United for Ukraine - Hosting Marina

Partner with us in the work the the Lord is doing. Some of you may know that in 2012, we went through the process to adopt Marina, a 16-year-old girl from Ukraine. After months of waiting, we finally traveled to Ukraine to finalize the adoption, only to have her change her mind and abruptly end the process. It was in the aftermath of this event that we started Love2540.

We had sporadic contact with Marina but over the years lost touch, not having spoken with her since 2016. Last year, after Russia invaded Ukraine we began trying to contact her again and were finally able to connect. She is now 26 years and is a single mom of a 3-year-old boy, Yuri.

They live in the central Ukrainian city of Poltava. The past year has been extremely difficult for Marina, first having fled to Poland and Italy, only to return to Ukraine.

With limited stability and prospects on the horizon for her Ukraine, Marina is open to coming to the US and we have been accepted to sponsor her under the United for Ukraine program. We had no idea that we would be approved this quickly. Marina and Yuri have received travel authorization - and must enter the US by April 4. Once they arrive, they will be able to stay for up to 2 years.

There has always been a curiosity that God may one day connect us again and God is leading us to that end.

We want to invite you first, to partner with us in prayer. Much of the faith we walk by today was matured during our adoption journey 10 years ago - we literally couldn’t get through each day without him.

Pray for the salvation of Marina.

Pray for their health and safety as they transit across Ukraine.

Pray for their integration into our home and community.

In addition to your prayers, you can partner with and support Marina with your financial giving. If you feel compelled to give, we have started a GoFundMe page to collect money. Marina and Yurii will arrive with just a backpack. In addition to providing the daily living necessities, Marina and Yurii have dental and medical needs that we will need to address. We also need to purchase travel for them and your funds will be used towards the evacuation from Ukraine and the purchase of plane tickets.

Thank you so much.

We will keep you up to date on our journey and thank you for supporting Marina.