In Ukraine, winter is just around the corner. In peacetime, this moment brought the joy of seeing big snowflakes falling from the sky, feeling snow crunching underfoot, spending time with family in heated homes over the course of long winter evenings.
Not all their inhabitants, however, decided to flee: many remained on their own land, to rebuild their houses and lives."One woman told me that she saw her house burn down completely in 20 minutes. Only a small hut remains, where she now lives with her husband. It is very painful for them to wake up every morning and see only ruins around them."
Her first thought was “to live the Gospel here and now, even in these conditions”. This occurred to her in a moment of prayer, as she was asking God how her community could restart its mission in the capital. "For the people to whom we brought the materials," Sister Marta explains,"this represented an impetus that gave them hope and joy. They could begin the work. We saw that our help generated a chain of goodness. For example, one family to whom we brought aerated concrete blocks then helped another family rebuild their roof. So, there was a lot of solidarity and a lot of goodness. And experiencing it under these conditions felt like a miracle.