Through a series of chapter long vignettes the author shares his experiences in supplying aid in Ukraine when Russia first invaded in 2022. It is a fascinating inside look at what was happening in Ukraine and Poland. The beginning is emotionally fraught as the author vulnerably shares an experience. The rest is a beautiful walk how his faith guided and was strengthened through his work and how God really up in the work that they were doing.

This has been a great tale to read as Chad Robichaux details the efforts he and a small group of individuals made to aid those trapped in Ukraine during the early days of the Russian invasion. I have not read Chad’s books before this but now that I have read this I will be diving into those right away. His story telling and the way he brings his faith into it as well makes for a motivating and impactful read.

“I did not go to Ukraine to support Zelensky, Biden, or any other politician. I went to help.”

Former Force Recon Marine Chad Robichaux and a team of elite special operations veterans along with his twenty-five-year-old son, also a Marine combat veteran, partnered to provide aid to Ukraine. Chad has been on 7 missions to Ukraine, his son, Hunter has been on 9 missions, and now his younger son, Hayden has joined his brother, Hunter.

Robichaux asks the tough questions:

❓How far away does someone have to be before we lose our compassion to help them?
❓Does it have to be worth it to do the right thing?
❓What kind of father takes his son on a road trip into a war zone?
❓How can someone put their eyes on Jesus when their life is being ripped apart? How can they trust God and pause the panic?
❓When you are tested in ways you never thought possible, how do you respond?


Times I had goosebumps while reading:

❗The German man who pulled his piano behind his car so that he could play as people crossed the border to safety. He wanted them to hear something beautiful even though rockets and bombs soared.
❗People from multiple ethnic backgrounds and religions cooking gallons of curry and handing out coats and boots
❗The rescue of American journalist, Benjamin Hall
❗The deal made to get Pierre Zakrzewski’s body out of Ukraine
❗The rescue of 47 disabled kids who had been left behind when their facility in Kyiv closed
❗The devastation in Bucha and the soil samples tested positive for chemical weapons,

I haven’t been able to get Anna’s words out of my mind since reading them:
“𝑷𝒆𝒐𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝑮𝒐𝒅, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒖𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒔𝒂𝒚 𝒊𝒔 ‘𝑰 𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝑮𝒐𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍…’ 𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒂 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕 𝒅𝒓𝒂𝒘𝒏 𝒖𝒑, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒕 𝑮𝒐𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎, 𝒆𝒙𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒍𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝑯𝒊𝒎 𝒕𝒐. 𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑮𝒐𝒅 𝒎𝒆𝒂𝒏𝒔 𝒍𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒈𝒐 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆. 𝑰𝒕 𝒎𝒆𝒂𝒏𝒔 𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒖𝒑 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒖𝒍𝒕𝒔 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕. 𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒅𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕, 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒔.”

If all I read out of this book was Anna’s statement, I would have enough to feed my soul and prayers for months. Robichaux’s choice to introduce readers to Ukrainian citizens whose lives were anything but comfortable, who weren’t running away, who were risking it all and finding God amid the fear and risk, was inspiring.

While Robichaux and his team were determined to rescue those who couldn’t rescue themselves and support the efforts of the NGOs and the underground church network by training them to defend themselves and getting supplies to the frontlines, he ended up also strengthening the father-son bond through the shared hardship. I was amazed at the display of unity and the focus on the powerful lessons we learn when we say yes to God.

This is a powerful book about facing risks for the sake of freedom and truth.

I was gifted this copy by Nelson Books and NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.