CDA PRESS: 'A part of our hearts will always be theirs'
Article Written by Devin Weeks from the Coeur d'Alene Press
The people of Ukraine tend to be a little more serious than Americans.
They don’t really indulge in the frivolity of selfies and smile-filled photographs.
"When you walk down the street, you don’t see a whole bunch of smiling faces. It’s not like downtown Coeur d’Alene," Salvation Army Maj. Ronda Gilger said Friday. “People are very private. Even smiling for a photograph for ID, ‘Only crazy people do that. Americans do that.’ For a wedding photograph, it's all very serious. Everything is just taken so different.”
Ronda and her husband, Salvation Army Maj. Don Gilger, served as Salvation Army officers in Moldova — a small, poor country to the southwest of Ukraine — for three years. Don was the territorial secretary for business while Ronda was the divisional commander for Moldova.
The Salvation Army officers serving in the territory train and serve together and often get married because they also go to school together, Ronda said.
“Somebody in Moldova will marry somebody in Ukraine, and they’ll serve in Lviv or Kyiv,” she said. “There's a lot of people washing in and out."
Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February, the communication and prayer boards among Salvation Army officers have lit up with countless prayer requests and pleas for help.
“Names came in more and more, people needing to get out of where they’re living," Ronda said. "We’re just really connected to what is happening there."
One plea came from Olga Lisnic, who works with the Salvation Army as a translator and has a 1-year-old son. "She had to get out of the country,” Ronda said. "They walked for three, four days to the border, 30 miles with an infant and two suitcases. She got kicked off the bus because she didn’t have her papers."
Olga and her son were received by family members in Moldova. Then Olga immediately went to the aid of her fellow refugees. "Olga is now helping at the Moldovan border for people coming across because she speaks like four languages," Ronda said. "She is amazing. I love that she escaped and now she’s giving back.”
The Gilgers remain closely bound to the communities and people they served and worked alongside in Eastern Europe. In early March, Ronda shared a message on the Salvation Army prayer boards telling the stories of their counterparts in the Eastern European Territory. "Ukraine was like a second home for us as we traveled and worked with the Salvation Army - and the officers throughout the region," she wrote. "A part of our hearts will always be theirs."
She recalled the joy during the season of Martisor, which celebrates the first of spring. "I remember the celebrations unfolding across Eastern Europe," she wrote. "Cultural costumes, blintzes, foods, laughter, dances, events and the red and white fringed ribbons that are both worn and adorn budding trees symbolizing rebirth after the hard winter. That is what I want to remember."
The Salvation Army has been in that area for 20 years, sharing God's love and conducting humanitarian work. Their efforts have exponentially increased as millions flee from their homes amid Russia's violent invasion.
"We realize we're going to have to rebuild,” Ronda said. "Salvation Army, in any emergency event or natural disaster, they're usually the last ones out. But in this case, they're still going to be there, they'll still be there on the ground."
Officers who are friends of the Gilgers have created armed bike brigades to bring food, water and supplies to those who can't escape the war zones. Women have joined together with the historic Salvation Army WWI doughnut recipe to deliver doughnuts to the men defending their cities.
Salvation Army leaders are sharing their homes with refugees and turning Salvation Army facilities into makeshift shelters filled with blankets and mattresses. “They have kids in their homes; they’re trying to make a difference,” Ronda said. "Would our community do the same here? I think yes they would. For the most part this is the kind of community that would say yes."
Don, who was unavailable to meet in person, told The Press in an email that when he sees the devastation in Ukraine, "it breaks my heart."
"I have been in many of these places and my friends are there now, putting their lives on the line to serve others," Don wrote. "It also inspires me to see the resiliency of the people of Ukraine who love their country and freedom enough to defend themselves. They are more than pictures to me. They are people."
Ronda said that even when the news on TV is hard to watch, "remember there are faces and families and real stories behind the bombed-out buildings."
"When you look at your own families, value them and love them. When you give, be smart. This is going to be a long-term situation; it’s not going to be solved right away," she said. "Maybe treat each other, even in the community, with a lot more kindness and understanding.
"There are a lot of people who are weary of COVID and politics," she said. "Something like this helps us to see the bigger picture of what’s really important."
People in Ukraine already have a picture of what’s important beside just money, she said. "Things they’re holding onto, 'This is my home, my family.' And those things are being taken away," Ronda said. "It’s not just count your own blessings, but help somebody else. We’re good at counting our own blessings."
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Maj. Don Gilger offered two ways to help the Salvation Army and the people of Ukraine:
• Pray for peace and for those who are being destroyed by the war.
• Donate online or visit the front desk of the Kroc Center in person to donate. A direct portal is available to give to Salvation Army officers who are on the frontlines providing aid to the refugees.