center of Kyiv oblast; heavily fought over in first days of war; frequently experiences Russian missile attacks

Luhansk – city in eastern Ukraine; 2021 population - ~400,000; administrative center of Luhansk oblast; taken over by Russian-backed separatists in 2014; annexed by Russia on September 30, 2022 (an act not recognized by Ukraine or the majority of the international community)

Lutsk – city in northwestern Ukraine; 2021 population - ~220,000; located in the Volyn oblast; occasionally experiences Russian missile attacks

Lviv – city in western Ukraine where Mark & Rhonda’s ministry is based; 2021 population - ~720,000; administrative center of Lviv oblast; occasionally experiences Russian missile attacks

Lyman – town in eastern Ukraine; 2021 population - ~20,000; located in Donetsk oblast; heavily fought over; occupied by Russian forces on May 27, 2022; after a Ukrainian offensive retook territory almost completely surrounding Lyman and was about to cut off the Russian troops there from the rest of Russian-occupied territory, Russian troops withdrew and Ukraine retook the town on October 1, 2022

Lysychansk – city in eastern Ukraine; 2021 population - ~93,000; located in Luhansk oblast; heavily fought over; occupied by Russian forces since early July 2022

Mariupol – city in southeastern Ukraine; 2021 population - ~440,000; located in Donetsk oblast; heavily fought over; occupied by Russian forces since May 20, 2022

Mykolaiv – city in southern Ukraine; 2021 population - ~480,000; administrative center of Mykolaiv oblast; heavily fought over

NGO – non-governmental organization

Odesa – port city in southwestern Ukraine; 2021 population - ~1,000,000; administrative center of Odesa oblast; occasionally experiences Russian missile attacks

RMA – Regional Military Administration

Sievierodonetsk – city in eastern Ukraine; 2021 population - ~99,000; located in Luhansk oblast; heavily fought over; occupied by Russian forces since June 24, 2022

Sumy – city in northeastern Ukraine; 2021 population - ~260,000; administrative center of Sumy oblast; heavily fought over in first days of war; frequently experiences Russian missile attacks

Vinnytsia – city in west-central Ukraine to the south of Zhytomyr; 2021 population - ~380,000; administrative center of Vinnytsia oblast; occasionally experiences Russian missile attacks

Zaporizhzhia – city in southeastern Ukraine; 2021 population - ~730,000; administrative center of Zaporizhzhia oblast; location of a nuclear power station; heavily fought over; the city remains under Ukrainian sovereignty, while the nuclear power station has been occupied by Russian forces since March 3, 2022

Zhytomyr – city in northern-central Ukraine; 2021 population - ~260,000; administrative center of Zhytomyr oblast; occasionally experiences Russian missile attacks

https://en.wikipedia.

org/wiki/File:Ukraine_Map_CIA_20201118.jpg>

Section 1

War Comes to Ukraine

Monday, January 24, 2022

Ukraine time – 10:42 p.m.

(2:42 p.m. (CST))

Update on Ukraine: We’ve had many people asking about the situation in Ukraine and our plans. A Russian military presence on the eastern border of Ukraine has been a reality for going on eight years, but it is now at a new level. Friends of ours here are saying this level is to be taken more seriously than previously.

We, along with our daughter, Lindsay, who works with us here, are seeking the Lord’s direction for us. As of now, we all feel peace that we are to stay.

Russian forces are on the east and northeast border, and Russia has troops in Belarus along the northern border. Kyiv, the capital, is in the center of Ukraine, and our city of Lviv is on the far western side, bordering Poland.

Please pray that God would thwart Putin’s plans and that Ukraine would have peace and freedom. You may hear in the news mention of cities like Kharkiv, Donetsk, and Kyiv, but please remember this is not about territory; it is about a people in a beautiful land who want to remain a free and democratic country. Please also pray that many Ukrainians would seek and find Jesus Christ, the only true source of peace and freedom. Thank you for your prayers and concern for us and the Ukrainian people and nation. Mark & Rhonda

Friday, February 11, 2022

Ukraine time – 11:31 p.m.

(3:31 p.m. (CST))

Hello, everyone. We’ve been getting many messages asking what’s happening here and if we are okay, since Biden announced that all Americans should leave Ukraine. We received an email from the U.S. Embassy yesterday, advising Americans to leave Ukraine. As of now, nothing has happened, and we are just fine. We realize that could change at any moment, but as of now, we do not plan to evacuate. Thank you for your concern and love, and we ask you to pray for Ukraine – for God to turn the enemy’s plans for bringing harm to the Ukrainian people and their homeland. Please also pray for the Russians, as they will lose many lives as well, if an invasion is launched.

Thursday, February 17, 2022

Ukraine time – 9:01 a.m.

(1:01 a.m. (CST))

Pray, please! We received a report from a friend in eastern Ukraine, 30 miles from the border, that shelling started a little after 8 a.m. We are NOT saying the war has started; it could be just a skirmish. Our friends have experienced this in the east for many years. He did say that they haven’t heard this much in a long time. So, please pray for Ukraine and the people here.

(The days leading up to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine were marked by a lot of uncertainty. Since there had been Russian-backed conflict in eastern Ukraine for 8 years, Ukrainians were somewhat used to the appearance of things escalating, as the conflict would intensify from time to time. However, throughout the first two weeks of February 2022, the mood in the country became progressively more ominous, as a full-scale invasion by Russia appeared to be more probable. People throughout Ukraine were seriously watching each day’s events and considering their options.

A family of four had escaped religious persecution in their home country and been granted asylum in Ukraine; they had been living in Kyiv for a number of years, seeking refugee status. During the period of this post, they had decided that their best course of action was to get to western Ukraine. They stayed one week at Bethel House, and then, when the full-scale invasion began, crossed the border and moved further into Europe.

The friends Mark & Rhonda mentioned in this post were also faced with hard decisions on a daily basis of whether or not they should leave; eventually, the decision was made to leave just days before Russia occupied their hometown; they began their journey, zigzagging across the country and eventually moving to southwestern Ukraine.

In these days leading up to the invasion, every person in Ukraine was daily faced with the decision of staying put or moving, knowing that if the decision was made to stay, that decision would have to be re-evaluated on the following day. It was emotionally and mentally wearing.)

Thursday, February 24, 2022

Ukraine time – 7:26 a.m.

(11:26 p.m. (CST), Wednesday, February 23)

Rather than retype a lot of this, we will share our daughter’s post. Please pray - war has come to Ukraine.

(shared from Lindsay Blessing’s Facebook page)

Ukraine update: At around 5:30 a.m. local time on 2/24 (9:30 p.m. CST on 2/23), reports began coming in of explosions heard in major cities from Kyiv and eastward.

•As of now, it is reported that military targets are being attacked, but one citizen in Kyiv reports her window breaking from the blast.

•In Kharkiv (northeastern Ukraine, second largest city), a warehouse for missile and artillery weapons has been destroyed.

•All commercial flights in Ukraine have been cancelled.

•Ukraine’s president has instituted martial law (what that entails remains to be seen).

How you can pray:

•For peace in Ukraine - for God to move mightily and turn back the enemy away from Ukraine, bringing the enemy’s plans to nothing

•For the security of Ukrainians and preservation of life

•For believers in Ukraine to experience the peace that passes understanding and have clear understanding of the things God would have them do in this moment

•For God’s kingdom to come, and will to be done, in Ukraine

•For Ukraine - government and citizens - to put their full hope and trust in God

Psalm 16

Ukraine time – 11:08 p.m.

(3:08 p.m. (CST))

We woke up this morning to the terrible news that Russia was invading Ukraine on numerous fronts, and attacking with missile strikes on military bases and airports throughout the country. We were contacted early in the morning, asking if our house was ready to receive refugees. After having a time of worship and prayer at Bethel House, our home, we left in two groups to buy up more food and supplies for helping who knows how many people in the coming days or weeks. We saw extremely long lines at every gas station and every ATM. Many grocery stores also had lines in the morning, which had cleared by afternoon. However, we did not see panic anywhere.

We have expected for weeks now that this day might come, yet it seemed unreal as it arrived. The reality set in as we began to hear from people we know around Ukraine about what was happening in their areas. Our hearts broke. A deep sadness began to take over by the afternoon, as we started getting calls or messages from men who have been called to report for duty tomorrow. One of these is our church administrator, Misha, and another is our next-door neighbor, V. We were able to spend some time with Misha, his wife, and daughter today. It is so hard knowing he will be joining the battle soon.

We housed four refugees from Kyiv last week for six days, and we have seven Jewish refugees in our home tonight. Bethel House was designed by God and built for such a time as this.

God called us to Ukraine in 1993 and we have lived here for 26 years. We love the Ukrainian people and this land; they have become our family. They deserve their own land and to be free people. It is maddening to think another country can come in to steal their land and kill their people and dreams of liberty. We are so proud of how the people are standing and fighting for their freedom to be Ukraine.

There is nothing that escapes the attention of our Lord, nothing that takes Him by surprise, and therefore, there is nothing we have to fear. Our hope and strength is in Jesus Christ. Please continue to pray for us, for Ukraine and her people. Also, for the refugees we have in our home to encounter the Living God Who loves them and gave His life for them. May God bless Ukraine! Rhonda and Mark

Friday, February 25, 2022

Ukraine time – 9:17 a.m.

(1:17 a.m. (CST))

Good morning, everyone. We had a quiet night but woke up at 5:30 to the sounds of aircraft going over our house. We thank God they were ours. Once we were awake, we began checking the news and saw that the capital, Kyiv, was under missile attack this morning. We are hearing Russian tanks are just 50 miles north of Kyiv.

We have friends on the road, from eastern Ukraine and Kyiv, trying to get to Lviv. Many of our friends are reporting for military duty today. The government has called up every 18–60-year-old male who had military experience and asked everyone else in that age group to volunteer. Please pray for all the dear Ukrainian people.

Section 2

Mass Migration:

Providing Refuge

Saturday, February 26, 2022

Ukraine time – 11:43 p.m.

(3:43 p.m. (CST))

Urgent Prayer: Kyiv is under heavy attack at this moment: we just received a message from a woman asking us to pray for her parents, as there are heavy explosions close to them in Kyiv. Please pray that Ukraine would continue to have success in defending their land and for lives to be spared.

Daily Update:

Our day started with dear friends arriving from Kyiv at 12:30 in the morning. They slept a few hours, then departed at 8 a.m. after we had breakfast together. We love them dearly and pray God continues to use them mightily wherever they might be.

We are blessed to have two worship leaders from a church in Kyiv staying with us right now. We had a wonderful time of worship and prayer for Ukraine before lunch today.

The situation is very fluid here, and it’s hard to keep up with the constant flow of news. We have been amazed at the spirit and resolve of the Ukrainian military and people fighting for their liberty and freedom to be Ukraine. We have read that Russia has not been able to take one major city yet, even though western ‘experts’ projected Kyiv would fall in 2-3 days.

We have heard from many people traveling across Ukraine to the west that there is a problem with availability of gasoline. All of the roads coming into Lviv have roadblocks now and every car is being checked at the city limits. Some of these lines are so long that some people are waiting 3-4 hours.

Yesterday, we had to go into the city and, as we arrived in downtown, the air raid sirens went off. We pulled up to an underground parking lot at a 4-star hotel and Mark asked if we could pull underground for 10 minutes to see what would happen. To our amazement, he shook his head no and walked away. It wasn’t just us in the van, but we had a young mother and her 5-year-old son with us. So, we took our chances and drove around to find a parking place. Praise the Lord, nothing happened. A half-hour later, as we were in a grocery store, the sirens went off again. Everyone had to shelter in the basement for 15 minutes until the all-clear. Every time a missile is fired from Belarus in this direction, the sirens go off as a precaution. We do not hear these sirens where we live in the village, but our friends in Lviv tell us this is happening multiple times each day. Thus far, nothing has hit Lviv.

Even our small village is taking precautions. Besides wanting the village blacked out at night, they have formed a Village Watch and Security Team made up of men and women manning checkpoints on the roads into the village day and night. When our guests arrive, they are stopped, and we have to go to the checkpoint to get them cleared for coming into the village.

Thank you so much for all your prayers and the support that has been sent to help has been overwhelming. We will give more updates tomorrow on the support situation and prayer points, as we are exhausted tonight. We have only been getting 5-6 hours’ sleep each night, so our brains just can’t handle anymore today. May God bless Ukraine. Rhonda and Mark

Monday, February 28, 2022

Ukraine time – 12:11 a.m.

(4:11 p.m. (CST), Sunday, February 27)

We learned yesterday that three families staying with us left Kyiv 3 hours before the invasion started. Without all the long details, they left home with only the clothes on their backs. They also have a 1 1/2-year-old with them. So today, we took them shopping to the only two stores open near us, so they could get some necessary things.

As we drove out of our village, we saw that there had been a new roadblock constructed of cement blocks and sandbags stacked about 6 feet high. There were many villagers standing around and some guarding it. Further down the road, we stopped for gas and were shocked to see three armed soldiers there, guarding the station. We ran into another large roadblock as we got closer to the stores. We also saw numerous police cars with sirens and lights going, plus two police escorts for convoys of military trucks. There were also different military vehicles heading to the center of Lviv. These sights are all bringing the conflict close to home and shows that Lviv is preparing for the possibility of Russian troops coming here.

We talked to friends today who, after leaving their home in eastern Ukraine, learned today that their town is now occupied by Russia. They learned that over 100 in their small town had been killed, and that windows in their home and church building were blown out by explosions. Their hearts are broken, knowing they will never be going back home and that they will have to resettle somewhere. This is becoming a reality for many people, that they may never see ‘home’ again. We cannot imagine what they are going through. The term ‘Displaced Persons’ always had an abstract meaning in our minds; now, it has faces attached to it and concrete, heartbreaking meaning. But the Ukrainian people continue to fight hard for their land, having many unexpected victories in this war. With God all things are possible, so please keep praying:

•that Ukraine would continue to have victories over the aggressors.

•that God would be Ukraine’s banner and shield over them

•that the weapons of the enemy would fail

•that God would turn Putin’s heart away from Ukraine

•for the families of all fallen soldiers, both Ukrainian and Russian, as they grieve their loss

•wisdom for President Zelenskyi and his government

•for strength for both of us, Lindsay, and Yulia (who is living with us and helping) to continue serving those in need

•for the church in Ukraine to courageously share the gospel of Jesus Christ, and for many to be saved

We are overwhelmed by the generosity of so many to help us provide for the needs of refugees at this tragic time in Ukraine. We are using the funds to feed them, provide clothing or other needs, and pay the utilities at Bethel House while housing so many. Bethel House is 7,200 sq. ft., it is still winter here, and