Voice of Ukraine

From: Ira Kapitonova in Kyiv (Day 1003 – 3929 days since the occupation of Crimea)

Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and all that is within me, bless his holy name!
Psalm 103:1

The past few days have been tough. Repeated attacks, extended blackouts, a lot of anxiety from “predicted” attacks with intercontinental ballistic missiles…

November 21 is the Day of Freedom and Dignity in Ukraine. Both revolutions of 2004 and 2013 started on this date. It’s been on my mind lately. The Revolution of Dignity made Russia especially unhappy with Ukraine and made Ukrainians resolve enough to fight. I’ve heard people ask if it was worth it. Well, today’s situation at school reassured me it was.

Every Friday, I run a “classroom store” for my students, and they can purchase a prize with the “classroom cash” they’ve earned. Today, one boy who was the last in line saw something he wanted and he announced it to his classmates, begging them not to buy it because he really wanted it. The first few people looked at that prize but considered his plea. Then another boy comes up, hands me his cash, and takes the coveted prize. The first boy froze, his heart sank, his eyes were full of tears, and even I was speechless for a moment, but only until the second boy came up to the first one with the prize saying, “I bought it for you. I didn’t want someone else to get it before it was your turn.” The joy was pure and endless, with warm embraces and high-fives, and I couldn’t hold back the tears. This new generation of kids, loving, caring, kind, ready to take initiative and put others above themselves, are worth it. This new generation values human dignity, and they have so many examples of it around them. This new generation, tempered by the war and fight for freedom and human dignity, will have immunity against Russian-style (Soviet-style) thinking, and I praise God for it.