Ooltewah Pastor Returns from Ukraine Missionary Trip
A Ukrainian congregation praying during Pastor Peter Kulakov’s missionary trip. (Courtesy: Peter Kulakov)
OOLTEWAH, Tenn. (WDEF)- The War in Ukraine is continuing to cause mass human suffering.
One local pastor went over to help in any way he could.
Peter Kulakov is the Senior Pastor at Ooltewah Seventh-Day Adventist Church.
He is half-Ukrainian and half-Russian, and therefore has been personally affected by the war between the two countries in Ukraine.
Along with his wife and daughter, they went to Ukraine on a missionary and humanitarian trip.
Kulakov described many scenes he saw, including, “You see how they treasure that little, that loaf of bread, they would hold it close to their hearts. When I would have a closing prayer they would raise their bread in front of the whole congregation and God himself just saying, “Thank you Jesus, I have a loaf of bread!”
That is one of many scenes Kulakov’s family will never forget from their time in Ukraine.
They visited the Eastern Ukrainian cities of Dnipro and Zaporizhzhia.
These cities are near the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant and the destroyed Kakhovka Dam.
Kulakov recalled a conversation with one pastor whose congregation is next to that nuclear plant.
He recalled, “He said we have no water. There’s no water within their houses, and there’s no water in their faucets or bathrooms.”
Kulakov also recalled nights of terror as Russians rained missiles out of the sky.
He said, “We had to hide, there was one tiny area in the bathroom with no windows, and I see my wife wrapped up in the blanket, I see my daughter all shaking and praying, just praying, because the explosions would not stop, the whole building was shaking.”
Despite the horrors experienced on a daily basis, he says that the Ukrainian people are some of the most resilient he has ever met.
Kulakov said, “I was impressed very much that even though it is wartime in Ukraine, they’re hardworking. Their fields are beautiful, they are harvesting, they are sowing. But at the same time, they know that anything may happen the next day.”
On this Independence Day, he wants Americans to keep the Ukrainians in their minds, but to also be thankful for the religious freedom and access to resources we have.
Kulakov said, “Those areas of Ukraine that are already occupied by the Russian military, there is no freedom there… We would give them a loaf of bread, or oranges and bananas, or something sweet, and the way they were receiving those items, you will never forget that.”
Kulakov says that the region will need tangible help for decades to come.
He says his congregation will be continuing to provide that aid and he plans to do more trips in the future.
