We're Leaving

It’s been four-and-a-half years since we evacuated our home in Kyiv and our life took a turn we never imagined. After a hectic year of living out of our suitcases, helping start a refugee relief work, restarting the Bible institute, and adopting our daughter, we relocated to Košice, Slovakia, where we have been since.

We have enjoyed Slovakia and appreciate the small church here, but that’s not to say these three-and-a-half years have been easy. As time has passed, our situation has changed. A sense of anxiety has been growing inside for some time, but it was only in the last few months that we began to think very seriously about how healthy it is for us to remain here on our own.

Therefore, after much prayer, reflection, and advice-seeking, Katie and I have made the difficult decision that it’s time for our family to return to the States while I continue to lead the Ukrainian Bible Institute remotely, as I have done since 2022.

I could write for pages about all the factors which led to this decision, but in an effort to keep this focused, I’ll briefly list our primary reasons below. 

1. To be closer to family and aging parents

As the years have passed, it has grown more discouraging to be so far away from our growing and aging extended family—especially from our parents while they have struggled with various health issues. Earlier this year, my father was diagnosed with early-stage dementia. He will be 84 this month and we want to be in a place where we can be of more support and available if needed.

2. To support our children’s wellbeing

Our children have now spent a significant portion of their lives in this “temporary” place we’re in, a place we have no intention to make our long-term home. We understand that the longer we stay here, the harder it will be to leave, and yet leaving will always be the plan. As we reflect on this, we would like our children to be able to put down roots in a place they can more realistically call home.

Also, our children’s education is an increasing source of stress on the family. We realize we need to make some significant changes and find more support than our isolated arrangement allows. Both our children need to be in a place where they can interact more with other kids, make real friends, and where we can better help them when problems arise.

3. For Katie’s mental wellbeing

I work a full-time job with people in Ukraine. Though remote work is difficult, I am mentally in Ukraine day to day, connecting with the people we love while leading UBI. Katie, on the other hand, is at home, schooling our children, and taking care of the house all day every day. We feel alone here as family, but Katie is especially isolated. 

We live in a strange kind of bubble—we’re not missionaries to Slovakia nor are we committed to being here for any particular length of time. We have not devoted the time needed to learn the language because we never intended to stay that long. I am busy all day at the office and Katie is busy all day at home with the children. As schooling with Justus has gotten more difficult, our need for support and community has grown more obvious and urgent. Katie needs to be in a place where she has more access to resources and the emotional support she needs, in a language she understands. (And even though I’d like to say that I’m content here, there is much about our situation which affects me greatly as well. Katie and I both need help.)

The decision we’ve reached might seem obvious, but it has not been easy for us to make. We don’t want to leave Europe or be further away from Ukraine. Living in Slovakia gives us a sense of emotional connection with other friends and church family who have also evacuated. Living so close to Ukraine keeps fresh our hope that as soon as the war is over, we will be able to return. Moving to the States feels like we are losing a part of who we are. However, we know that this is something our family needs. We have lived with this decision for some time, and I can now say that we are coming to peace with it.

Questions

Naturally, this decision raises many questions. Allow me to briefly comment on the most frequently asked.

Can you lead UBI from the States?

Yes. I have been doing this work remotely for more than four years, and I can say confidently that very few things will change in any functional way. The time difference will be challenging, but I will still be able to teach, meet with my staff, and coordinate UBI’s ministry training program and our ministry network. Interestingly, there are aspects of my job which will actually become easier (like staying connected to school sponsors and being able to make visits to supporters throughout the year). I also plan to continue to make several trips a year to Ukraine to visit and lead different events.

When are you leaving?

We’ve considered several scenarios and feel most comfortable with a December departure. This will allow us to keep our scheduled summer trip to the States, get school and UBI started in September, and then have several months to pack and make some important visits before we leave.

Where are you going?

We have still not decided where we will land. We are carefully considering finances, time zones, airports, and spiritual community as we look at options. Please join us in praying over this decision. We hope that our summer trip will bring some clarity, but we are determined not to rush anything. If we need to go some place temporarily before we make a final decision, we will do that.

Will you return to Ukraine when the war ends?

This is the number one question people have asked since we left Ukraine. The simple answer has always been yes, but after four and a half years, the war is not over and the end is nowhere in sight. The most honest answer today is: We don’t know. We don’t know because we don’t know when that time will come nor how old our children will be nor how in need our parents will be. We simply can’t know what will be the right decision for our family then, but we do know what the right decision is today. 

We will continue to pray that the war ends soon, and we hope that one day it would be possible to return. Until then, we will honor the call of family while I continue to answer the call of my ministry to Ukraine.

Do you need anything?

We appreciate this question so much. One of the most overwhelming aspects of this move is that we haven’t lived in the U.S. for more than 15 years. We don’t have a house. We don’t have any furniture. We don’t have a car. What personal items we have with us will need to be shipped. In short, we will certainly need financial help making this transition and we would appreciate any one-time help the church is able to give. 

Please be praying for us. Even though we are confident we are making the right decision, the complexity of this change brings its own unique stresses and we know that the next five months are going to be challenging in many ways. We are working together with a missionary care counselor and are in contact with other mentors. This decision has been discussed thoroughly with Tim Burow, president of Sunset International Bible Institute, and he supports this decision, as do our personal supporting churches.

Many of you have been part of our team for many years, and we hope that partnership will continue for many more. Thank you for listening, and we hope you understand. If you have any follow-up questions, please send us a message.

Very sincerely,

Brandon and Katie