boris and maria
So there is hope for you in the future,” says the Lord. “Your children will return
to their own Land. Jeremiah 31:17
It was a very cold December evening in a small village in the Donetsk Region of Ukraine. Maria was standing in the kitchen staring at an empty refrigerator while listening to the distant and muffled sounds of explosions. A massive wave of anxiety began to consume her body as she broke out in a cold sweat. At that moment she began to cry uncontrollably and sunk down to the floor. Her husband Boris immediately rushed into the kitchen and said, “Maria! What happened my love? What is wrong? Are you hurt?”
Maria looked up at Boris with tears rolling down her cheeks and said, “We have worked so hard and built our life in this town. We saved and bought this house which was our dream when we first married. Boris, I don’t know how much longer we can stay here. We are out of food, we don’t have electricity most days and I am afraid that we can be killed at any moment…”
Boris reached out his hands to his beloved wife and helped her up off of the kitchen floor. He held her tightly as she sobbed and whispered this into her ear. “My Maria, it is time for us to let go of our material processions, our house and most of all, this terrible war. We have already lost friends and I will not let us lose each other. It is time we make Aliyah.”
A few days later, Boris and Maria packed a few bags with their most important possessions. They then walked out of their front door holding each other’s hands, then turned around for a moment for one last look, and then boarded a bus that would take them to our Aliyah office just outside of Kiev.
I am so happy to tell you that with the help of our Aliyah co-ordinators, today Boris and Maria have made Aliyah! They are living in Be’er Sheva, Israel where they are studying the Hebrew language and getting their new flat into shape. What a blessing it that we could help bring this couple safely home to The Holy Land!
My family, we have so much more work to do as thousands of our Jewish brothers and sisters are suffering in life-threatening conditions. Let’s continue to work closely together in answering God’s calling to bless and bring them home to Israel, healthy and whole.
