Samaritan’s Purse Mobile Medical Units in war-torn Ukraine provide doctors and prescriptions where they are in short supply, while making God’s Word more accessible to patients.
At 74, a widow named Hanna* lives near the frontlines.
Her community’s medical professionals fled when the full-scale invasion of Ukraine broke out almost four years ago, but she decided to stay in her home. The sounds of shelling were unnerving but bearable until a missile exploded in her yard in April 2022, shattering her windows.
Thankfully, she wasn’t hurt, but in the following years, the septuagenarian had no way of seeing a doctor or filling prescriptions.
Then Samaritan’s Purse Mobile Medical Units arrived on the scene.
These two Samaritan’s Purse teams, operating in volatile areas of the country’s eastern and southern regions, each include two general practitioners, three nurses, and a psychologist who provide care at a total of 30 sites. A cardiologist and an endocrinologist also rotate between the two teams.
When Hanna, an agronomist and civil servant by trade, first heard about the Mobile Medical Units’ services, she decided to give them a try to address some of her cardiovascular issues. She had few other options.
Ihor Mishura, a Samaritan’s Purse staff chaplain in Ukraine, explained, “There’s no pharmacy in the village, and travel to the city is difficult and costly. At her age, Hanna simply couldn’t spend entire days traveling on poor roads, waiting hours for the return bus just to see a doctor or buy medicine.”
A Mobile Medical Unit assists Hanna with her cardiovascular issues.
Hanna was touched by the care of both general and specialized practitioners as well as the gift of medicines provided free of charge.
“The arrival of your medical team means I can rely on timely care and the medicines I need. At my age, not having to make exhausting trips to the city is a huge relief,” said Hanna. “Thank you for your work—and to those who support you with their time and finances.”
God’s Word Brings Life
Shortly after the war started, Hanna stumbled upon a street meeting of a local congregation from a nearby city. God drew her to attend these open-air gatherings on a regular basis. When the church began meeting in a building nearby, she continued to come to their services, where in 2023, she gave her heart to the Lord Jesus Christ. She sought to grow in her faith, but her only option for Bible reading was the Russian Synodal version, written in a language cumbersome to her ears.
On her initial visit to a Samaritan’s Purse Mobile Medical Unit in March 2025, Hanna received her first copy of the Bible in Ukrainian, the language she speaks every day.
But when one of the Mobile Medical Units began treating Hanna in March 2025, they gifted her with her own copy of the Bible in Ukrainian, the language she spoke every day. With this new tool, the Word of God came alive to her in new ways. She says her favorite passage is Psalm 23, especially verse one: “The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want.”
Hanna, who is today a great-grandmother, still misses her husband whom she lost nine years ago, while she daily prays for her three adult sons who are working hard to defend Ukraine—two in the military and one in the state emergency services, rushing to save lives after missile attacks. As the war rages on, Hanna sees God answering her prayers as He continues to protect and watch over her sons.
“Mobile medical teams play a crucial role for Hanna,” said operations manager Dr. Danylo Sytnyk. “In the context of the ongoing armed conflict, access to spiritual, medical, and psychological support represents a basic human need. … Providing assistance to people in remote and hard-to-reach areas near active hostilities is especially vital.”
Please pray for peace to come to Ukraine soon and for resilient citizens like Hanna to continue to receive the care they need until that comes.
*Nombre cambiado por seguridad
