A warm home, a brighter Christmas
For four-year-old Zoryana in Ukraine, winter brings cold, illness and hunger. This Christmas, Operation Christmas Love is bringing hope to families like hers.5th November 2026
Living under a shadow
“I want us to have a warm home… like in a fairy tale.”
Four-year-old Zoryana whispers this to her mother, Lyudmyla, before bed. For her, a warm home feels like a fairy tale. For her family in western Ukraine, it’s a dream they long to make reality.
“Winter is the hardest time for our family,” said Lyudmyla, 27, who lives with her husband Mykola, 28, and their four children. “Our old house doesn't keep the heat in. The children are cold and often get sick.”
In their remote village in the Sarny region, jobs are scarce, medical care is limited and even getting to a doctor or pharmacy is difficult.
Although outside the direct conflict zone, the war still casts a shadow over the family. Increasing aerial attacks in the Sarny region bring fear and uncertainty, while the economic impact of the war makes everyday life even more challenging.
Afraid of the future
Mykola works hard, but his income is not enough to provide for the family. Like many parents across Ukraine, they face rising costs and the daily struggle to afford even the essentials.
Seven-year-old Anastasia is already aware of the problems her family face. “I won't ask for anything, okay? Things are already hard for us,” she said.
Lyudmyla’s greatest concern is how poverty is affecting her children, now and in the future.
“I'm afraid of the future,” she says. “Not for myself, but for my children. I’m afraid that poverty will destroy their self-confidence. I want them to grow up confident, not broken by poverty.”
With no relatives nearby or support network to rely on, the family carries these worries mostly alone. Yet Lyudmyla's faith gives her strength. “When there is no support in this world, I seek it in God,” she said.
For families like hers, Christmas is not about presents under a tree. It is about warmth, enough food on the table, and the hope of knowing they are not forgotten.
God must love us
Through Operation Christmas Love, Mission Without Borders delivers thousands of boxes each year to families and elderly people living in poverty across Eastern Europe. Filled with food, treats and a message of Christ's love, each box brings practical help and encouragement.
For Lyudmyla, receiving this support means everything. “This help is like an answer to prayer. It is a sign that God has not abandoned us,” she said.
Anastasia added, “God must love us if He sends us such people.”
Sergiy, a Mission Without Borders family coordinator in Sarny, said, “Every food package, every piece of warm clothing, every act of care is not just practical support – it is a testimony of God's love in action.”
This Christmas, you can help bring warmth, hope and reassurance to families like Lyudmyla's. Every family deserves more than survival. They deserve a bright Christmas.
