This heading is a personal quote that’s tattooed on my arm “Through all my battles, you’ll never be forgotten.” This is for a friend I lost to suicide when I was 17. Paying homage to the childhood friend that carried me through my hard times, and now his memory and this quote has carried me to do the things I do today.

For days I’ve been praying for the leaders of Russia and Ukraine to find it in their hearts to have a successful peace talk. For days I’ve been praying on what to say after the Funker team asked me to write on this topic. At first, I was just overwhelmed with what to say. I had been fighting with my inflammatory bowel disease since the 6th of February, and when The Ukraine invasion started, I was hospitalized fighting my own battle with a blockage in my stomach. I started to recover and went to get my hair cut for a Taxonomy lecture I have to give for Seminary School. My barber, who I’ve had for about two years now, is from Ukraine. She was very upset because her family is still there, and her town is occupied. I talked with her for over an hour and she did just as good of a haircut as every time before. I just felt compelled to tip her well and give her my business card and told her if she needed anything to call at any time (which made her day just a fraction better than it was going) because these people are just as in need of support as the Veterans I work with.

I went straight home, got in contact with the Save the Children Foundation and talked to the case manager I work with about potentially sponsoring a child from Ukraine so we as a community could send them letters and care packages. Unfortunately, due to safety concerns, they do not have that option right now for Ukrainian or Polish refugee camps; however, she did let me know that at the moment they are doing a generalized donation fund to help the on-going crisis in Ukraine.

I donated what I could to do my part and I got back in contact with my barber and let her know that I would write the article and I would do my best to get this information out. I know I can’t make the war end; I can’t stop lives from being lost, but I can call my brothers and sisters of this community to contribute just $10 to Save the Children Foundation Ukraine crisis relief mission. How many times do we waste $10 on something we don’t need at Walmart, or on fast food?

Trust me I know what it’s like to not have that money to spend, I went through the homeless veteran’s program through SSVF for 3 months until I could get back on my feet, so don’t feel bad if you don’t have it. But, if you do have the extra money, you can go over to this link, go to the Ukraine crisis tab, click the other amount and put in $10.

To the people of Ukraine, my barber whose name I’ll unspoken, to the Russian citizens who are incarcerated for not wanting war, the families on both sides who have lost loved ones, and to the Russian Soldiers who didn’t know they weren’t on an exercise, to all the people who have been affected by this through all our battles you’ll never be forgotten.

I’m going to end this article with a prayer.

Dear Father in Heaven, please look over all of those affected by this crisis and allow them to find you in their hearts, to be at peace, to find joy in the small things in life in this very big trial they are going through. Like the kind caress of a family member or a smile of a child or even down to a piece of bread filling their stomachs. Dear Lord, I ask that you allow your spirit to guide the leaders of these nations to make their peace and with no further retaliation. In Jesus name we pray, Amen.

Friends I ask if you are of the Christian faith as I and remember this article, continue to pray this prayer with me at 12:30 everyday until this is over, and remember if you need me, please call me. I say these things out of the kindness of my heart and with the utmost respect.

Very Respectfully,

Chaplain Tyler A. Dean

Veteran Advocate

Ordained Minister

POC: 740-285-1844