Methodists bring medical supplies to Odessa
Methodists in countries bordering Ukraine are bringing relief supplies to their neighboring country. A hospital in Odessa also received medical supplies. Some of the supplies come from other Methodist churches or organizations.
A truck from Sweden, loaded with clothes, dry food, diapers, soap and shoes, arrived in Romania on April 20. The transport was organized by a woman who had worked as a Methodist pastor in Lithuania until her retirement.
Church as warehouse
"We will now have to sort and distribute all these goods," wrote the Methodist pastor in charge, Samuel Goia, on Facebook. The Methodist church in Comsesti is still under construction. Nevertheless, it can serve as a collection point for aid supplies for Ukraine, says his colleague Rev. Cristian Istrate on the Facebook page of the United Methodist Church in Romania. Time and again, Methodists from Romania bring relief supplies across the border. They do this in close cooperation with Methodists in Ukraine. In some cases, aid is delivered far into the country and close to the embattled areas.
All the way to Odessa
On Easter Monday, one such aid delivery from the Romanian Methodists in cooperation with the Methodist pastor Oleg Starodubets from Ukraine arrived in Odessa. "With the help of World Methodist Evangelism, we were able to send to the hospital in Odessa a medical transport of medicines and surgical equipment," reports the Rev. Cristian Istrate. The hospital cares for wounded soldiers. "The chief doctor said that the help we gave was the most significant and practical that they had received so far." Chief physician Artean Pashin also wrote about this on Facebook, "I would like to express my deepest appreciation and respect to the Methodist Mission project in Romania and its staff for helping us in this difficult time for us."
Not the last time
The Methodists in Kielce, Poland, are also collecting supplies for another relief transport. Pastor Damian Szczepanczyk announces that on the 22/04 they will bring "another and not the last time" relief supplies to Ukraine. What is needed are shoes, durable food, articles for children, hygiene articles, underwear and T-shirts. The destination of the aid transport is Vinnytsia, a city in the Ukraine with about 400,000 inhabitants. Even those who can give little, therefore, need not worry. "The one or a few products you can put in the basket while shopping with others in mind - it will really mean a lot to someone!"
Author: Sigmar Friedrich, Zurich/Switzerland