Aliyah update from Ukraine - Masha Tolkacheva and Na'ale-Aliyah story

Masha and her husband Sergei were peacefully living in Luhansk and had excellent jobs. Sergei is a military veteran and quite recently they were making very good money, however, once perestroika happened in the beginning of the nineties of the last century their lives were completely turned upside down. They bought the usual inexpensive car “Lada” and were very happy about it!

But their happiness was darkened when the war started in the East of Ukraine! They were afraid of the terrorist's forces mobilization and thought that even Sergei (as a military veteran) could be drafted to fight against loved ones in the Ukraine. First of all, they decided to quickly send their son away, - together with his wife and grandson - as far as possible from Luhansk. Sergei stayed in Luhansk to protect their apartment. Besides, having a good job in the Emergencies Ministry – he was convinced that he needed to stay there. During the first days of the armed conflict, a missile fell and an explosive blast broke the door of their garage together with their car (pictures below).

Masha lived in Kiev for quite a long period of time. The task at hand is to send the kids and a grandson first to Israel, so that the parents can follow right after them. Masha and her husband Sergei already prepared all papers through the help of Christians for Israel and got the permission from the consul to make Aliyah.

The severely damaged garage and car of the Tolkacheva family in Luhansk

Na'ale-Aliyah story
Sunday 30th of August happened to be very entertaining. We from Christians for Israel were assisting young people from different cities to fly to Israel on the Na'ale-program from Kiev Boryspil airport. We met 4 young guys from Lviv and Vinnitsa here in Kiev. We drove to the central railway station and met people at 6am and 11am. Sometimes olim come by train (we pay for the tickets). In other instances we use the mini-buses.

Our big company together with kids’ parents made our way to the shelter in Kiev because their flight was scheduled for 7pm. All of them were tired and exhausted because that day was extremely hot. We made a tasty lunch for them and really had a great and fruitful talk. There was only one family that was familiar with the general idea of God’s will for the Jewish nation and the concept of "making Aliyah" as the prophets call it.

I am 100% confident that such meetings are a unique opportunity for us to touch the very hearts of Israeli people. They will remember this day as a wonderful day due to the fact that they were met by strangers at the railway station, provided with food and beverages and given an opportunity to relax before the trip. Needless to say, it was vitally important for us to encourage them prior to such an extremely significant event in their lives. Before the flight we asked them if they would appreciate us to pray for them – all of them agreed gratefully!

It was really a wonderful day!

The young people from Ukraine about to enter the Na'ale-program in Israel

Nataliya Krizhanovski

Aliyah Fieldworker Christians for Israel

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