In this War Artisans Put Their Art to the Side to Keep Soldiers Warm in the Trenches
Anyone following my posts from Ukraine knows that Ukrainians are a hardworking and faithful group. Today we see this in stark relief through two short videos about Vinnytsia’s master blacksmith Roman and his American apprentice Ben who we first met making “staples” to keep logs together in the trenches. Beyond Bucha - The Forge (Staples) This Good Friday it seems fitting to show how the war has changed so much for the faithful in Ukraine. In this case we see how a tremendous artisan like Roman has moved from creating exquisite metal work for churches to making trench furnaces for soldiers from scrap metal. Next, we feature Roman’s village church (Ukrainian Orthodox) where we marvel at the glorious metalwork from his Forge. It amazes me how anyone can do such things, but as I found out this is just the beginning of what they do. Or used to do anyway. Ben Hoerber from Lake Worth Beach, FL narrates these pieces. Ben packed up his van last summer and shipped it to Belgium whereupon he drove it to Ukraine to help in any ways possible. He found Roman and the Forge and has been helping produce these furnaces and other items for front line troops ever since. These grass roots efforts keep Ukraine in the fight and exemplify the Ukrainian Spirit. Roman and his family will be producing these items until the war is won. All at no charge, like countless Ukrainians – and their supporters - inside and outside of Ukraine. Hard work, patriotism, faith. These are also American values, of course. Religious freedom is at the heart of Ukraine’s war for independence – as it was in America’s quest for its religious freedoms going back to the Pilgrims. Let Ukraine’s faithful remind us of who we are as we all pray together this weekend.
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