Six years ago, Daniel vowed to me at our wedding, “I promise to follow you as you wander and search through where God and your heart lead you…If we could at least pretend to spend a little more time in beautiful places than back alleys and sums, I would appreciate that, but I know we won’t always get to choose the where or when” (I still have his handwritten wedding vows to show this)
Shortly after our wedding, we took our Honeymoon to Portugal. We wanted to go early in the fall for the harvest and had a wonderful week in Porto. We then flew to Hungary where we visited with the best man from our wedding and had a meeting with the Hungarian Government on opening offices in their country. After that, we traveled…to slums, to back allies in Bulgaria, Romania, and Ukraine. Getting to Ukraine was met with many roadblocks. With a 12 hr traffic delay in Romania, trouble crossing the border from Romania back into Hungary. Another traffic jam had us running for the train to cross into Ukraine, to again slight difficulty getting through customs in Ukraine. We almost scrubbed going to Ukraine, but we pressed on. Once there, I introduced Daniel to my friends and partners. We were all part of the same Mission Organisation, and I was there to meet with them to help address Human Trafficking issues and questions. We followed them around, listened to their stories, met friends, and heard the fantastic work they were doing for orphans, the Roma population (a stateless group of people living in poverty in parts of Europe), and anyone else who needed help.
Soon our time with the team in Western Ukraine was over. We found ourselves back on the train to Hungary to continue our trip through Slavika to meet with the government officials to open offices in their country. Daniel and I began to dream of a school that combined both of us on this train ride and drive. A school that teaches programming and life skills to aging out orphans and at-risk youth in Ukraine. A skill that’s high in demand each day can provide good jobs for them and help their country grow. It would also help give these children who age out at 15/16 a future free from being trafficked since they are most at risk.
We got home and got to work on figuring out what would be needed for Ignis Invictus to get off the ground. Part of that was opening offices in Ukraine, not Slovakia or Hungary as we thought. We have since hired all over Ukraine, opened offices, and were about to buy a flat in Kyiv, but then we had twins, and covid hit, and our plans were pushed back and put on the back burner.
On February 24th, we got the message from a colleague, “the war has started.” That’s when we jumped into action and started working again on Ignis. We reimagined the school to be something more, something more significant. A promise to our friends and employees that we would help in any way possible. This brings us to now.
As I look back at this story, it’s easy to see how our time on that trip early in our marriage was woven together for today. The government contacts we made in Hungary and Slovakia have been used to ask for help getting aid convoys to their borders with Ukraine, should we need them. Our connections in Western Ukraine were still strong and close, meaning we could jump in and help them. We know now that while the dream of the school is still there, that trip was never entirely about the school. It was about bringing together the pieces we would need for now for this moment. God knew the war was coming, and he needed us positioned to act. Not from living in Kyiv with children. He needed us in a place from outside the war to see the need and pull in with clear sight. He required us to have one foot in the USA and one foot in Ukraine to act as a bridge. So here we stand. One leg in Ukraine reaching out to those we love to help, and one leg here, reaching out to all of you. Its duality can be hard but beautiful. We see videos of employe’s children trying to play outside only to hear air raid sirens. We listen to bombs dropping and explosions happening on team calls. We laugh with them. We cry with them. We then turn and look at all of you. We see the beauty in your support and kindness in the ways you have shown up providing for Ukrainians in need. We watch our children run free and look to the skies in wonder, not fear. Our hearts hurt but also are filled with gratitude and love.
As we press on in our work, we ask that you stay with us. That is possible you keep giving. $40 can feed a family of 4 for a week in Ukraine. Our friends desperately need help feeding thousands. They need us to stay with them in this way. It’s a long road ahead. The war is brutal and getting worse. Ukraine still stands. They have not fallen. They have not lost ground. Help us care for their elderly, children, and wives/mothers…you have helped us give them beds to sleep on, washing machines to wash their war-torn clothes in, and help us keep their bellies full. It’s a significant need. We hope this month to provide 650 families with a meal box and assist the shelters in paying for whatever needs they have, from toilet paper to fuel. Together I know we can do this. “We can’t help everybody, but everybody can help someone” -Ronald Reagon
Putin stands to divide this world and crush Ukraine. Stand with us, Stand with Ukraine, Stand against Putin.
Shortly after our wedding, we took our Honeymoon to Portugal. We wanted to go early in the fall for the harvest and had a wonderful week in Porto. We then flew to Hungary where we visited with the best man from our wedding and had a meeting with the Hungarian Government on opening offices in their country. After that, we traveled…to slums, to back allies in Bulgaria, Romania, and Ukraine. Getting to Ukraine was met with many roadblocks. With a 12 hr traffic delay in Romania, trouble crossing the border from Romania back into Hungary. Another traffic jam had us running for the train to cross into Ukraine, to again slight difficulty getting through customs in Ukraine. We almost scrubbed going to Ukraine, but we pressed on. Once there, I introduced Daniel to my friends and partners. We were all part of the same Mission Organisation, and I was there to meet with them to help address Human Trafficking issues and questions. We followed them around, listened to their stories, met friends, and heard the fantastic work they were doing for orphans, the Roma population (a stateless group of people living in poverty in parts of Europe), and anyone else who needed help.
Soon our time with the team in Western Ukraine was over. We found ourselves back on the train to Hungary to continue our trip through Slavika to meet with the government officials to open offices in their country. Daniel and I began to dream of a school that combined both of us on this train ride and drive. A school that teaches programming and life skills to aging out orphans and at-risk youth in Ukraine. A skill that’s high in demand each day can provide good jobs for them and help their country grow. It would also help give these children who age out at 15/16 a future free from being trafficked since they are most at risk.
We got home and got to work on figuring out what would be needed for Ignis Invictus to get off the ground. Part of that was opening offices in Ukraine, not Slovakia or Hungary as we thought. We have since hired all over Ukraine, opened offices, and were about to buy a flat in Kyiv, but then we had twins, and covid hit, and our plans were pushed back and put on the back burner.
On February 24th, we got the message from a colleague, “the war has started.” That’s when we jumped into action and started working again on Ignis. We reimagined the school to be something more, something more significant. A promise to our friends and employees that we would help in any way possible. This brings us to now.
As I look back at this story, it’s easy to see how our time on that trip early in our marriage was woven together for today. The government contacts we made in Hungary and Slovakia have been used to ask for help getting aid convoys to their borders with Ukraine, should we need them. Our connections in Western Ukraine were still strong and close, meaning we could jump in and help them. We know now that while the dream of the school is still there, that trip was never entirely about the school. It was about bringing together the pieces we would need for now for this moment. God knew the war was coming, and he needed us positioned to act. Not from living in Kyiv with children. He needed us in a place from outside the war to see the need and pull in with clear sight. He required us to have one foot in the USA and one foot in Ukraine to act as a bridge. So here we stand. One leg in Ukraine reaching out to those we love to help, and one leg here, reaching out to all of you. Its duality can be hard but beautiful. We see videos of employe’s children trying to play outside only to hear air raid sirens. We listen to bombs dropping and explosions happening on team calls. We laugh with them. We cry with them. We then turn and look at all of you. We see the beauty in your support and kindness in the ways you have shown up providing for Ukrainians in need. We watch our children run free and look to the skies in wonder, not fear. Our hearts hurt but also are filled with gratitude and love.
As we press on in our work, we ask that you stay with us. That is possible you keep giving. $40 can feed a family of 4 for a week in Ukraine. Our friends desperately need help feeding thousands. They need us to stay with them in this way. It’s a long road ahead. The war is brutal and getting worse. Ukraine still stands. They have not fallen. They have not lost ground. Help us care for their elderly, children, and wives/mothers…you have helped us give them beds to sleep on, washing machines to wash their war-torn clothes in, and help us keep their bellies full. It’s a significant need. We hope this month to provide 650 families with a meal box and assist the shelters in paying for whatever needs they have, from toilet paper to fuel. Together I know we can do this. “We can’t help everybody, but everybody can help someone” -Ronald Reagon
Putin stands to divide this world and crush Ukraine. Stand with us, Stand with Ukraine, Stand against Putin.
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