Their Story
At 5:07 am on February 24, Anna, Misha, Danny, Mary, and Tatiana were woken up with the sound of bombs and their apartment shaking. Misha told Anna and the kids to pack up everything they could because he had to go get his mom. Ukraine was being invaded by Russia and the war everyone hoped wouldn’t happen had begun. In 40 minutes, this wonderful family packed what they could and left their newly renovated home. As they were driving away, their apartment building was bombed and they saw their home get destroyed.
When they got to the border, Misha couldn’t cross because he didn’t have the paperwork exempting him from the military. It was left in the apartment that had been blown up. He had to stay in Ukraine, but told Anna, his mom, and his kids to get to safety. They crossed the border without Misha.
Anna, who has her Masters in English, bravely took on the role as protector and guide for the family. When they were in Poland, Anna met some missionaries. She told the missionaries that she and her family were trying to get to North Carolina because her company had clients there, and she believed it would be best to be near her clients. This missionary family emailed their list serve, and eventually Jan, Marc’s Aunt, saw the email. Jan knew that Marc and Reci lived in North Carolina, so she forwarded the email to Connie, Marc’s mom who forwarded the email to Marc.
Marc and Reci immediately knew that they needed to help Anna and her family. After weeks of travel and a pitstop in Virginia with amazing hosts Kimberly and Larry, Anna, Tatiana, Danny, and Mary arrived in Boone North Carolina with a few suitcases containing everything they owned.
Marc, Reci, and their crew have adopted Anna and her crew and are trying to help them get established and independent in America.
**UPDATE** On April 22, Mischa safely crossed the border and stayed in Poland until May 27. On May 27, Misha arrived in North Carolina! THE FAMILY HAS BEEN REUNITED, and they are starting their new lives in America. While this is great news, they still have a long journey ahead as they start completely over here.
The Host Family
We, Marc, Reci, Shiloh, McKenzie, McKinley, and Aurora, have adopted this Ukrainian family, and we are excited to be a part of their journey. We live in Boone, North Carolina and hope that our beautiful mountain town can be a place of peace and fresh starts for our new friends. Marc works at an international Christian ministry called Samaritan’s Purse, and Reci is a lecturer at Appalachian State University. We have four girls, four goats, three bunnies, two dogs and six chickens! It is always exciting around here.
Why are we doing this?
Although they are from across the world, they are our neighbors. We are tasked to love our neighbors as ourselves. If we do not do this, then who will?
Join us on the journey
We are trying to keep needs, prayer requests, and their citizenship status updated. Please sign up for email updates above if you want to follow the journey.
Getting asylum and Green Cards is quite a lengthy and expensive process. If you are interested in helping with any tangible or spiritual needs, please join this journey to help Anna and her family find freedom and hope in America.
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