At the beginning of the war, Karina lost everything.

But not in the way you might expect.

“Before it happened,” she told me, “I couldn’t stay in the apartment. I don’t know why… I just needed to be outside. Anywhere but there.”

It wasn’t fear. It wasn’t logic.
It was something deeper—something she still struggles to explain.

A few days later, she and her family left for the city of Chernivtsi.

And then it happened.

A missile struck their building—directly into the first floor where they lived.
Fire spread from the bottom all the way to the 16th floor.

“If we had stayed,” she said quietly,
“we would have died.”

She believes now that it was God.

“That was Him… warning me. Telling me we needed to leave.”

When Karina eventually returned, there was nothing left.

“Everything was burned. Melted. Black.
It all smelled like smoke… like everything was gone.

People were walking around trying to find something—anything—that might have survived.

But there was nothing. Just ashes.”

In the months that followed, life didn’t stabilize—it unraveled further.

Her husband, Serhii, lost his job.
Then he was taken by the military.

“That was the hardest day,” she told me.
“When they took him.”

She paused.

“Actually… every day is hard. But that one… that one was the hardest.”

And yet, when she speaks about him, something shifts.

“My husband is a blessing from God.”

Her voice softens.

“He is not just a good father—he is a good man. He works, and then he comes home and helps. He plays with the children, bathes them, puts them to bed, comforts them.

In Ukraine, this is rare. Many men think their job is just to work and come home to rest.

But not him. He helps me… and he makes space for me to rest too.

I am very lucky.”

With no home and no income, Karina’s family had nowhere to go.

That’s when a local ministry stepped in and gave them a place to live—covering rent, utilities, even providing food when needed.

“When they helped us,” she said, “I understood something…

No matter what I’ve done, no matter my thoughts or mistakes—God is still with me.

He loves my family. He has carried us through all of this.

Only because of Him… we are still afloat.”

Still, the fear hasn’t gone away.

She doesn’t name just one fear—because there are too many.

She fears her husband being taken again.
She fears raising her children alone.
She fears the day they may have to leave this home with nowhere to go.
She fears a future of constant instability.

And yet… she keeps going.

When I asked what she dreams for her children, she didn’t hesitate.

“Peace.”

Not comfort. Not success. Not even security.

“Peace… and that they would be with God.”

She explained it in a way I won’t forget:

“There are problems you can solve… things that depend on you. Those are not terrifying.

What is truly terrifying.… is when something happens that you cannot control.

War is like that.

That is why I want my children to live in a time without war.”

Before we finished, she shared one final thought—something she wished the world understood:

“War is bad. War is always bad.

People should not support leaders who want to start war—no matter the reason. It always brings suffering. No one wins.

Before the war, we had enough. We lived a normal life.

Now… sometimes we don’t even have money for bread.”

She looked at her children.

“No one deserves to suffer like this… not for someone else’s decisions.”

And yet, somehow—through ash, loss, fear, and uncertainty—
Karina still says:

“Thank God… for everything.”

About Father’s House — Kyiv, Ukraine
Father’s House is a Christian ministry in Kyiv that has been serving vulnerable children and families since the 1990s. Founded by Roman Korniyko, the ministry began as a refuge for children rescued from the streets and abusive environments, providing rehabilitation, counseling, and a path into loving families.

Today, under the leadership of the next generation, Father’s House continues its mission through programs like Restored Life, serving families displaced and devastated by the war in Ukraine. By offering a holistic approach, spiritual, emotional, and physical care, they walk alongside families as they heal, rebuild, and move toward independent life.

At its core, Father’s House exists to live out a simple calling: to love God and love people, restoring lives one family at a time.

To learn more about Father’s House and their work, visit: http://www.o-dim.com/en/

About Capturing Grace
Discover the story behind Capturing Grace and how my daughter Christina’s life continues to inspire this work at capturinggrace.org/about-us.