Help a Ukrainian family recover!

Hello! The Muliar family needs your help! Fr. Andrew, his wife Maria, and their six children lived in Hostomel, Ukraine. Fr. Andrew is a priest of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, dedicating his life to serving Christ and caring for His people. Maria is a photographer, specializing in maternity and infant photography.

They have lost all their possessions as a result of the ongoing war in Ukraine. They lived in Hostomel, one of the main centers of miltary action. Early in the war, their apartment building was hit by an aerial raid and caught fire. Thank God, they were able to escape with their lives and the clothes on their back, but lost almost everything else, including all clothes, furniture, photoalbums of their children, everything.

They were able to evacuate after that and spent a few weeks living as refugees in Western Ukraine and have now returned home, and are living temporarily in a friend's empty apartment, not in Hostomel (since it still isn't safe there) but nearby. They are having to start life over from scratch after 15 years of marriage. Friends have donated clothes and diapers, but there are still many things that they need.

A first priority is transport. When their apartment building was hit, their car was crushed under the rubble. As you might imagine, having six children and no means of transport is difficult. In order to get around, they have had to take several taxis, which is difficult and expensive. Maria is very eager to work and it will be much easier to do so when they have a car again. Besides transport, they also need almost all of the daily necessities of life.

In times of war and conflict, the suffering and problems can seem overwhelming, too big to comprehend, let alone fix. While we can't help everyone, with God's help, we can begin by assisting specific people in need. Especially as Christians, we have a duty to each other, to "bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ (Galatians 6:2)." When one suffers, we all suffer.

In terms of the person organizing this, my name is Fr. John Hogg, and I am an Orthodox priest in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Over the years, I have spent a lot of time in Eastern Europe, including in Ukraine and Russia. I speak the languages and have friends throughout the country. A friend of mine, whom I have known for fifteen years, is a personal friend of this family and I am in regular communication with them. I know the internet can be a weird place and it's hard to know what is what, but you can have confidence that all money raised will go to helping the Muliars. The money will go through our parish, Holy Cross Antiochian Orthodox Church, to the Muliars. Some people have also asked about donating directly through the Church to avoid fees, which you can do if you get in touch with me.