Emissaries of Peace

​Sorry people! It's been a busy few days. Royce and I have been on the move between the border of Ukraine and several towns in Poland. 

​We made contact with "Victor" (a name that fits the man it was given to). Victor is an individual not much more than 5 feet tall, about 60 years old with a powerful handshake that tells the story of a hard-working man.
​We spoke at length through the broken English of a 20-year-old translator. A woman named "Lily", who, once she realized we were offering help, spoke to us with the urgency of a drowning woman. A woman trying to keep her entire county with its head above water. 

​The weight thrust upon the people of the Ukrainian underground is unimaginable. We spoke at length with the two of them about what we could provide and what we could not. We've learned to introduce ourselves as Canadians, as emissaries of peace. It seems that the reputation of Canadians precedes us, for more than once we've been referred to as the kind ones. 

Aid supply chain moving in and out of Ukraine.

​After a lengthy chat about when and where to meet with food and medical supplies, we moved to another location inside Poland. Acting on a tip from a friend in Canada, we drove three hours to the Help Ukraine Center coordinating out of Lublin. Operating on nothing but the location of a HUGE warehouse complex, and the smiling faces of Lynn Hennigar and Adrian Bohach in a photo. These two beautiful Canadians are from Mahone Bay, Nova Scotia (15 minutes from my home!!) yet we have never crossed paths before. We entered a complex of industrial buildings and warehouses. As we drove through the manned gate and into a maze of buildings, Royce commented that a needle in a stack of needles would be easier to locate. Agreeing, I just picked a space at random and hopped out with phone in hand. As we picked a door that looked like an entrance, a man came out pushing a dumpster of cardboard boxes. I looked at my phone and back at Royce, "I think that's Adrien." I laughed and we both stared in disbelief. 
"Adrian?" 
The man looked at us puzzled, "Yes?" 
I said, "A mutual friend of ours in Nova Scotia says hello... we're from Lunenburg." What came after the laughter and a couple of expletives, were the seeds of an immediate friendship. Adrien is of Ukrainian heritage, now living in Mahone Bay with his beautiful family, all of whom are working out of this warehouse, processing aid packages from all over the world. After giving us a tour of the facility, he introduced us to a staff composed of girlfriends and wives of Ukrainian service members. It was immediately apparent where our next shipment of aid was headed. ​

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Serendipity doesn't describe the set of circumstances that brought us here. I firmly believe that a mission  built on a foundation of peace and kindness has no limits. Keep us in your thoughts, but please direct your light and positive energy at the heroes of this conflict. 
We've found no greater purpose here than emissaries of peace.