Inside Story: Ukraine
Duped in Ukraine
By Andrew McChesney, Adventist Mission
A Seventh-day Adventist deacon never expected to be duped by a mother and her teenage son whom he invited into his home after they fled conflict in eastern Ukraine. But he has no regrets. “We acted with sincere hearts for God, and we will let God act as the judge between her and us,” Valentin Zaitsev said.
Image © Pacific Press
The story began in 2015 when Valentin learned that a first wave of internally displaced people had reached his Black Sea city, Mykolaiv. The plight of the internally displaced people touched his heart. So Valentin, a construction foreman, set out with his wife to a government-run hostel, where they found 50 displaced people living in two buildings, six to eight people per room. Valentin introduced himself as a Christian and asked the displaced people what was needed. The immediate reply was diapers and wet-wipes. “We went to the supermarket and bought both,” Valentin said. “We then asked what else we could provide, and they asked for underwear, women’s hygienic items, and potatoes. The authorities had given them a place to stay but not much else.”
As a friendship grew, Valentin invited his new friends to Bible studies. Eleven agreed, and an Adventist pastor began to study with them every evening. Then violence erupted at the hostel, and a 19-year-old man, Valery, was hospitalized with stab wounds. When Valentin and his wife visited the hospital, the teen’s mother, Natasha, pleaded for a new place to stay. Valentin was renting a three-room apartment, and he offered a room to her and her son.
For a while, everything seemed fine. Natasha even attended the Adventist church. But then Valentin found out that she was not penniless as she claimed and that she was taking advantage of people’s kindness to con them out of money. “We fed her and her son and paid their cellphone bill,” he said. “But then we learned that they were not poor. We asked them to move out.” Natasha and her son had lived with the family for six months.
Looking back, Valentin said the experience was a blessing. Natasha proved a big help around the house, cooking, washing, and babysitting his three children. But the biggest blessing, he said, was the opportunity to love her. “We received joy and blessings because we were able to serve someone else,” he said. “Our family became better. I would not do anything differently.”
Valentin believes that it is important to help everyone whether or not they accept Jesus.
“Our duty is to live and serve, and the rest is up to God,” he said. “We water with goodness, and God collects the harvest.”.
Part of this quarter’s Thirteenth Sabbath Offering will help construct an elementary school and high school in Bucha, Ukraine.
Produced by the General Conference Office of Adventist Mission.
Find more mission stories at adventistmission[dot]org
God will continue blessing you.Never stop helping other even though you were conned. You did something good and God Almighty will do great things for you too.
When I was younger I was conned by someone who I thought was a friend and robbed by a stranger. Sometimes when those things happen to us we look at everyone even the church members as ‘conned artist’.
In the summer people come to the church and ask for help for several things. e.g if they asked for rent money and you would say, let me call the landlord and pay the rent, they would object to you paying the rent.
But we have to prayfully ask Jesus for guidance to life problems and solutions. Not every immigrant, refugee etc are poor and have nothing. Some have a very ‘thick cushion’ to sit on like the woman and her son in the reading. Some are very educated but just that life circumstances treated them badly.
Let us cont to do good even in these times and the good Lord will bless us.