Our Ukrainian Family Seeking Refuge in Poland

Meet Danil, Liliya, and Alla; our beautiful extended family from Ukraine. They are the nephew, sister, and mother of Vadym (my sister Kelly's husband). This precious family is from Dnipro, formerly known as Dnipropetrovsk. They have spent the last 30 years living in Dnipro, watching it develop into the beautiful city that it is today. Their lives have been spent living in Ukraine, adhering to Ukrainian customs and traditions, and sharing the love of the Ukrainian people with those around them.

Kelly and Vadym met when she was in high school and fell in love in a way I often describe when telling their story as a fairytale. They spent two and a half years living and loving each other a world apart. Those years consisted of my mother and father each traveling with Kelly to visit Vadym and his family in Dnipro over the holidays. Danil, Liliya, Alla, Taras, and Aleksey always greeted our American family in the most joyous ways; my mom often recounts one of their arrivals after midnight in Dnipro; Vadym's family greeted ours with sparklers, tremendously open arms, and a table set full of delicious food. The heart of the Ukrainian people has been known to our family for many years now, and we couldn't be more fortunate or blessed than to have become true family with the Pysmennyis.

Tragically, our family like millions of others has been devastated by the horrendous invasion of Ukraine. Danil, Liliya, Taras, and Alla spent the first ten days of the war hunkered down together in Liliya’s apartment in Dnipro terrified at the prospect of traveling across the country with fuel shortages and rapidly spreading warfare through many of the areas of the country; they were essentially surrounded from the first night of the invasion. Two weeks have been spent volunteering and praying for resolve- a quick return to the peaceful life they have always known. Martial Law was rapidly placed in effect in Ukraine as the Russian military severely outnumbers that of Ukraine, and the option for Taras (Liliya's husband and Danil's father) to seek refuge from Ukraine was no longer an option. The family decided to stay together and volunteer together in prayer of defeating Russia and ending the war. As incessant bombing and invasion rage on, it has become apparent that the safety of civilians is no longer a consideration. Liliya, Alla, Danil, and Taras had to make the torturous decision faced by literally millions of Ukrainian families; they had to decide whether to stay or evacuate and leave Taras behind. My heart breaks for these beautiful human beings just typing this statement, but Liliya, Alla, and Danil had to do the unthinkable and leave Taras in Dnipro as they evacuated via a 23 hour train ride to Lviv, Ukraine, followed by 24 hours spent crossing the border on foot.

Danil is a seventeen-year-old young man in his final year of what we call high school. He is preparing to graduate and will begin university next year; he has his entire life ahead of him- a lifetime to make a positive impact on this sometimes devastating and tragic world. Liliya (a lawyer) and Alla (a pharmacist) are not soldiers prepared to fire assault rifles at trained armies. They are two precious women with hearts of gold who spread more joy and love than most people I've had the pleasure of knowing. Taras, who works in IT, is not a soldier either, but he is preparing to serve his country in whatever capacity necessary and will do so with honor.

Prayerfully, our beautiful family will be reunited when the war ends and be able to return to their home in Dnipro, Ukraine. In the meanwhile, Liliya, Danil, and Alla arrived at a shelter in Krakow yesterday. They left home with haste and only one bag of personal belongings each. Everything they have worked for their entire lives, and the love of their husband and father, has been left in Dnipro- in war. What their futures currently hold is left entirely to prayer and one's imagination. That being said, a temporary life must be established as Ukraine fights for its land and its people. We created this GoFundMe account to help raise money for Liliya, Danil, and Alla to rent an AirBnB or small apartment for the immediately foreseeable future and to help cover their cost of living. They hope to remain in Poland for the time being, "only" a country away from Liliya's husband and Danil's father. In Poland, Russian is widely spoken, particularly at the university level. Danil hopes to enroll in school in Poland and complete this year so he may move forward with attending university next year; completing school in Ukraine is no longer an option as the war has closed educational buildings. Liliya and Alla are no longer able to work as they've had to evacuate their country to ensure survival; there is no income for our family who is now seeking refuge in a country they do not know and have no relatives or connections with. For now, life is uncertain and terrifying at best. Our hope is that by providing some sort of financial assistance, we can- if even worthy of saying aloud- somehow lessen the burden and torment on their hearts. Please consider contributing financially if possible. Please pray for the safety of the Ukrainian people and an end to this tragically unnecessary war.