People Power in Russia

- Advertisement -

We are sure many of our military soldiers who couldn’t bear the sight of civilians and children – senselessly getting killed and populated cities bombed and ravaged have been itching to help the Ukrainians.

IN the comfort of our homes, we see muted witnesses to the destruction and deaths in Ukraine. I couldn’t get over the heart-wrenching video of a weeping father saying goodbye to his small daughter. He was staying behind in Ukraine to fight the Russians. The scene would be repeated many times over as thousands of able-bodied Ukrainian men bid their families very emotional goodbyes.

We are sure many of our military soldiers who couldn’t bear the sight of civilians – and children – senselessly getting killed and populated cities bombed and ravaged have been itching to help the Ukrainians. A US millionaire has reportedly offered financial assistance to foreigners willing to go to Ukraine to fight the Russians.

After US officials asked him to evacuate, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky said he “needs ammunition, not a ride.”  The mayor of Kyiv, former world heavyweight boxing champion Vitali Klitschko, also chose to stay behind to join the Ukraine Army.

- Advertisement -

Zelenskyy had told reporters, “this may be the last time the EU may see me alive.” Some people criticized Zelensky as a stand-up — he was a comedian before he became President without any political experience — until they realized that he was standing up to a world superpower.

Elena Kovalskaya, the director of Moscow’s Vsevolod Meyerhold State Theatre and Cultural Center, has resigned her position in protest over the invasion of Ukraine. “It’s impossible to work for a murderer and collect a salary from him,” she wrote, referring to Russian President Putin. Moscow’s Culture Department reportedly said any negative comments will be considered “treason.”

More people protesting the invasion are taking to the streets in Russia and 5,259 had been arrested so far. It is likely that Russian protesters may swell to thousands, like what happened in Leipzig, East Germany that led to the collapse of the Berlin Wall. The peaceful protest against the German Democratic Republic started with worshippers from St. Nicolas Church who spilled out into the streets on the night of Oct. 9, 1989 and grew to 70,000 after several hours.

The demonstrators, who conducted incessant prayer vigils, did not incite any violence nor provoke the fully armed police forces who were standing by. The crowd rose to 200,000 in three days and to 500,000 on November 4. Five days later, some citizens bore holes through the Wall until they started streaming into the West Germany. Bombs did not “crush” the wall, prayers did.

***

Pastor Joby Soriano of Christ’s Commission Fellowship preached last Sunday on the “selfless, sacrificial and unconditional love” of Jesus Christ.  He cited a moving example of a missionary in India, Doug Collins, who was hospitalized due to tuberculosis. The hospital had been neglected and was congested. He distributed Bible tracts to the patients but were rejected. He tried to talk to them about Jesus but nobody listened. He woke up morning, at 2 a.m., coughing and saw another patient, an old man, across the room who was struggling to get out bed. He was weeping because he was so weak to stand up to go to the toilet. The old man’s bed turned into a stinking mess and elicited a real bad smell. The other patients made fun of the old man. The nurses came to clean him up and his bed. They were not kind, and one even slapped him in the face.

The following night, his coughing woke up Collins again at 2 a.m. He saw the old man struggling again to get up from the bed to go to the toilet. He said he didn’t know what to do, but Collins found himself helping the old man stand up to his feet and because he was so weak to walk, he had to carry him. He accompanied him inside the toilet where Collins also cleaned him up. Collins told friends Christ would have done the same thing. After he carried him back to his bed, the old man planted a small kiss on Collin’s cheek. He would continue to help the old man in the following nights The other patients started asking for his Bible tracts and when he ministered to them they would listen.

Author

- Advertisement -

Share post: