The award was conferred on February 2 at the headquarters of the Churches of Evangelical Christians in Ukraine by Colonel Vasyl Svitak.
“Not only me, but all the churches are working, there are people who work even more,” Rostyslav Murakh commented on the event, but sincerely thanked the Colonel and asked to convey gratitude for the distinction to Defense Minister Stepan Poltorak.
“Thanks to the churches of Khmelnitsky region and personally to Rostylav Murakh, a significant part of assistance was delivered to the frontline soldiers at the beginning of the Anti-Terrorism Operation in 2014. In times there was a particularly acute need for that,” says Vasyl Svitak. “This includes hemostatic medicines, food, household appliances. I particular, washing machines for military, various accessories and tools for repair of machinery were purchased.”
According to the colonel, the Pentecostals of Khmelnytsky led by Rostyslav Murakh repeatedly delivered financial assistance in the area ATO - in Hranytne, Pokrovske and other trouble spot settlements. I could ascertain that it gets as intended.
“Rostyslav Murakh, when in the ATO zone, had spiritual communion with the military. I know these conversations helped some people survive just because people there are on verge of despair,” said the colonel.
Recently, delivering aid in Donetsk region, Khmelnytsky residents visited the kindergarten in the village of Pokrovske, where in addition to sweet Christmas gifts they handed to staff and children some stationery, clothes, children's literature. The management of kindergarten were sincerely grateful as they did not expect such guests. Volunteers who came to the village, are mostly dealing with soldiers of the military units, while the local population remains often ignored. Therefore, according to the colonel, military often help to civilians as they can.
The staff of the engineers’ division, where he served as colonel Vasily Svitak was handed over the copies of the Bible and the New Testament. They inserted cards with the details of church ministers in Khmelnytsky, so the soldiers could call any time, get spiritual advice, ask for prayer. Every evening in the unit reads “Our Father.”
As Rostyslav Murakh noted, Vasyl Svitak repeatedly witnessed the divine mercy: “He told us that one day, having arrived at the place of deployment, he was told, “Your unit will be located here.” Vasily probably felt something in his spirit, and said that the unit could not be deployed there and located the division a little bit farther. In the morning, at four o'clock, the place where they had to sleep was hit by separatists’ "Grad". Behold, this is the providence of God!” the bishop insists.
It happened once that an enemy tank was moving right onto the colonel, it had just to fire, but Vasyl Svitak (though he had already mentally said goodbye to the family) prayed to the Lord for salvation. And the tank, which was already at a distance of 30 meters, turned abruptly and moved in a different direction. The military can tell a lot of such cases, according to the statement