Friendship is Enough

“Others were afraid to be with us,” said Alexei, pastor in Ukraine, “but our friends were not afraid.” 

Alexei was openly emotional when speaking about his partnership with churches in Lithuania. According to him, it is much more than a functional relationship, it is genuine friendship, one that has been both deepened and challenged by war.

“When you think about friends,” Alexei said, “you do not ask what they can do for you, what you will get from them, because friendship is enough. We never imagined how much our friends in Lithuania would risk for us.”

Pastor Alexei was reflecting on the value of friendship in the midst of war. “It began nine years ago,” he related. “Nine years ago, our friends in Lithuania saw what happened in Crimea. They told us to have faith, that they were with us, that they were coming to help us.” 

Under the direction of Lithuanian MB conference leader, Arturas Rulinskas, the churches in Vilnius began to mobilize excursions into Ukraine to bring supplies to displaced families fleeing Crimea. Together with their Lithuanian friends, Alexei and his team from the Heart of Christ MB Church in Berdyansk distributed aid along the frontlines and evacuated people to safety. “So, in 2022, when the next Russian invasion happened,” Alexei said, “Arturas told us that they were prepared to come again, and they did.”

As the fighting intensified, more churches in both countries leaned into the collaborative relief efforts. Before long, international teams from North America, Germany, Netherlands, and elsewhere began to partner with the Lithuanian conference in coordinating relief efforts in Ukraine and resettlement of the displaced. Today, those initiatives remain efficient, targeted, and organized. While this church partnership runs like a well-oiled machine, Alexei insists that it is, above all, very much a friendship. 

“I went to Lithuania,” said Alexei. “I saw for myself, with my own eyes, how they care for my people. Church people pray together with us, sing together, like brothers. Many speak Russian, so we understand each other. We share about everything,” he said, “everything, as friends do.”

Now, approximately every three months a team from Lithuania, often in conjunction with North American supporters and coordinated by Regional Team Leader, Johann Matthies, goes into Ukraine to bring aid. More than practical help, these teams bring
hope for the future. 

“Ukraine is broken. No homes, no jobs, no community.” Alexei paused. “Our people need hope and vision. We cannot do it alone. The future is built through friendship.”