• Warzone Sunday School

4 hours ago
2 min read

The Saltivka Outpost, Ukraine, works to give children a safe place to be a child during the war.

The Children’s Ministries team at Ukraine’s Saltivka Outpost – a district of the eastern city of Kharkiv and located only 20-25km from active regional frontlines and the Russian border – were ready and waiting for children to come to Sunday school the morning after a drone strike on adjacent residential buildings.

In Kharkiv, the war is constant, with many days beginning and continuing with the sounds of explosions, sirens and wailing ambulances.

Last Sunday morning 9 August, drone strikes targeted high-rise residential buildings in Saltivka, destroying several floors of one apartment block, killing three people, and leaving residents trapped. Many residents, including children, spent the night in the corridors of neighbouring homes.

“You can only imagine what they felt,” the Children’s Ministries team shared. “Fear, explosions, loud sounds, anxiety for their loved ones and their home ... And yet they came. They came to the Sunday school. They came where they are awaited.

“We meet them, play, create, communicate, talk about good, faith, friendship and hope. Because even during the war, childhood should not consist only of explosions, sirens, and fear.

“Yes, we are scared. Yes, we hear explosions. Yes, rescuers and medics work every day right next to them. But we stay close to the children. Because it is very important for them to know that there is a place where people are waiting for them; there are adults who care about them; there is a space where they can, at least for a few hours, just be a child.

“We cannot stop the war. But we can do a small good every day – support the children, give them care, knowledge, joy, and hope. Thank you to everyone who helps us continue this work.”