[theme music playing]
00:00:00.70\00:00:03.77
¤¤
00:00:03.77\00:00:06.63
>> Welcome to It Is Written
00:00:47.01\00:00:48.38
Canada.
00:00:48.38\00:00:48.94
Thank you for joining us.
00:00:48.94\00:00:50.55
Olena Didenchenko did not know
00:00:50.55\00:00:53.21
what to do or where to go, but
00:00:53.21\00:00:54.98
she just knew that she had to
00:00:54.98\00:00:56.82
leave war torn Ukraine to save
00:00:56.82\00:00:59.09
her family.
00:00:59.09\00:01:00.42
>> Her older daughter pleaded,
00:01:00.42\00:01:02.52
"Mom, just let them shoot me."
00:01:02.52\00:01:05.49
Olena and her daughters couldn't
00:01:05.49\00:01:07.56
live like this any longer.
00:01:07.56\00:01:09.70
They kept waking up throughout
00:01:09.70\00:01:11.50
the night, the alarms going off,
00:01:11.50\00:01:13.70
and they didn't know when they
00:01:13.70\00:01:15.10
would stop.
00:01:15.10\00:01:16.37
[MIKE] And when they did get a
00:01:16.37\00:01:17.37
chance to relax, it only lasted
00:01:17.37\00:01:19.84
a few hours and then the alarms
00:01:19.84\00:01:22.84
went off again.
00:01:22.84\00:01:24.38
Today, our special guest is
00:01:24.38\00:01:26.01
Olena Didenchenko, who has
00:01:26.01\00:01:28.28
agreed to share her incredible
00:01:28.28\00:01:30.89
faith-building story with us.
00:01:30.89\00:01:33.82
>> Olena, thank you for joining
00:01:33.82\00:01:35.39
us on It Is Written Canada.
00:01:35.39\00:01:37.66
>> I thank you for inviting me
00:01:38.16\00:01:40.06
here and giving me a possibility
00:01:40.06\00:01:41.93
to share our story.
00:01:41.93\00:01:43.47
>> Olena, what do you remember
00:01:44.83\00:01:47.40
about when the war first began
00:01:47.40\00:01:49.84
in the Ukraine?
00:01:49.84\00:01:51.31
What kind of things did you see?
00:01:51.31\00:01:53.31
>> Okay, it was 24th of
00:01:53.64\00:01:56.81
February, 2022.
00:01:56.81\00:02:00.95
It was Thursday, just usual day
00:02:00.95\00:02:04.39
as we were...
00:02:04.39\00:02:06.09
...expecting, nothing unusual.
00:02:07.59\00:02:09.86
I woke up around nine-- around,
00:02:10.93\00:02:13.70
sorry, 5:00 in the morning from
00:02:13.70\00:02:16.23
loud sounds and I thought, "No,
00:02:16.23\00:02:18.63
it cannot be a war," because
00:02:18.63\00:02:21.54
nobody believed it could happen.
00:02:21.54\00:02:24.31
Everybody knew that something is
00:02:24.64\00:02:27.91
happening, but, you know, nobody
00:02:27.91\00:02:30.58
believed that war would start.
00:02:30.58\00:02:33.38
People are very mixed.
00:02:34.42\00:02:36.25
Like, my grandfather is Russian,
00:02:36.99\00:02:39.59
you know?
00:02:39.59\00:02:40.42
My mom has mostly Ukrainian
00:02:40.42\00:02:42.89
roots.
00:02:42.89\00:02:43.69
My father is Bulgarian and the
00:02:43.69\00:02:46.53
Russians, they are mixed as well
00:02:46.53\00:02:48.13
with Ukrainians.
00:02:48.13\00:02:49.10
And now to believe that they are
00:02:49.10\00:02:51.13
going to fight us, nobody
00:02:51.13\00:02:54.47
believed that they would dare
00:02:54.47\00:02:56.37
to do this.
00:02:56.37\00:02:57.57
And nobody believed that they
00:02:58.37\00:03:01.38
would destroy civilians.
00:03:01.38\00:03:03.61
People thought, okay, maybe they
00:03:04.28\00:03:05.98
want to take military stations
00:03:05.98\00:03:07.85
or, like this, but when people
00:03:07.85\00:03:10.02
realized they are going to
00:03:10.02\00:03:11.59
destroy cities...
00:03:11.59\00:03:12.92
...it changed mind
00:03:13.56\00:03:16.22
for many people.
00:03:16.22\00:03:17.49
And...
00:03:18.59\00:03:19.93
...at first your mind is
00:03:20.50\00:03:23.43
not ready to accept the
00:03:23.43\00:03:24.97
evidence.
00:03:24.97\00:03:26.33
You just refuse to believe
00:03:26.33\00:03:28.20
that this is real.
00:03:28.20\00:03:29.74
And this maybe took two or three
00:03:29.97\00:03:33.41
days and people started to
00:03:33.41\00:03:36.68
understand it's real and
00:03:36.68\00:03:39.15
it happened to us.
00:03:39.15\00:03:40.08
Our usual life stopped and
00:03:40.08\00:03:43.02
everything what we liked and did
00:03:43.02\00:03:45.52
before will change and would
00:03:45.52\00:03:48.06
never be again the same.
00:03:48.06\00:03:50.03
So...
00:03:50.86\00:03:52.06
...at this point we had to
00:03:52.66\00:03:55.83
decide to leave or to stay.
00:03:55.83\00:03:58.87
And first time I decided to
00:03:59.73\00:04:02.87
stay, even if I come to Europe,
00:04:02.87\00:04:05.64
what to do there?
00:04:05.64\00:04:06.81
I have two kids and this was
00:04:06.81\00:04:10.45
kind of threatening to me
00:04:10.45\00:04:13.28
because, you know, if you're
00:04:13.28\00:04:15.95
responsible just for yourself,
00:04:15.95\00:04:17.52
it's one thing, but when you
00:04:17.52\00:04:19.29
have to go, you don't know
00:04:19.29\00:04:21.29
where, with kids, you have to
00:04:21.29\00:04:24.26
think twice.
00:04:24.26\00:04:25.79
So I postponed it maybe
00:04:25.79\00:04:28.36
two weeks...
00:04:28.36\00:04:29.76
...and already decided maybe
00:04:31.30\00:04:33.70
it's better for us to stay.
00:04:33.70\00:04:35.60
We will pray and...
00:04:35.60\00:04:37.41
...we will stay.
00:04:38.64\00:04:40.01
We are not going to leave
00:04:40.01\00:04:41.01
Ukraine.
00:04:41.01\00:04:42.21
But I saw on condition of my
00:04:42.21\00:04:45.68
kids that they were too
00:04:45.68\00:04:48.38
stressed.
00:04:48.38\00:04:49.42
You know, all the time they
00:04:49.42\00:04:50.99
have to...
00:04:50.99\00:04:52.25
...be aware of these alarms.
00:04:54.36\00:04:57.33
They cannot go to playground
00:04:57.33\00:04:59.43
because it is forbidden, yeah?
00:04:59.43\00:05:01.66
It is too dangerous.
00:05:01.66\00:05:03.20
They...
00:05:03.20\00:05:04.37
...their life is dependent
00:05:05.50\00:05:08.40
on alarms.
00:05:08.40\00:05:10.14
We were living from alarm
00:05:10.14\00:05:11.77
to alarm.
00:05:11.77\00:05:12.94
When you hear siren, you have to
00:05:13.84\00:05:15.88
dress up quickly, you have to
00:05:15.88\00:05:17.55
go down.
00:05:17.55\00:05:18.75
Well, our new area had no
00:05:18.75\00:05:21.05
shelter, so we were going to
00:05:21.05\00:05:24.02
underground parking.
00:05:24.02\00:05:26.19
You stay there for two hours,
00:05:26.19\00:05:28.42
then you hear that
00:05:28.42\00:05:31.36
alarm is not working anymore
00:05:31.36\00:05:34.73
and you come back.
00:05:34.73\00:05:36.30
Maybe in two hours you hear it
00:05:36.80\00:05:38.77
again and it would be all
00:05:38.77\00:05:41.10
the time.
00:05:41.10\00:05:42.14
And when it came to maybe
00:05:42.14\00:05:45.21
three, four times per night
00:05:45.21\00:05:46.94
already, it was too difficult
00:05:46.94\00:05:50.18
because you have to wake up your
00:05:50.18\00:05:52.48
kids several times per night
00:05:52.48\00:05:55.52
and we have to go somewhere.
00:05:55.52\00:05:57.75
I decided not to allow them to
00:05:58.05\00:06:00.36
sleep in their beds because we
00:06:00.36\00:06:01.89
had a very big window and in
00:06:01.89\00:06:04.76
the case of explosion,
00:06:04.76\00:06:07.23
this glass, broken glass can
00:06:07.23\00:06:09.36
just cut people and many
00:06:09.36\00:06:12.10
perished like this.
00:06:12.10\00:06:13.64
So they were sleeping in
00:06:13.64\00:06:16.74
closet, small place like this.
00:06:16.74\00:06:19.67
Two of them.
00:06:20.74\00:06:21.68
They are quite big already and
00:06:21.68\00:06:23.14
they were sleeping, like we say,
00:06:23.14\00:06:25.48
fish in a tin, you know, without
00:06:25.48\00:06:28.75
possibility to move.
00:06:28.75\00:06:30.22
And the stress was
00:06:30.22\00:06:32.72
coming on and on.
00:06:32.72\00:06:34.22
And in two weeks my daughter
00:06:34.22\00:06:36.46
told me, "Mom, let them
00:06:36.46\00:06:37.89
shoot me.
00:06:37.89\00:06:39.09
I'm not going to sleep like this
00:06:39.09\00:06:41.26
anymore."
00:06:41.26\00:06:42.40
Because it was
00:06:42.66\00:06:45.63
rule of two walls.
00:06:45.63\00:06:47.07
You have to be in a place where
00:06:47.07\00:06:49.74
you don't have windows because
00:06:49.74\00:06:51.47
it would be somehow protection
00:06:51.47\00:06:53.17
of missile.
00:06:53.17\00:06:54.94
So...
00:06:54.94\00:06:55.84
...in this point, I realized
00:06:56.48\00:06:59.31
that we have to leave.
00:06:59.31\00:07:01.15
>> You are a teacher at a
00:07:02.18\00:07:03.82
Seventh-day Adventist school and
00:07:03.82\00:07:06.12
it's in Odessa.
00:07:06.12\00:07:07.52
You have a very vibrant school
00:07:07.52\00:07:10.06
director.
00:07:10.06\00:07:11.26
Tell us about her and how she
00:07:11.26\00:07:12.39
helped you, your family, and
00:07:12.39\00:07:14.83
other families.
00:07:14.83\00:07:16.26
>> Her name is Tatiana, Tatiana
00:07:16.97\00:07:19.23
Arkhangelskaya.
00:07:19.23\00:07:20.47
Actually her surname means...
00:07:21.74\00:07:24.57
"...archangel."
00:07:25.71\00:07:27.58
And in that time she was
00:07:27.94\00:07:30.01
like angel for us.
00:07:30.01\00:07:31.28
You know...
00:07:31.81\00:07:33.15
...I like one song just from
00:07:35.15\00:07:37.09
my childhood.
00:07:37.09\00:07:38.99
If you go to friend and you are
00:07:38.99\00:07:41.86
not sure what kind of friend he
00:07:41.86\00:07:43.86
is, you bring him to the
00:07:43.86\00:07:46.66
mountains and then when you are
00:07:46.66\00:07:48.66
in troubles, you can check and
00:07:48.66\00:07:51.80
you will decide, can you trust
00:07:51.80\00:07:54.07
this person or not?
00:07:54.07\00:07:55.60
She could survive herself.
00:07:56.54\00:07:59.54
She had...
00:07:59.54\00:08:00.64
...U.S. visas for all her
00:08:01.61\00:08:03.24
family and she could leave
00:08:03.24\00:08:05.48
Ukraine.
00:08:05.48\00:08:06.68
And...
00:08:06.78\00:08:07.75
...in this time everybody has
00:08:07.92\00:08:10.65
to be responsible for himself.
00:08:10.65\00:08:12.65
But she cared about all the
00:08:12.65\00:08:16.02
school and cared about everybody
00:08:16.02\00:08:19.13
to leave Ukraine and to be safe.
00:08:19.13\00:08:22.16
And this is how we, with her
00:08:22.16\00:08:25.40
help and encouragement,
00:08:25.40\00:08:27.74
and even she paid for our
00:08:27.74\00:08:29.54
tickets and she brought us
00:08:29.54\00:08:32.14
to Czech Republic.
00:08:32.14\00:08:34.74
Tatiana is a person who can move
00:08:35.04\00:08:37.78
mountains by faith.
00:08:37.78\00:08:39.81
And she told,
00:08:39.81\00:08:42.62
"I will start the school in
00:08:42.62\00:08:44.15
Odessa, even my daughter would
00:08:44.15\00:08:46.79
be the one, the only one
00:08:46.79\00:08:48.62
student there."
00:08:48.62\00:08:49.89
And...
00:08:50.63\00:08:51.76
...she came back to Ukraine
00:08:52.89\00:08:54.83
because she clearly understood.
00:08:54.83\00:08:57.90
And all of us, we knew that
00:08:57.90\00:09:01.17
without her, school won't
00:09:01.17\00:09:03.34
survive.
00:09:03.34\00:09:04.41
That is why she came back to
00:09:04.41\00:09:06.21
Ukraine and ran it
00:09:06.21\00:09:08.54
in 2023.
00:09:08.54\00:09:10.25
And that time
00:09:11.25\00:09:13.75
when we knew that
00:09:13.75\00:09:16.95
war is real and it's not going
00:09:16.95\00:09:20.06
to stop in just a couple of days
00:09:20.06\00:09:22.46
or weeks and even months...
00:09:22.46\00:09:24.93
...we saw how people
00:09:27.50\00:09:30.10
were leaving.
00:09:30.10\00:09:31.07
You just see through your window
00:09:31.07\00:09:33.23
and you'll see car is packed.
00:09:33.23\00:09:35.80
People are putting their
00:09:35.80\00:09:37.61
suitcases and leaving, leaving,
00:09:37.61\00:09:39.87
leaving.
00:09:39.87\00:09:40.88
Our area is very big.
00:09:40.88\00:09:43.41
We lived next to the school,
00:09:43.41\00:09:45.55
around 40,000 people.
00:09:45.55\00:09:47.52
And in two weeks it was
00:09:47.52\00:09:49.35
almost empty
00:09:49.35\00:09:51.35
because people were leaving.
00:09:51.35\00:09:53.39
And I decided where to go?
00:09:53.39\00:09:56.12
I have no place to go.
00:09:56.12\00:09:57.86
And she called me and told,
00:09:57.86\00:09:59.66
"Okay, you have chance
00:09:59.66\00:10:02.10
to leave now.
00:10:02.10\00:10:03.40
If you leave now, I help you.
00:10:03.40\00:10:05.80
I know you have no money, no
00:10:05.80\00:10:08.84
relatives in Europe.
00:10:08.84\00:10:10.67
I will help you.
00:10:10.67\00:10:11.87
We will find everything.
00:10:11.87\00:10:13.11
Don't worry."
00:10:13.11\00:10:14.18
I'm sure in that time she didn't
00:10:15.38\00:10:16.95
know how to organize all these
00:10:16.95\00:10:19.85
things as well,
00:10:19.85\00:10:21.22
but I told you,
00:10:21.22\00:10:23.05
she has a great faith.
00:10:23.05\00:10:25.05
And if somebody would tell,
00:10:25.05\00:10:27.39
"You can't do this, it's just
00:10:27.39\00:10:28.92
impossible," she would say,
00:10:28.92\00:10:31.56
"Okay, my Heavenly Father is
00:10:31.56\00:10:33.43
rich and He can do everything.
00:10:33.43\00:10:35.56
We can solve all the problems."
00:10:35.56\00:10:38.23
[MIKE] So she started this
00:10:38.23\00:10:39.33
school with just a few students.
00:10:39.33\00:10:41.40
How many were-- are there now?
00:10:41.40\00:10:44.41
[OLENA] Now 72, if I'm not
00:10:45.27\00:10:47.94
mistaken.
00:10:47.94\00:10:49.18
You know...
00:10:49.64\00:10:50.71
...our worry was that
00:10:51.05\00:10:53.31
school will stop its existence.
00:10:53.31\00:10:56.12
And first time when we left
00:10:56.95\00:10:58.92
Ukraine, we...
00:10:58.92\00:11:00.46
...taught through Zoom
00:11:01.76\00:11:04.49
to finish the 2022
00:11:04.49\00:11:08.13
school year.
00:11:08.13\00:11:09.60
But during the summer,
00:11:09.60\00:11:12.50
we have to decide...
00:11:12.50\00:11:14.64
...what to do later,
00:11:15.67\00:11:18.07
to run school or to stop it,
00:11:18.07\00:11:20.84
how situation is going to be.
00:11:20.84\00:11:23.18
And to the end of summer
00:11:23.61\00:11:26.18
it was already...
00:11:26.18\00:11:27.95
...decided that they are
00:11:29.05\00:11:31.69
going to come back
00:11:31.69\00:11:34.52
and continue to run the school.
00:11:34.52\00:11:37.43
And, you know, many kids
00:11:37.43\00:11:39.43
who had prejudice...
00:11:39.43\00:11:41.16
...for Christian education,
00:11:42.76\00:11:45.00
in that time, people already
00:11:45.00\00:11:48.70
didn't think about prejudice.
00:11:48.70\00:11:50.61
They thought about...
00:11:50.61\00:11:51.91
...real safety of their kids.
00:11:54.21\00:11:56.51
They thought about Christianity.
00:11:56.51\00:11:59.35
In that time, you know, God
00:11:59.35\00:12:01.22
wasn't already something they
00:12:01.22\00:12:04.22
were ashamed about because when
00:12:04.22\00:12:06.35
real danger came, prejudice
00:12:06.35\00:12:08.99
are not working anymore.
00:12:08.99\00:12:10.59
You think about your kid, about
00:12:10.59\00:12:12.86
your safety, about your life,
00:12:12.86\00:12:15.13
and you don't think about all
00:12:15.13\00:12:16.60
these things.
00:12:16.60\00:12:18.03
She came back and some of the
00:12:18.03\00:12:19.83
teachers came back to Ukraine
00:12:19.83\00:12:21.40
and ran the school again.
00:12:21.40\00:12:23.47
And many unbelievers
00:12:23.47\00:12:26.01
came to school.
00:12:26.01\00:12:27.54
And now in danger,
00:12:27.54\00:12:30.55
they are continuing
00:12:30.55\00:12:32.48
their work...
00:12:32.48\00:12:33.58
...encouraging people.
00:12:34.95\00:12:37.19
Sometimes they have to...
00:12:37.19\00:12:39.35
run their lessons in parking
00:12:40.72\00:12:43.39
during the alarm,
00:12:43.39\00:12:44.53
it's too dangerous.
00:12:44.53\00:12:45.89
Now they have a dream
00:12:46.36\00:12:48.56
to build
00:12:48.56\00:12:50.30
school after the war is going
00:12:50.30\00:12:52.63
to finish.
00:12:52.63\00:12:54.00
I'm just amazed how God worked
00:12:54.00\00:12:57.41
through all the church, how ADRA
00:12:57.41\00:13:00.38
is helping people.
00:13:00.38\00:13:01.68
ADRA was bringing people out of
00:13:01.68\00:13:04.75
occupied territories.
00:13:04.75\00:13:06.72
ADRA is feeding a lot of people.
00:13:06.72\00:13:09.12
ADRA is helping our school in
00:13:09.12\00:13:11.35
Odessa as well.
00:13:11.35\00:13:12.82
People...
00:13:12.82\00:13:13.79
...starting to turn their hearts
00:13:15.06\00:13:17.33
to God.
00:13:17.33\00:13:17.99
They are coming, churches are
00:13:17.99\00:13:19.93
full with people who would never
00:13:19.93\00:13:22.36
come in peaceful situation.
00:13:22.36\00:13:24.63
So these troubles pushed them to
00:13:24.63\00:13:27.10
believe in God because
00:13:27.10\00:13:29.57
now they understand.
00:13:29.57\00:13:31.14
Never mind how much money you
00:13:31.14\00:13:32.61
have, never mind which position
00:13:32.61\00:13:34.58
you have, never mind how big is
00:13:34.58\00:13:36.21
your house and how good is
00:13:36.21\00:13:39.01
your car.
00:13:39.01\00:13:40.02
Everything can end just
00:13:40.02\00:13:41.95
in one minute.
00:13:41.95\00:13:43.25
[solemn orchestral music]
00:13:43.25\00:13:45.85
¤¤
00:13:45.85\00:13:48.62
¤ Oh, when shall I see Jesus ¤
00:14:05.71\00:14:09.71
¤ and reign with Him above ¤
00:14:09.71\00:14:12.81
¤ and shall hear the trumpet ¤
00:14:12.81\00:14:15.32
¤ sound in that morning ¤
00:14:15.32\00:14:19.39
¤ And from the flowing ¤
00:14:19.85\00:14:22.19
¤  fountain ¤
00:14:22.19\00:14:23.39
¤  drink everlasting love ¤
00:14:23.39\00:14:26.43
¤ And shall hear the trumpet ¤
00:14:26.43\00:14:28.63
¤ sound in that morning ¤
00:14:28.63\00:14:31.90
¤ Oh, shout glory ¤
00:14:32.63\00:14:35.57
¤ For I shall mount ¤
00:14:35.57\00:14:37.17
¤ above the skies ¤
00:14:37.17\00:14:38.97
¤ When I hear the trumpet ¤
00:14:38.97\00:14:41.28
¤ sound in that morning ¤
00:14:41.28\00:14:45.55
[solemn instrumental music]
00:14:48.98\00:14:52.19
¤¤
00:14:52.19\00:14:55.16
¤ Gird on the gospel armour ¤
00:14:56.52\00:15:00.33
¤ of faith and hope and love ¤
00:15:00.33\00:15:03.20
¤ And you'll hear the trumpet ¤
00:15:03.20\00:15:05.27
¤ sound in that morning ¤
00:15:05.27\00:15:09.54
¤ And when the combat's ended ¤
00:15:09.54\00:15:13.51
¤ He'll carry you above ¤
00:15:13.51\00:15:16.61
¤ And you'll hear the trumpet ¤
00:15:16.61\00:15:19.18
¤ sound in that morning ¤
00:15:19.18\00:15:24.22
¤ Oh, shout glory ¤
00:15:24.69\00:15:27.62
¤ For I shall mount ¤
00:15:27.62\00:15:29.09
¤ above the skies ¤
00:15:29.09\00:15:30.86
¤ When I hear the trumpet ¤
00:15:30.86\00:15:33.09
¤ sound in that morning ¤
00:15:33.09\00:15:37.83
[hopeful instrumental music]
00:15:39.40\00:15:42.47
¤¤
00:15:42.47\00:15:45.14
¤ Our ears shall hear ¤
00:15:55.58\00:15:57.49
¤ with transport ¤
00:15:57.49\00:15:58.95
¤ the host of heaven sing ¤
00:15:58.95\00:16:01.39
¤ And shall hear the trumpet ¤
00:16:01.39\00:16:03.36
¤ sound in that morning ¤
00:16:03.36\00:16:07.03
¤ Our tongues shall chant ¤
00:16:07.03\00:16:08.63
¤ the glories ¤
00:16:08.63\00:16:09.86
¤ of our immortal King ¤
00:16:09.86\00:16:11.93
¤ And shall hear the trumpet ¤
00:16:11.93\00:16:13.80
¤ sound in that morning ¤
00:16:13.80\00:16:17.67
¤ Oh, shout glory ¤
00:16:18.11\00:16:20.78
¤ For I shall mount ¤
00:16:20.78\00:16:22.18
¤ above the skies ¤
00:16:22.18\00:16:23.68
¤ When I hear the trumpet ¤
00:16:23.68\00:16:25.55
¤ sound in that morning ¤
00:16:25.55\00:16:30.22
[OLENA] When we came to Czech
00:16:42.03\00:16:44.17
Republic, we all met again by
00:16:44.17\00:16:46.60
our brothers who didn't know us.
00:16:46.60\00:16:49.17
At 1 a.m., they came to...
00:16:49.17\00:16:51.77
...pick up us.
00:16:52.81\00:16:54.41
They brought us to
00:16:54.41\00:16:56.75
a safe place and this is the
00:16:56.75\00:16:59.31
time our kids go to sleep.
00:16:59.31\00:17:01.68
First time how much they want,
00:17:01.68\00:17:04.69
and nobody would disturb them.
00:17:04.69\00:17:06.59
You know, this time silence
00:17:06.59\00:17:09.69
was even unusual because we got
00:17:09.69\00:17:12.46
used to danger.
00:17:12.46\00:17:14.46
Later...
00:17:14.46\00:17:15.66
...we got invitation from
00:17:17.07\00:17:20.27
president of Czech Republic
00:17:20.27\00:17:22.74
and Slovenian Conference,
00:17:22.74\00:17:26.47
Brad Mikulą?nd he allowed us
00:17:26.47\00:17:28.88
to stay in...
00:17:28.88\00:17:30.78
...Adventist seminary in
00:17:32.08\00:17:33.55
Sol?, very nice place.
00:17:33.55\00:17:35.95
They were very helpful.
00:17:35.95\00:17:37.39
I am very thankful to them.
00:17:37.39\00:17:39.62
After this when I already made
00:17:39.62\00:17:41.52
my documents, it was the
00:17:41.52\00:17:43.63
beginning of June
00:17:43.63\00:17:45.69
and I wanted to
00:17:45.69\00:17:48.60
get three tickets.
00:17:48.60\00:17:50.20
Because for me and my kids,
00:17:50.20\00:17:53.74
it was too expensive.
00:17:53.74\00:17:55.17
We hadn't this money.
00:17:55.17\00:17:56.67
It was the time of the year when
00:17:56.67\00:17:58.77
the tickets are most expensive.
00:17:58.77\00:18:00.91
So...
00:18:01.41\00:18:02.64
...around $5,000 it would be
00:18:03.31\00:18:05.65
for us to come to Canada.
00:18:05.65\00:18:07.42
We started to pray and it was a
00:18:08.98\00:18:11.29
program when you-- where you can
00:18:11.29\00:18:13.62
register to get tickets.
00:18:13.62\00:18:15.89
But I realized that over
00:18:15.89\00:18:18.69
a million people are trying to
00:18:18.69\00:18:21.03
register for these tickets and
00:18:21.03\00:18:24.00
you would never succeed.
00:18:24.00\00:18:25.77
We started to pray.
00:18:25.77\00:18:27.20
"Okay, God, I have...
00:18:27.20\00:18:29.04
...visas and we cannot stay in
00:18:31.07\00:18:33.54
seminary for a long time,"
00:18:33.54\00:18:34.98
because they are going to start
00:18:34.98\00:18:36.88
the school year.
00:18:36.88\00:18:38.08
They would bring the students
00:18:38.08\00:18:40.15
and we cannot come back
00:18:40.15\00:18:42.45
to Ukraine.
00:18:42.45\00:18:43.25
"We cannot stay here.
00:18:43.25\00:18:44.52
We have to leave to Canada, but
00:18:44.52\00:18:46.72
we don't have money for Canada.
00:18:46.72\00:18:48.32
So, God, please solve our
00:18:48.32\00:18:50.16
problems."
00:18:50.16\00:18:51.53
And I prayed,
00:18:51.53\00:18:54.56
"Please, God, bring us to
00:18:54.56\00:18:56.46
Regina, to Saskatchewan."
00:18:56.46\00:18:58.50
It was no program in that time.
00:18:58.50\00:19:01.20
It was not even implied
00:19:01.20\00:19:04.17
that Canada would bring
00:19:04.17\00:19:06.31
people to Regina.
00:19:06.31\00:19:07.54
In two weeks after
00:19:07.54\00:19:10.41
our prayers and our friends were
00:19:10.41\00:19:12.91
praying for us as well,
00:19:12.91\00:19:14.55
I opened bulletin.
00:19:14.55\00:19:16.69
My friend who told me about this
00:19:16.69\00:19:19.02
program, she sent me bulletin
00:19:19.02\00:19:20.69
from Regina and news from Regina
00:19:20.69\00:19:23.22
and it was mentioned that it is
00:19:23.22\00:19:25.76
opened, the program,
00:19:25.76\00:19:28.30
from Poland to Regina,
00:19:28.30\00:19:30.53
direct flight, free tickets,
00:19:30.53\00:19:33.54
and we easily could
00:19:33.54\00:19:36.20
register for them.
00:19:36.20\00:19:37.27
So as for me, God opened
00:19:37.27\00:19:39.71
the program...
00:19:39.71\00:19:40.94
...according to our prayers.
00:19:42.34\00:19:44.18
He knew that we don't have
00:19:44.18\00:19:45.45
money, He knew that we cannot
00:19:45.45\00:19:47.95
stay there, we cannot come back,
00:19:47.95\00:19:49.75
and He found a new home for us,
00:19:49.75\00:19:51.75
a new home in Canada.
00:19:51.75\00:19:53.42
>> We first heard about Olena
00:19:54.66\00:19:56.86
through her friend, who was a
00:19:56.86\00:19:58.83
member of our church.
00:19:58.83\00:20:00.23
So one day Sabbath afternoon she
00:20:00.60\00:20:03.00
approached me with her husband
00:20:03.00\00:20:04.63
saying, "Can you put my friend,
00:20:04.63\00:20:06.67
Olena, who's in Ukraine, and,
00:20:06.67\00:20:09.04
because we wanna bring her to
00:20:09.04\00:20:10.87
Canada, can you put her in the
00:20:10.87\00:20:13.64
prayer chain?"
00:20:13.64\00:20:14.61
And so we did that.
00:20:14.61\00:20:15.51
So we have a prayer group that
00:20:15.51\00:20:17.05
meets every night at 9 p.m. so
00:20:17.05\00:20:19.48
we?een praying for her,
00:20:19.48\00:20:21.95
you know, for several months.
00:20:21.95\00:20:22.95
And we went as a board and say,
00:20:22.95\00:20:25.05
"We should raise some money for
00:20:25.05\00:20:26.86
her and so when she comes then,
00:20:26.86\00:20:28.99
so that she can settle
00:20:28.99\00:20:29.99
in better."
00:20:29.99\00:20:30.69
So we started announcing to the
00:20:30.69\00:20:33.40
people and the members and we
00:20:33.40\00:20:35.53
started collecting donations for
00:20:35.53\00:20:37.33
her, the family.
00:20:37.33\00:20:38.30
And it started pretty slow, but
00:20:38.30\00:20:41.44
money kind of trickled in and we
00:20:41.44\00:20:43.10
thought, our goal was to raise
00:20:43.10\00:20:45.11
at least $2500 so that will pay
00:20:45.11\00:20:47.14
maybe two months of rent and
00:20:47.14\00:20:48.64
little bit of food.
00:20:48.64\00:20:50.35
But the last year, she sent us
00:20:50.35\00:20:53.01
the video message and so we
00:20:53.01\00:20:55.45
played that to all the members
00:20:55.45\00:20:56.95
and they were happy to see
00:20:56.95\00:20:58.89
actually the family that we've
00:20:58.89\00:21:00.26
been praying for.
00:21:00.26\00:21:01.69
And the donation never stopped.
00:21:01.69\00:21:03.32
They kept on coming in and
00:21:03.32\00:21:04.49
coming in and it surpassed
00:21:04.49\00:21:06.06
$2500 and $3,000, $4,000, and
00:21:06.06\00:21:08.33
$5,000, and I think we ended up
00:21:08.33\00:21:10.53
raising over $8,000 for
00:21:10.53\00:21:13.03
the family.
00:21:13.03\00:21:14.20
>> Olena, what kind of
00:21:14.90\00:21:16.17
possessions did you have to
00:21:16.17\00:21:17.64
leave behind?
00:21:17.64\00:21:18.64
Because it's quite a sacrifice
00:21:18.64\00:21:19.74
to leave your country now to go
00:21:19.74\00:21:21.91
to another, but you did it.
00:21:21.91\00:21:24.31
>> Actually, we came just with
00:21:25.31\00:21:27.95
suitcases because we knew...
00:21:27.95\00:21:30.99
...it's not easy to carry all th
00:21:32.55\00:21:35.86
luggage and I was going with
00:21:35.86\00:21:37.86
kids, they were not very helpful
00:21:37.86\00:21:39.86
in this.
00:21:39.86\00:21:40.63
So we just took our things.
00:21:40.63\00:21:43.13
Many people in Ukraine perished
00:21:43.13\00:21:44.93
because they didn't want to
00:21:44.93\00:21:46.27
leave their places.
00:21:46.27\00:21:47.84
They are trying to protect their
00:21:47.84\00:21:49.40
houses but perished together
00:21:49.40\00:21:51.01
with them.
00:21:51.01\00:21:51.91
I am so thankful for
00:21:51.91\00:21:54.28
church here in Regina.
00:21:54.28\00:21:55.68
They helped me a lot.
00:21:55.68\00:21:57.05
Before I even came, I already...
00:21:57.05\00:21:58.91
...knew that they are preparing
00:22:00.55\00:22:02.52
something for us and they are
00:22:02.52\00:22:05.12
really very, very, very caring.
00:22:05.12\00:22:08.59
>> When I first saw that, I was
00:22:09.92\00:22:11.39
so blown away because they were
00:22:11.39\00:22:14.13
so happy, they were jolly.
00:22:14.13\00:22:15.46
They were-- seems that they're
00:22:15.46\00:22:16.87
more happier than my daughters
00:22:16.87\00:22:18.30
who lived in Canada all of
00:22:18.30\00:22:19.60
their life.
00:22:19.60\00:22:20.57
Knowing what they have gone
00:22:20.87\00:22:22.00
through, my expectation of them
00:22:22.00\00:22:23.41
was very shy and quiet and
00:22:23.41\00:22:25.87
reserved.
00:22:25.87\00:22:27.18
And because they're in a strange
00:22:27.18\00:22:28.14
land, everything's strange for
00:22:28.14\00:22:29.64
them and they had to quarantine
00:22:29.64\00:22:30.85
in the dormitory for ten days,
00:22:30.85\00:22:32.25
not being able to move around.
00:22:32.25\00:22:33.88
But when I saw them, they were
00:22:33.88\00:22:35.35
so happy.
00:22:35.35\00:22:36.65
I realized God has been truly
00:22:36.65\00:22:38.15
blessing them and even though
00:22:38.15\00:22:39.82
they went through
00:22:39.82\00:22:42.26
difficulties, but God was
00:22:42.26\00:22:44.33
blessing them and in their
00:22:44.33\00:22:45.53
heart, in their life.
00:22:45.53\00:22:47.13
And they somehow, they knew that
00:22:47.13\00:22:49.96
this life, the new life they're
00:22:49.96\00:22:51.13
going to live will be
00:22:51.13\00:22:52.70
better, right?
00:22:52.70\00:22:53.94
>> My kids are visiting
00:22:54.80\00:22:57.01
Adventist School here as well
00:22:57.01\00:22:58.44
and I'm happy that they are
00:22:58.44\00:23:00.11
continuing with Adventist
00:23:00.11\00:23:01.54
Education.
00:23:01.54\00:23:02.98
And we live on the
00:23:02.98\00:23:05.81
south-- north part of Regina
00:23:05.81\00:23:08.98
and school is on the south
00:23:08.98\00:23:11.59
and...
00:23:11.59\00:23:12.62
...it is a long way,
00:23:13.59\00:23:15.46
but bus is not coming.
00:23:15.46\00:23:17.66
And you know what, church even
00:23:17.66\00:23:19.86
helped us to buy a car...
00:23:19.86\00:23:21.96
...so we could, I could bring
00:23:23.23\00:23:25.23
my kids to school.
00:23:25.23\00:23:27.07
They are just amazing, really
00:23:27.07\00:23:29.00
helping a lot.
00:23:29.00\00:23:30.51
Church and conference, I am very
00:23:30.51\00:23:32.17
thankful to them and to all the
00:23:32.17\00:23:34.21
Ukrainians whom they help now.
00:23:34.21\00:23:36.64
>> What is your dream for living
00:23:37.21\00:23:38.58
here in Canada?
00:23:38.58\00:23:39.38
You're here safely in Canada
00:23:39.38\00:23:40.98
now, you're left war torn
00:23:40.98\00:23:43.85
Ukraine and you're living
00:23:43.85\00:23:45.95
here now.
00:23:45.95\00:23:46.76
What would your dream be for
00:23:46.76\00:23:48.59
living here in Canada?
00:23:48.59\00:23:49.96
>> My dream is to continue
00:23:50.83\00:23:53.16
working for Adventist Education.
00:23:53.16\00:23:56.53
And probably I have to upgrade
00:23:56.87\00:24:00.04
my Ukrainian Education to
00:24:00.04\00:24:01.84
Canadian requirements, but I
00:24:01.84\00:24:04.11
really love to work with kids
00:24:04.11\00:24:06.24
and I want to bring them this
00:24:06.24\00:24:08.61
understanding of Jesus coming.
00:24:08.61\00:24:11.25
>> Is there a Bible passage,
00:24:12.21\00:24:14.52
maybe some Scripture texts, that
00:24:14.52\00:24:16.48
really encouraged you as you
00:24:16.48\00:24:18.42
have been going through this
00:24:18.42\00:24:19.52
experience?
00:24:19.52\00:24:20.82
>> Yes, I would like to
00:24:20.82\00:24:22.49
read one...
00:24:22.49\00:24:23.63
...verse, which I like
00:24:24.63\00:24:27.20
most of all.
00:24:27.20\00:24:28.20
It's from Philippians chapter
00:24:28.20\00:24:30.53
four, verses six and seven.
00:24:30.53\00:24:33.77
So I believe that God is ruling
00:24:55.69\00:24:58.76
all our lives.
00:24:58.76\00:25:00.06
>> Olena, before we go, I wonder
00:25:01.06\00:25:03.73
if you could pray for our
00:25:03.73\00:25:06.20
viewers.
00:25:06.20\00:25:07.40
Perhaps they someone who is in a
00:25:07.40\00:25:09.87
crisis situation and they feel
00:25:09.87\00:25:12.34
like God is not able to help
00:25:12.34\00:25:14.68
them, He's not there, He can't
00:25:14.68\00:25:16.54
perform a miracle in their
00:25:16.54\00:25:17.81
lives.
00:25:17.81\00:25:18.85
Can you pray that they will see
00:25:18.85\00:25:20.82
that God is real and that He can
00:25:20.82\00:25:23.08
help them just like He helped
00:25:23.08\00:25:24.95
you in your life?
00:25:24.95\00:25:26.45
>> Okay.
00:25:27.02\00:25:28.19
Dear Lord, I am so thankful to
00:25:29.66\00:25:31.79
You for everything what You are
00:25:31.79\00:25:33.86
doing in our lives.
00:25:33.86\00:25:35.33
I'm thankful for You
00:25:35.33\00:25:37.80
that You brought us here
00:25:37.80\00:25:39.37
so safely.
00:25:39.37\00:25:40.67
Now I am praying for those who
00:25:40.67\00:25:43.27
are still in danger, in trouble.
00:25:43.27\00:25:45.44
I am praying for those who don't
00:25:45.44\00:25:48.38
know where to find their help.
00:25:48.38\00:25:51.31
I am praying for those who need
00:25:51.31\00:25:52.95
You tremendously, for those who
00:25:52.95\00:25:56.18
need You and maybe even don't
00:25:56.18\00:25:57.92
understand this.
00:25:57.92\00:25:59.35
Please help people in Ukraine
00:25:59.35\00:26:02.32
realize that their first need is
00:26:02.32\00:26:04.93
You and You can protect, You can
00:26:04.93\00:26:07.96
provide everything.
00:26:07.96\00:26:09.80
I pray for those who
00:26:09.80\00:26:12.80
started to believe in You
00:26:12.80\00:26:14.60
because of this war.
00:26:14.60\00:26:16.81
Please help them
00:26:16.81\00:26:19.24
to bring all their life
00:26:19.24\00:26:21.28
according to Your Word and to
00:26:21.28\00:26:24.11
meet You in happiness
00:26:24.11\00:26:26.65
and in joy.
00:26:26.65\00:26:28.55
I pray this in Jesus name, amen.
00:26:28.55\00:26:31.72
>> Olena, thank you very much
00:26:34.76\00:26:36.73
for coming and sharing your
00:26:36.73\00:26:38.03
story with us here on It Is
00:26:38.03\00:26:39.53
Written Canada.
00:26:39.53\00:26:40.46
>> Thank you for letting me
00:26:40.76\00:26:42.80
share my experience.
00:26:42.80\00:26:44.77
And I believe that people in
00:26:44.77\00:26:47.07
Ukraine now are praying a lot
00:26:47.07\00:26:50.27
and there are plenty of stories
00:26:50.27\00:26:52.77
how God helped to everybody who
00:26:52.77\00:26:55.41
is asking for His help.
00:26:55.41\00:26:57.18
Thank you.
00:26:58.31\00:26:59.48
>> As Olena shared, we can
00:27:01.68\00:27:03.65
clearly see how the state of the
00:27:03.65\00:27:05.89
world is just as the Bible said
00:27:05.89\00:27:08.36
it would be immediately before
00:27:08.36\00:27:10.49
Jesus returns.
00:27:10.49\00:27:12.09
>> If you haven't studied the
00:27:12.09\00:27:13.63
Bible books of Daniel and
00:27:13.63\00:27:15.03
Revelation, our free offer,
00:27:15.03\00:27:16.87
Focus on Prophecy, will help you
00:27:16.87\00:27:20.17
to understand these prophetic
00:27:20.17\00:27:22.00
books of the Bible and see how
00:27:22.00\00:27:24.94
the prophecies of Daniel and
00:27:24.94\00:27:25.97
Revelation will give you hope
00:27:25.97\00:27:28.91
for your life today.
00:27:28.91\00:27:30.58
By studying these free Focus on
00:27:31.15\00:27:33.75
Prophecy study guides, you will
00:27:33.75\00:27:35.78
experience a new hope as you
00:27:35.78\00:27:38.19
come to understand Bible
00:27:38.19\00:27:39.99
prophecy and God's plan for your
00:27:39.99\00:27:42.79
life in these last days.
00:27:42.79\00:27:45.59
Before you go, we would also
00:27:46.06\00:27:47.86
like to invite you to follow us
00:27:47.86\00:27:49.80
on Instagram and Facebook and
00:27:49.80\00:27:52.40
subscribe to our YouTube channel
00:27:52.40\00:27:54.80
and also listen to our podcasts.
00:27:54.80\00:27:58.11
And if you go to our website,
00:27:58.11\00:28:00.44
you can see our latest programs.
00:28:00.44\00:28:03.21
>> You, too, can experience the
00:28:03.21\00:28:04.68
fullness of life found in the
00:28:04.68\00:28:06.35
words of Jesus when He said,
00:28:06.35\00:28:08.15
"It is written, 'Man shall not
00:28:08.15\00:28:10.25
live by bread alone, but by
00:28:10.25\00:28:12.82
every word that proceeds out of
00:28:12.82\00:28:14.89
the mouth of God.'"
00:28:14.89\00:28:16.56
[instrumental music playing]
00:28:18.39\00:28:22.10
¤¤
00:28:22.10\00:28:25.23