A Bombed Railway Station. Through the Eyes of a Worker.
“Daily, the threat of missile attacks is overhanging every inch of Ukrainian land and its civilians. This was one of those days. In this time, Russian troops had bombed a railway station of Chaplyne in the Dnipro region in the southeast of Ukraine. Twenty-five people, including children, became victims of a rocket attack, and thirty-one were injured. Among the injured, but miraculously survived, was our brother in Christ, Pavlo from Ternopil. Pavlo is an employee of Ukrzaliznytsia – the state-owned train communication company, working as a trainman. On the day of the tragedy, Pavlo was on a trip. This is his story…
“Working at Ukrzaliznytsia, I am often on trips. In these days of ongoing war, our railway company had been delegated a special responsibility in transportation of civilians, military personnel, equipment, and food supply for the provision of the internally displaced persons. Our company is trying their best to cope with the load. The employees have been putting their lives at risk and danger since the first days of the war. This happened to me on one of my working trips…That day, I felt special the presence of God. Before that dangerous explosion, several rockets had been already shot down above our heads, but I had unexplainable peace on my heart. The Lord made me keep in mind that I should remain where I was. One of the rockets hit 200 meters from where I was sitting. I have the hardest time to describe what I felt. The explosion was of such a great power that emotionally a person would not be able to bear it, if only with God’s help. Therefore, I am grateful to God that He preserved not only my body, but also my mind.
When it happened, I could not understand what it was. I could see people’s bodies falling down around me. Only later it dawned on me that God wonderfully saved me in that situation. I received an injury in my head and nothing more. People were lying next to me with serious injuries and mortal wounds. Four of my colleagues have died, and two more are still in the hospital in severe condition.
After that tragic event, I appreciated God’s mercy even more than before and started to understand His Word more deeply: “… the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night” (1 Thess. 5:2). For some, that day has already arrived. Earlier on the trip, I was urged to talk to my colleagues about spiritual matters, but they refused. And I understand now that they no longer have a chance to be saved.
Throughout it all, you start appreciating ever more, how important it is to be with God, who can perform such wondrous things!
I want to close my testimony with words from the Word:
“Return, O my soul, to your rest, for the Lord has dealt bountifully with you. For you have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling; I will walk before the Lord in the land of the living!”(Ps. 116:7-9)”
