War in Ukraine. Chronicles of a military volunteer-14
How your life can change in one day…
04.55.
As always before a trip, I woke up just before the alarm went off. That’s good, I’ll turn it off right away so as not to wake my Anna.
Today is a hard day. I have 1000 kilometers to go to the southern direction of our defense. And on rather mediocre roads.
I am traveling alone. My partner is now in the East. He is a chaplain and helps the guys who came out of Bakhmut to rest.
In general, I like traveling alone. You are left alone with yourself and the Almighty. It’s a good time for reflection and analysis.
My backpack has been packed since the evening. The car is loaded and filled with fuel. It is overloaded, and we had to pump up the wheels, as they were too weak for two tons of food and equipment for our defenders.
This time we have collected a very good cargo. The guys will be happy with it.
I’m off to the road.
I turn on the Bluetooth speaker. I like to listen to audiobooks on the road. Mostly on spiritual topics.
It’s a small and very high-quality “Marshall”. Every time I turn it on, I remember an American soldier with the call sign “Virginia”. He had one just like it.
He was a very funny guy. We liked to tease him by calling him “Virginia,” and he would immediately correct us that he was “West Virginia.” And he loved it.
And now he’s gone. He died near Bakhmut. He died from a huge blood loss. The guys pulled him off the battlefield, wounded, and he was still smiling even in the last photo, before he died…
The closer you get to the front, the more military equipment you see on the roads. Lately, there has been a lot of foreign equipment. God bless all the countries that help us!
I’m stopping at a gas station. I need to refuel and drink coffee or energy drink. Our military are at the gas station. They are on their way to rest. It is immediately obvious that they are from the front. Tired eyes, gray faces, shabby clothes… but so much fire in their eyes.
It is inspiring to see their spirit.
There is a car on the road. A guy is waving for me to stop. Maybe something happened? So I stop.
He runs up to me, holding packages.
— Take these, they’re for you!
He gives me the bags, they contain hot, freshly baked pies.
— Glory to Ukraine! Take care of yourself!
He stands on the road and gives food to our military and volunteers. It is very nice!
At such moments, you realize very clearly the unity of the nation in these difficult times.
Lord, help us!
I arrived only in the evening. I found the location where our guys are standing. This is a special forces unit. They are cool guys. I am honored to help them.
We are unloading.
They offered to stay with them for a few days. It turned out to be a week.
When you stay at the front for a few days, somehow, without noticing it, you turn into a chaplain.
The main task of a chaplain is to listen. And then to encourage, reassure, and pray together.
Once a unit commander told me that among his guys there are businessmen and ordinary workers, teachers and combine operators… there are no atheists. There, at the front, even those who have never done it before start praying. There you clearly realize that everything is God’s will.
The guys came back from a mission. They came under mortar fire. They survived by a miracle. They managed to hide in a shelter. They immediately recall how I prayed with them in the morning before they left.
Thank God!
In this war, the hardest thing is to lose guys. The ones you had coffee with in the evening…
The discovery of this war for me is that by encouraging others, you ignite your spirit.
It’s just as it says: you reap what you sow.
Your depression and uncertainty disappear somewhere.
That’s why you feel better. And you look forward to the next trip.
And now you’re back home, wondering where and how to pack your next load…
Life goes on!
