MERIDIAN, Idaho — Rob Sturgill with Typeofwood.org is preparing for his 8th humanitarian trip to Ukraine. But since peace talks have been put on hold since the Oval Office visit between President Trump and President Zelenskyy, Sturgill says this trip may be a little different.
“The situation last time, as you know, when we were there in November, six Ballistic missiles were shot out of the sky the day we were in Dnipro," Sturgill said. "The point I’d like to make is that we still have brothers and sisters in need, and I think right now it’s their darkest hour.”
Oksana Rencher, a volunteer with Idaho Humanitarian Aid for Ukraine, told me it’s all about “mare”, the Ukrainian word for peace.
“Don, the point I’d like to stress is that all Ukrainian people desire the end of the war, but what’s so important is that the peace is long-lasting and not a quick fix," Rencher said.
Paster Daniel Varga of the Full Gospel Slavic Church in Meridian, where we met, is worried about Ukrainian refugees that are members of his congregation — people who have fled a war-torn country to come to America, to learn English, get jobs, and send their children to Idaho schools.
“I pray that since they have already put their roots into this country, that things will settle in a way that they can remain in this country and be part of our church," Varga said. "Four of our Deacons are refugees.”
Tanya Petruchok is also a volunteer and simply wishes for this: “I wish we could be reminded that compassion has no boundaries.”
Idaho Humanitarian Aid for Ukraine Lead coordinator Leo Martsinyuk is so grateful to the Gem State. “Don, before I begin, I want to thank you actually, thank you, Idaho, for standing with Ukraine for the last three years. We got united by this issue here in Idaho when we opened the door here for humanitarian aid. Again, may God bless America, the United States, and may God bring peace to Ukraine.”
Rob’s brother Jerry Sturgill still sees America as that Shining City on the hill. “We have fought for freedom and democratic values ourselves against a king and dictator. If anyone should recognize what's happening in Ukraine, we should, and historically as a country, we help our friends who have been attacked and whose democratic values and freedoms have been put at risk.”
If you’d like to help, visit idahohumanitarianaid.orgor typeofwood.org.
