Music means everything to the Todikash family, including the simple sound of 5-year-old Yeva as she plays the piano for her parents, Fedir and Mariia.
Every note helps ease the anxiety of worrying about loved ones back in Ukraine.
“Many people died, many people in Ukraine, peace people, and Russian soldiers, too,” Fedir Todikash said.
They came to America more than a year ago and settled on an acreage near Orange City.
“For us, this is a good place, a safe place, and I do not worry about Yeva. She goes to school,” Mariia Todikash said.
The three ended up in Iowa through religious connections. Fedir served as a deacon in western Ukraine. The pastor there was the brother-in-law of Martha Hulshof, who lives in Sioux County. Hulshof's sister has been a missionary in Ukraine for 25 years.
Hulshof has helped 120 Ukrainians, including the Todikash family, escape the conflict by filling out paperwork, securing transportation and finding local churches and individuals willing to sponsor refugees. If she can’t find volunteers, she does it all herself.
“They gave it all up and had to come here to live to make a better way of life, and if we can help them do that, how can we not?” Hulshof said. “They are amazed at how generous people are around here. Some of them are from bigger cities, and they don't realize we're very rural, but we're very safe.”
Bringing people over from Ukraine has become more difficult as the war wages on. What used to take just a couple of days to get people out of a war zone can now stretch out for almost three months, due to the extra documentation required by the federal government. Hulshof said some people she knows have disappeared, and she doesn’t know where they are. Others are killed before they can leave.
“It's hard," Hulshof said. "It’s really hard for those here who have lost loved ones. It takes a part of you."
Once Ukrainians who succeed in leaving their country reach America, there is no guarantee they won’t be forced to return home when the fighting stops.
Hulshof said when the war started, the government launched a program called Uniting for Ukraine, where people can stay temporarily for a two-year period of parole followed by an extension.
"But our government is always changing stuff, so we can't say with certainty, yep, they'll be here in five years,” she said.
"People don't believe in miracles. I've seen miracle after miracle through this."Martha Hulshof, volunteer
Through the uncertainty, Hulshof still feels a calling to help the Ukrainians and considers them friends and part of her extended family.
“We only have so much time on this earth... you want to help. I don't want to just sit on this earth and do nothing. Whatever God wants me to do, I will do,” she said. “I'm more blessed than they are. That's what I feel like. I mean, I love this. People don't believe in miracles. I've seen miracle after miracle through this. God will provide, and we can't doubt that.”
Fedir and Maria Todikash also help their loved ones back home by sending money. Fedir works three jobs, using his previous experience as an arborist with a landscaping company. Mariia cleans houses and hopes to eventually find something else.
Her parents live in an area threatened by constant rocket attacks. Her sister is on the border with Belarus, with her husband away as a soldier. They worry about them all.
“It's a very hard situation, and I do not see an ending to this war,” Fedir Todikash said.
Even though they long to return to their homeland, they want to become U.S. citizens.
“We do not see a future in Ukraine.”Mariia Todikash, Ukrainian refugee
“We do not see a future in Ukraine,” Mariia Todikash said.
They’re not 100% sure they’ll stay in northwest Iowa. But for now, it’s good with support from Martha Hulsfhof and others.
“We have American friends, and they always help me,” Mariia Todikash said.
They enjoy their new life and church, where they sing with a praise team. With Fedir on guitar, they practiced a song in their native language called Here I Am To Worship with the lyrics “Light of the world you stepped down into darkness, opened my eyes, let me see.”
The words provide comfort for a family turning to their faith and a new country during dark times.
