Iryna Reunova never dreamed that she’d be forced to flee her home because of war.

She and her husband, Alex, had worked hard and made a good life for themselves in Kharkiv, Ukraine. In their 60s, they were close to retiring and looked forward to having time to do the things they loved. “Alex had just finished building a greenhouse for me,” says Iryna. “We had flowers, vegetables and fruit trees.”

But everything changed in February 2022 when Russian forces crossed the border into Ukraine and began their invasion of Iryna’s home country. Forced to leave with few belongings, Alex and Iryna found solace with The Salvation Army at every step of their journey—from Kharkiv to Poland to Canada.

Too Close to Home

With Kharkiv just 40 kilometres from the Russian border, the fighting was intense and close—air-raid sirens frequently sounded and explosions could be heard across the city. Iryna and Alex spent nearly four months in their basement, underground with no windows. “We were afraid to go outside,” says Iryna with the help of a translator. “There was no telling when a bomb would hit, so we just stayed inside.” 

Those early months were stressful and attacks were frequent, and the people of Kharkiv received little rest. Businesses closed and public transit had stopped running. Normal life stopped. “It was too dangerous,” says Iryna. “People were just trying to stay safe.”

Iryna tearfully recalls the day she heard a bomb falling in her neighbourhood. There had been many bombs in Kharkiv, but this one was too close. It hit her neighbour’s house just two doors down. “It was terrifying,” she says. “The people that lived there escaped, and it was a miracle.”

Faithful Prayer

Iryna was a senior soldier of The Salvation Army in Ukraine, where she had been attending since 2000. She had previously been part of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, and her understanding of God was that he was out there some place far away. But once she came to The Salvation Army, she learned that God loves her, and she can speak with him anytime.

When the war began, Iryna prayed a lot, and according to her, every prayer was answered. “Maybe not right away,” she says. “But my prayers were heard, and my faithful God answered.”

It brought Iryna great comfort to speak to God every day, telling him all that was happening. She prayed for her son, Oleg, and his wife, Natasha, who was pregnant with their first baby. They lived in the city centre where explosions had heavily damaged most of the buildings. That part of the city had been cut off from the rest—people couldn’t get out and it was nearly impossible to get volunteers inside to provide aid. Iryna prayed every day that they would find a way to escape to safety.

During the attacks, citizens were not allowed to gather for religious purposes as it was too dangerous. Iryna’s corps officer, Major Yuri Pomytkin, would drive his car through the city trying to bring supplies to members of his congregation. Iryna recalls one occasion when an explosion came too close and damaged Major Pomytkin’s car, but by the grace of God, he survived.

Leaving Home

The decision to leave Ukraine was not an easy one for Iryna and her family. They had planned on staying in Kharkiv and doing what they could to help, but when Oleg’s medical exam found health issues that kept him from serving in the military, he was given a special pass to leave the country. At the same time, Natasha had just given birth to their first child, David, and their doctor had strongly urged them to leave Ukraine when they could. But Oleg and Natasha refused to go without his parents.

Leaving everything behind but important documents and necessities for the baby, the family journeyed across the country and crossed the border into Poland. Lieutenant Oleg Samoilenko, a Salvation Army officer in Warsaw, Poland, came to their aid when they arrived and helped them while they awaited their Canadian visas. After a 10-month wait, Iryna and Alex were able to settle in Calgary with their children and grandchild.

In Translation

Back in Kharkiv, Iryna not only attended church services at The Salvation Army, but she had also worked there for nearly 20 years. After losing her job in the late 1990s, she found a job preparing and delivering meals through the food bank. Later, she began working with children and youth, creating programs for children from single-parent households, and developing after-school programs. When not working, she was involved in women’s and youth ministries, and was part of the worship team.

“Church was my life. I’d often start at 8 a.m. and return home at 8 p.m. I loved it!” she says.

When Iryna knew she was coming to Canada, she reached out to The Salvation Army’s Glenmore Temple in Calgary in hopes of finding a landing place and a small piece of her life back home.

“Iryna initially contacted us through Facebook,” says Major Denise Walker, corps officer. “She wanted to help us in any way she could but didn’t speak English.”

At the time, Glenmore Temple had just begun hosting conversational English classes at the corps, so Major Walker invited Iryna and Alex to attend, and made arrangements to pick them up. She introduced them to the congregation one Sunday and they were greeted with many warm smiles, hugs and handshakes. “Everyone was smiling and said hello, even though they didn’t know us,” says Iryna. “Their kindness gave us strength and distracted us from the war and our problems.”

Since then, Iryna has become more involved at Glenmore Temple, volunteering at luncheons and in the food pantry, and participating in worship. She uses a translation app on her phone to help her communicate with people at the corps and follow along with the sermon on Sundays. Though it is difficult, she sees God’s hand each time she meets someone who understands her and who can communicate with her.

When asked what some of the challenges have been since arriving in Canada, Iryna laughs out loud. “The biggest challenge is the language,” she says. “I had studied a few online courses in English. I thought I was doing well until I got here and realized that I know nothing!”

To help keep her faith strong, Iryna meets online with people in Ukraine to pray together. “I haven’t given up my mission, but it’s all online,” says Iryna, who looks forward to learning more English so that she can be part of ministry in Calgary. “I want to be useful—to use all my knowledge and skills, not only online but here in Canada as well.”

A Global Family

At Glenmore Temple, the conversational English classes have grown in popularity, giving newcomers like Iryna and Alex a place to learn and practise English, meet others in similar situations, and feel a sense of community in a new place. It uses the territorial Love New Canadians curriculum to reach individuals at all skill levels, including both adults and children.

“We are just beginning this journey, and at the moment ‘patience’ is our key word,” says Major Walker, who continues to use translation apps to build connections with Iryna, Alex and others who are learning English at the corps. “I love that through the class, new friendships are developing among the students.”

According to Iryna, one thing she has learned from her experience over the last few years is that The Salvation Army is truly a worldwide family, whether it’s in Ukraine, Poland or Canada. “We have a large family network back home in Ukraine—we don’t have that here. And yet, the people at Glenmore Temple are becoming our family.”

This article is part of a new Salvationist department called Journey to Salvation, which featuresstories of newcomers to Canada and their paths to becoming Salvationists in our territory.