Liberty University students serve Ukrainian refugees in Romania

A team of eight students and two group leaders from Liberty University’s LU Serve Now program recently returned from a weeklong trip to Romania where they served Ukrainian refugees who fled there during the Russian invasion.

The team landed in Bucharest, Romania, on Jan. 29 and returned on Feb. 4. The trip was in partnership with Greater Europe Mission (GEM) and local Baptist partners in Ukraine.

While in Bucharest, the team served at various refugee centers cleaning up warehouses, preparing and serving meals, doing activities with children, and distributing donations of food and living essentials.

Sophomore psychology student Ashley Murphy said she was encouraged by the compassion she saw from the body of Christ there.

“It shocked me to see the love and care for Ukrainian refugees displayed by Romanian and even Russian volunteers,” she said. “Seeing the churches of Bucharest rise up to adversity in this way was incredibly astonishing and beautiful. It gave me a newfound hope for the spiritual future of Eastern Europe and the next generation.”

Dwight Poggemiller, a 1992 Liberty graduate and current GEM missionary sent by Thomas Road Baptist Church, traveled to each site with the team. Poggemiller is a leader of one of GEM’s Training and Development teams and has served in Europe for over 25 years. His parents, Helmuth and Esther Poggemiller, were English professors at Liberty from the 1980s until their retirement in the early 2000s.

“He finished school at Liberty, and then God sent him to the field,” junior government student Andrew Zielke said . “It was really inspiring to work with a Liberty graduate, someone who has walked where I walked.”

In addition to the trip, LU Serve partnered last fall with Christian humanitarian organization World Help to send supplies to Romania in a 40-foot container that was filled with clothes, vitamins, hygiene kits, medical supplies, and other related items. The supplies will be distributed by GEM and local Baptist partners in Ukraine. The supplies were made possible by donations to the Liberty University Fund for Ukraine’s Future.

Zielke said that the trip served to strengthen his faith as well as give him an appreciation for how Liberty represents Christ around the globe.

“I was very grateful to be a part of a trip like this. It really made a big impact on my life, and it did for the people that I served with as well.”

“I feel incredibly proud to go to a school that does not just preach the Gospel but lives it,” Murphy added. “Liberty strives to love radically as Christ did, and this is something that was abundantly apparent to me as I worked with Serve Now. I love the heart of Liberty’s mission and the hearts of the students it attracts.”

On March 3, Liberty will further their service to Ukraine when they host a meal packing campaign. in the LaHaye Multipurpose Space, Students can sign up for a two-hour slot from 1:30– 8:30 p.m. The packages will be distributed by missionaries with GEM.

The Serve Now program seeks to build the best culture of preparedness, equip students with the knowledge and skills to capably assist in catastrophic disasters and community development, and create multiple pathways for student engagement. For more information, email luservenow@liberty.edu.