Heartrending - Aliyah Story

On 14 April and 15 April, 76 olim (Jewish immigrants to Israel) departed from the airport in Kiev. With four minibuses we worked hard to transport many of them from five locations that lie a distance of up to 600 kilometres from the airport, to our hiding place in Kiev one day prior to departure. The parents of young children were especially happy not having to spend a whole night in the minibus! We brought Gala and Genadi, and their 25 year old son Igor, from the village Gaisin. Galia has another son and daughter-in-law who, provisionally, remain in Ukraine. It was heartrending to witness Galia’s pain as she said good bye to her only 4-year old granddaughter, Nastia, who walks with great difficulty because of muscular dystrophy.

Grandmother Galia says goodbye in tears to her only 4 year old sick granddaughter Nastia

To the son who remains in Ukraine, we gave a brochure that contains Bible verses about returning. Once everyone was seated and, after we’d driven some distance over a dirt road, Galia asked for such a brochure. She read and re-read it a few times and was surprised that matters, described many years ago, were now becoming reality for her. Due to their work, Galia and her husband lived all over the former Soviet Union and Siberia, but this is the final and permanent ‘move’ to their homeland. They had been waiting for this moment for many years. Later, Galia begged us to visit their son to encourage him to also make Aliyah (leave for Israel). An old Jewish man in our bus listened attentively to our reason for doing this work.

The olim are always amazed when we tell them that many christians are praying and providing for their return. At 9.00 pm we arrived at the hiding place, and a little later chauffeur Igor arrived with six more olim and one refugee from Lugansk. We enjoyed a delicious meal while Nataliya told us that more than 400 Jewish refugees are now in Israel, after having stayed in the hiding place for a period of time.

The following morning we had to travel the final 50 kilometres to the airport, while two other minibuses collected more olim, including a young family, Alexander and Anna, with their daughter and 6-month old twins.

Ready to leave for good to Israel

Proudly showing their plane tickets, from left to right: Genadi, Igor, Arkadyi and Galia

Alexander and his wife Anna with their 3 young children

Eastern Ukraine
After our previous visit to Zaporozhe —where we met a large group of Jewish refugees who had no intention of making Aliyah– busses will now be hired at the end of April until the beginning of May to take 104 people to Dnepropetrovsk for an interview at the Israeli consulate. We expected a maximum of 30 people, but many more have decided to go. Our Aliyah-workers will be present during these procedures, and thereafter they will travel to Mariupol, close to the Russian border, to visit Jewish people. After a relatively short but tense period of rest, the fighting again increased during the past weeks in, especially, the vicinity of Donetsk and Mariupol.

Please continue to pray for the many Aliyah-workers and chauffeurs!

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