The mood was high alert on the evening of Feb. 23 in a seminary housing building in Ukraine. There was word that Russia would pull out, that they had just wanted the control of the already Separatist states in the south, and negotiations might soon be underway.

Missionaries, including American Kathy Gould and her Ukrainian ministry partner, celebrated the hope that they could return to their operations in Kyiv within the next week as they fell asleep on the sparse seminary bunk beds.

They woke up to air raid sirens. Russia had invaded Ukraine and started dropping bombs, focusing on cities like Kyiv. There was little left to do but act and move to flee.

Gould is clear that she doesn’t want the attention to be focused on her, but the situation that thousands of Ukrainians faced and are facing as they attempt to flee from their homes to stay out of harm’s way.

She and countless others left behind apartments, cars, and even family members as they made the trip to the Polish border. What should have only been a two-hour trip by car became 10 as the narrow two-lane road came to a standstill.

They sent women and children to the front of the line, but when the entire country evacuates its women and children, how can the border determine who can enter and who must stay behind? Gould and her team left their car in the line and walked for six miles in the dark to make it to the border. By the time they got there, there was no chance she could make it through on her own.

Gould traveled with a grandmother and her grandchild. Her team had left at her urging to get out of the open-air as the bombs still fell. As she sat in the van, others knocked on windows, the missionary moving to make room for the others that begged to be taken through as well.

After letting in as many as the van could carry, Larissa, the grandmother, had to turn them away. The border guards were strict. There could only be as many passengers as there were seats. They couldn’t crowd.

“I didn’t want to take a seat that could go to Ukrainian people who needed to leave desperately, but the seminary had made it clear, that if I were to be captured by the Russian forces, it would put everyone in contact with me in danger. They would go after my team and the other missionaries.”

The Polish-Ukrainian border is always operational, but in this mass exodus, no one was prepared. The border guards were overworked and exhausted, many of them Ukrainian themselves, and were just as worried as the citizens trying to leave. They had protocols they had to follow, and orders were firm. There couldn’t be any exceptions.

“I remember as we got closer to the border, seeing a man with a child. He was all bundled up like babies are, but the man was alone. I remember thinking… ‘They’re not going to let him pass’. An hour later, I saw him walking back, the baby still bundled up by his chest. They had turned him away. They couldn’t let him in. I don’t know what happened to them,” she said.

Though Gould and many others made their way across the border and could leave Ukraine, there were more who couldn’t or wouldn’t leave. Thousands remain in Ukraine, a fact that Gould wants to emphasize.

“They haven’t stopped fighting. No one really expected this from Ukraine. Even Ukrainians didn’t expect this from Ukraine, but they haven’t given up. They keep standing against Russia and the forces Putin throws at them. They’re unbelievably strong.”

Gould’s return to the States and her ministry to churches in Clay County have offered a unique perspective to the people she ministers to. Not only is she American, but after living in Ukraine for almost thirty years, her experience gives credence to the pleas she voices.

“I get so many people asking me ‘Why should we care about Ukraine?’ About what Russia is doing if it doesn’t affect them directly. America made a promise during the Cold War to ensure that Ukraine remains free. Putin already walked back on his side of the agreement. America can’t do the same.”

According to Gould, there are countless ways that American citizens can help the citizens of Ukraine. Whether it’s calling state representatives, donating money or supplies, or even just wearing the colors of the Ukrainian flag- all of it helps.

“With all the news coming in constantly, you can feel overwhelmed. It hurts, and as humans, we try to avoid being hurt at any cost, so we harden our hearts and go numb to the suffering around us. We can’t afford to go numb to Ukraine. Russia will be stopped; the people of Ukraine will continue to stand against Putin… but they’re standing against a goliath. America has given them pebbles. It’s time we help them find a boulder.”