LVIV, UKRAINE — Samaritan’s Purse is providing compassionate medical care in a clinic at the Lviv train station in Ukraine for sick and injured refugees who are fleeing the carnage across their country.

Natasha – Lviv Resident:

Many refugees are coming from completely different corners of our Ukraine. People are demoralized. They don’t see what awaits them in the future.

Peter Holz, RN – Samaritan’s Purse:

As you can see, it’s snowing, it is cold. There is a low of 13 degrees Fahrenheit tonight. So that’s going to be putting people at risk for hypothermia. It’s a very difficult time for people to be out of their homes without a solid plan of where to live.

Thousands of people come through this train station every day, many of them with no plan for the future. Many of them have their bags with them, their dogs with them, small children with them. We are seeing people with conflict-related injuries, some obvious blast-related injuries and other physical ailments.

Trains come into this station 24 hours a day, helping people fleeing. People are sleeping in this train station overnight. There is a curfew that they can’t even be out in the streets after 10:00 PM. So we have run this clinic 24 hours a day to provide care around the clock for the people that are fleeing.

Dr. Mark Agness – Samaritan’s Purse:

I’ve been deployed with Samaritan’s Purse on several different occasions. Why did I respond this time? Really the question is, why would I not respond? And you know, Warren Wiersbe said that “the safest place in the world is in the center of God’s will,” and I truly believe that. So I felt a calling to respond positively, and not to follow that would be crazy. So I feel very happy to be able to respond. I really believe that medical care, a lot of times, is God’s tool to go on ahead and allow us to connect to people and share the Gospel.

Peter Holz:

Internally displaced people, they don’t have access to any health care. They likely left their home in a hurry. They left all their medications behind. There’s chronic conditions that need to be treated as they make their way across Ukraine. So we’re really providing that level of care that is missing in the country currently.

Iryna – Kyiv Resident:

We were finally able to get the necessary medicine [for my husband], and I now have hope that we will get to safety in this fight for life. That’s what I call this year: a fight for life.

Dr. Laura Douglas-Beveridge – Samaritan’s Purse:

This is an opportunity for my faith in action. I feel like if there’s something in our hand that we can offer, whether it be something that feels very small or very big, when someone’s hurting, we stand alongside that person. So wherever it is in the world, if there’s a need that we can meet, then I want to be a part of meeting that.

Kim Wiebe, RN – Samaritan’s Purse:

It’s quarter to three in the morning. We’re down underneath the train tracks at the Lviv Train Station. This is the closest place to the train station clinic where we can take shelter during air raids. We were taking care of a patient when it happened. He was feeling very, very ill. We immediately did what we could to help him, brought him down here with us. This happens almost every night. Sometimes it’s two or three hours before the all-clear is sounded. This is my fourth night here in Lviv working at the train station clinic, and every single night we’ve had to come down here at least once.

Peter Holz [praying in group]:

Lord, we just lift the country of Ukraine up to You. And we just pray protection for this country, Lord, protection for this tent at this train station, Lord. May it stay safe here for us and all the people that cycle in and out of here every day, Father. Touch our hearts today. Give us the strength, motivation and compassion to take care of these people as they come in and out, Father. Give night shift the strength to persevere in truly difficult situations, Father. We just thank You for the grace and the love that You show. We’re so happy to be Your children. In Your name, Amen.

Peter Holz:

We believe that Jesus wants us to act as the Good Samaritan. When you see somebody in the world who is struggling, who is hurt, stop. Help them. Don’t leave them. See them all the way through their problem. We feel that we are called to be here to help the people of Ukraine or at any disaster around the world.

Samaritan’s Purse is a nondenominational evangelical Christian organization providing spiritual and physical aid to hurting people around the world. Since 1970, Samaritan’s Purse has helped meet the needs of people who are victims of war, poverty, natural disasters, disease, and famine with the purpose of sharing God’s love through His Son, Jesus Christ. The organization serves the Church worldwide to promote the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Samaritan’s Purse International Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) program is committed to meeting the critical needs of victims of war, poverty, famine, disease, and natural disaster. We stand ready to respond at a moment’s notice whenever and wherever disaster strikes. The DART specializes in providing water, food, shelter, and medical care while sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ.

CONTACT: Gabrielle Bouquet, news@samaritan.org

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