HELP FOR THE UKRAINE – A Plea for Help to Washington County & Area

Would you do something to help someone in the Ukraine? Do you feel the need or desire to do something - maybe you haven’t known ‘what’ or ‘how’.

The opportunity is here for Washington County residents, this coming Tuesday, July 19th at 7 p.m. at Potosi Southern Baptist Church.

Dave and Christine (Boyer) Carlson have seen the horror of the Russian invasion into the Ukraine first hand, and they know exactly how the people of Washington County can help.

They have a vested interest in what’s going on, because months before the Russian attack, they were in the Ukraine mentoring committed young people at work there. They made new friends and enjoyed the beauty of this gentle nation.

After the attack on Ukraine, they went back to Eastern Europe to spend time near the border in order to survey the opportunities for getting help to the beleaguered villages in the path of Russian forces and helping those who are crossing borders to find safety.

Dave and Christine went with an intent to find a way to serve. They found it with a wonderful group of people stationed in Cluj, Romania, a perfect spot for receiving Ukrainians that are fleeing into Romania in hopes of finding sanctuary; a perfect spot for sending expeditions into Ukraine with food and supplies.

The group is led by an American family, Pierce and Diana Westfall with their little girls, ages 9 and 6, who literally moved to the town of Cluj, Romania. They have been joined by about 30 volunteers, many of them American.

Their group, called AJM (A Jesus Mission) are putting feet to their faith, sending their seven vans out trip with food and medical supplies to villages in Ukraine that have been cut off from all help. The drivers realize the danger, but they are dedicated to their task of locating these villages and making runs to keep the people from starvation and death.

The group is all volunteer. They are totally occupied with their task. Thus, they must depend on donations to keep the food an supplies coming in. They will send out what comes in!

Dave and Christine are back in the states, and at the same time, so are the Westfalls who are in the process of getting Visas renewed so they can return to Romania. The Carlsons were excited when the Westfall family agreed to visit Potosi.

Christine asked if locally there could be any interest in hosting this family at a public gathering. Potosi Southern has offered their auditorium for the date of Tuesday, July 19th at 7 p.m.

The people of Washington County can have an important part of this venture as our donations purchase food, medicine, supplies, and gas for the vans.

Behind the few that are called to go, there must be many who are called to send. Would you please be one of those? While our news media seems to be spending less and less time reporting on the war in the Ukraine, the shelling and horror continues for those families there.

We can hope there will be a great many of our citizens who still care and who will gather together Tuesday night at Southern Baptist, across from the Potosi Lions park, to pool our resources and do what we can do for the cause of freedom. We are all in this battle. We are blessed by the privilege of fighting it from the safety and comfort of our homes.

The invitation is extended with a plea; let’s do what we can as Washington County sends help to a nation in great need. Let’s be proud of our generosity and grateful to God for every day that we still have in a nation blessed with peace and plenty.