Chris took his first trip to Ukraine in the summer of 2004. While he was there assisting at a youth camp, he met a boy that would later be used to show the Lord’s hand of protection over His people in Ukraine! Years later, the boy -now grown- was a leader in ministry in Sumy, where he and Chris would participate in the R500 tour across Eastern Ukraine.
When war hit Eastern Ukraine in March of 2022, Chris returned to help as many deaf individuals and families as possible through the evacuation and placement process. Yura- now a father- was one of the Families the Lord brought into Chris’ path, and DeafBridge was able to successfully help the young family escape safely to Lithuania from a Russian-occupied territory.
In the urgency and stress of helping so many refugees evacuate, they lost contact with each other. Then this past September, Chris received a call where he learned that the family was now safely in Washington state. We praised the Lord for His good hand of protection over them – but the Lord was not entirely done. The grandmother had been left behind, stuck in Sumy, Ukraine.
A month later, we were able to send one of our drivers who successfully helped the grandmother escape to Romania. After her own harrowing adventure, the plane ride to Washington had to be filled with anticipation and thankfulness to the Lord and to our donors who made this unfolding story possible.
Chris was able to take the family to the airport and witness some of the first refugees Deafbridge had help escape the war being reunited! How providential that this family was also part of Chris’s first youth camp experience in 2004! It was a special blessing to be able to be a part of their journey and the eventual reunion of the grandmother with her children and grandchildren.
We thank you, as always, for your donations to Deafbridge which make it possible for this family – and many more- to safely escape and experience peace after the chaos! Your donations also allowed DeafBridge to provide a bed, food, and other necessities as they begin their new life in America.