Lesya and her husband, Volodymyr, both knew what it was like to grow up with nothing.

From a young age, Lesya learned that “we have to rely only on ourselves, God, and good people.”

“In this difficult time,” she says, “when more and more people need care and support, it becomes more difficult to find people who are able to perceive other people's problems as their own."
But through Chalice, her three daughters Vika, Angelina, and Solomiya, have seen that God will still send good people. The two eldest girls have sponsors, and as Lesya says, "How wonderful that such people like you are there.”

Like many families in Ukraine, Lesya heats her house with a wood furnace. They rely on firewood to cook meals and heat their homes for the duration of Ukraine’s coldest months, which last from November to May. But the wood is harder and harder to come by. One spring, having exhausted their supply, Lesya had to burn old clothes to stay warm. 

In Ukraine, more broadly, households who once used gas have switched to wood as their main fuel source, since the war has disrupted the gas supply and raised prices. This has, in turn, spiked the demand – and cost – of wood. 

The children’s parents, like many adults in Ukraine, have lost their job or faced significant reductions in their income during the war. The cost of living is skyrocketing, and families are struggling to cope with daily needs, such as medicine or home hygiene. 

During the day, Lesya could see her children struggling to do their online classes, because the house was freezing. She could only afford to heat the home a little in the evening, so they crammed all their studies into a few short hours.

When Lesya and her family received the “Christmas blessing” of firewood from Chalice, Lesya was overwhelmed.

“It is difficult to convey on a piece of paper the emotions we experienced as parents in our hearts and the peace we received,” she says, “confident that this winter our children will stay warm. In the morning, in the room will not be 14°C on the thermometer, but at least 21°C.”

Her favourite part is “when, in the evening, you put the child to bed in her favorite pyjama, not in warm daytime clothes."

“For our family, this is an extremely wonderful Christmas blessing and a gift.”

"Comfort is not something you can touch. It can only be felt,” says a fellow parent in Lesya’s community.

“You helped this family celebrate Christmas in warmth, comfort, health, and feeling grateful to the Lord for such a blessing.”

You can give the gift of comfort and peace to families in Ukraine by supporting Heating Assistance for Sponsored Families, Ternopil, Ukraine.