We're back with a special, three-part, mini-series of Ordinary Story about life in Ukraine in a time of war.

In March 2023, Kate and David Schmidgall traveled to Ukraine to meet Rudy and Vadim, the pastors of Family of Christ Church, a small congregation that has mobilized over the past year to evacuate vulnerable people from frontline areas, distribute humanitarian aid wherever it’s needed, and create home for thousands of internally displaced people. Every week for the past decade they have been visiting orphans, the elderly, and the sick. We spent many hours with these extraordinary people and we want to share those conversations with you.

In this first episode, we sit with Rudolf Balazhinec, “Rudy”. Rudy is intrepid and winsome and says everything with a smile. In the past fifteen months since Russia invaded Ukraine, 700 tons of humanitarian aid have flowed through this warehouse. Rudy leads a team of 60 volunteers to organize and distribute these goods.

If you want to put faces to these names and voices as well as the places we talk about, definitely check that out at BitterSweetMonthly.com/Ukraine.

Credits:
This podcast was produced by Kate Schmidgall, alongside Robert Winship and in collaboration with the BitterSweet Monthly team. Special thanks to our family in Ukraine.

Thank you for listening. Until next time, take care!