We met Svetlana and Anatoly through our friends who came to Ukraine from the Faroe Islands.
Their home in Korosten was destroyed by the war. When Edith and Jóhan Petur first met the family, almost nothing remained of their former home.
Anatoly suffered three thromboses and now uses a wheelchair. Because of type 1 diabetes, he lost his sight. He cannot work or physically help Svetlana make their new home livable.
Almost everything fell on her shoulders.
Perhaps that is why Edith later wrote that when she saw Svetlana, she felt as though this woman was carrying the whole world on her shoulders.
At that time, Edith and Jóhan Petur learned that one of the churches had already promised to help the family with a small new house. So it seemed that their housing situation had been resolved.
But some time later, Serhii Lysak contacted Edith and Jóhan Petur again.
The house was indeed there.
But inside, there was almost nothing.
Four walls, a roof, and still a great deal of work ahead.
The funds were already there — waiting to be put to use
There is another important detail in this story.
The funds for the aid had been raised by people from churches in the Faroe Islands. They were originally intended for another woman from Korosten who had also lost her home after a Russian strike.
But what she had lived through proved too painful. She realized that she could not return to live in that place and moved to Kyiv to stay with her daughter.
The money remained in the account, waiting for another person who would truly need this help.
When Serhii explained Svetlana and Anatoly’s situation and suggested using the funds to finish their new house and make it livable, Edith and Jóhan Petur agreed immediately.
And so the support raised far from Ukraine reached the people who needed it most at that moment.
Then came the ordinary work
Our Koinonia team in Ukraine is part of the team of the NGO “Father’s House”.
We received a list of what Svetlana and Anatoly needed and began looking for everything in shops and warehouses.
Underfloor heating. Materials for the kitchen. A refrigerator and freezer. A washing machine. Everything needed for the toilet and shower. A bed. Tile. And other essentials without which an empty house simply cannot become a livable home.
On paper, a list like this looks fairly ordinary.
But when you know who all of it is being bought for, it feels completely different.
Once everything had been found and purchased, we went from warehouse to warehouse, loaded the Father’s House vehicle, and set out from Kyiv for Korosten.
In the video, Oleksii shows what we brought and thanks the people in the Faroe Islands whose generosity made all of this possible.
What we brought to Korosten
In this photo, Viktor and Oleksii are unloading the washing machine that was brought from Kyiv for Svetlana and Anatoly.
There are many moments like this in our work: find what is needed, buy it, load it, deliver it, unload it, and check that nothing has been forgotten.
It may look like ordinary work.
But this is exactly how someone’s kindness, prayer, and giving become very real help for another person.
“Thank You for Not Forgetting Us”
After everything had been unloaded, Svetlana and Anatoly wanted to say a few words to people they had never met, people living thousands of kilometres away from Korosten.
And perhaps that is why their words feel so sincere.
Words of thanks from Svetlana and Anatoly
With tears in their eyes, Svetlana and Anatoly said:
“Thank you, Edith and JP, the church and the people in the Faroe Islands, for helping us during this difficult time and for not forgetting us. May the Lord watch over your beautiful hearts.”
After words like these, there is not much more to explain.
People in the Faroe Islands had never known Svetlana and Anatoly before. But they decided to help. Then each person did their part — someone raised the funds, someone handled the purchases, someone loaded the vehicle, and someone drove everything to Korosten.
And in the end, the help reached the place where it was waiting to be received.
For us at Koinonia, the meaning of ministry is very simple: not to walk past someone in need, but to do what is within our power today.
There is still work to be finished in Svetlana and Anatoly’s house. But little by little, it is being filled with the things that make a house a home.
Take courage. I am here.
We saw this small sign among the destruction.
Sometimes a few simple words say more than a long text.