The Zolotarov family
Marko Zolotarov graduated with MEI Class of 2021 and was a huge part of school and was very active in many programs. His sister Zlata Zolotarov worked as an EA with the MEI International program.
Marko & Zlata’s parents work for Multi-Nations Missions Foundation and are based in Ukraine. They provide a range of material, physical, emotional, and relational support to seniors and their families in Ukraine and are currently coordinating the distribution of humanitarian aid and helping Internally Displaced People (IDP’s). The family is currently in Ukraine.
In the week prior to Spring Break, the Secondary school fundraised for Multi-Nations Missions organization, in support of the Zolotarovs and their work in Ukraine. The MEI community is invited to donate directly to the organization (for Andriy & Lyudmila Zolotarov) at https://abundant.co/multinationmissionsf/andriylyudmila if you would like a charitable donation tax receipt.
March 13 UPDATE
View this post on Instagram
A Letter From Marko
Dear Mr. Thiessen and MEI,
My family and I are deeply grateful for taking this situation so close and having the heart to serve and support us. At this incredibly stressful time, that means a lot.
In 2014 our family was helping internally displaced people (IDPs) from the East of Ukraine and never expected that we ourselves will ever get into the same circumstances.
The war in Ukraine continues. Today is day 8 of the war. From Ukrainian news and friends that are in the military, we hear that many people are dying, mostly on the Russian side (approximately 9,000 troops). Keiv is still mostly under the Ukrainian military as well as other big cities. Several small cities were taken over by my Russian Army. Despite that soldiers and local people are not giving up fitting for their land and freedom. Pray for our army!
My parents, grandmother, and I made a very hard decision to leave Zaporizhzhia city and move to Western Ukraine, the Uzhhorod city. Our motivation was not only safety but they felt like their God’s given gifts and work/ ministry experience would be more useful there. Both of my parents work for charitable organizations and their experience in coordinating the distribution of humanitarian aid and helping Internally Displaced People (IDPs)would be very beneficial for many ministries all over Ukraine. Just a few days ago we arrived at Uzhhorod and already had multiple meetings with their teams and local people in regards to setting up the strategy of how to help people that are IDPs or who stayed in their city.
By leaving and becoming internally displaced people (IDPs), we faced several serious challenges: We have to still take care of the house back in our region of the east of Ukraine (which is currently fighting with Russians), equip with additional resources for the people who live IN our house (people change all the time: some people temporarily live there to wait till the dangerous attacks are gone and then to come back to their homes, or live in our house to wait till they have a free window to leave our city and go to a safer region of Ukraine), pay utility costs, etc… Also, we provide hygiene items for the people who stay in our house. We need additional funds to pay for rent in the place where we stay and will be staying in the West of Ukraine. The prices for drugs have tripled! As for today, we have basic foods and medicine, but it can become an issue anyway in the close future. Fuel will provide opportunities for us to help people and the community we are currently part of in various ways. We will be thankful for any financial support you will give to us. We are incredibly blessed by you!
Personally, I want to say that you have always been a great blessing to me since day 1 at MEI. Your love for God and His principles built up my faith while studying there. I believe that I will see you in God’s timing and honestly cannot wait for what happens. The reason why I am saying it that way is that currently, I am not able to leave the country: every man 18-60 is drafted to war or regional defense legions. It is getting really intense, and please pray that this situation passes me and I safely cross the border and come to Canada.
With love and prayers,
Marko Z.
To Donate
For all the financial questions, E-transfers, and others, please contact my sister Zlata, email: zolotozlata@gmail.com or +16043004146. Donations by credit card can be made via the Multi-nation Missions Foundation website.
