Sending hope home
Ukrainian refugees help can meat in Indiana
For some community members who gather annually for Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) meat canning in Berne, Indiana, the effort hits particularly close to home.
Each January for the past two years, several Ukrainian refugee families in Berne have joined MCC meat canning volunteers to help fill, wash and label cans of pork — cans that may very well end up on the tables of their friends and family back in Ukraine.
“Now is a hard time for Ukrainian people. And this meat will help a lot of places,” said Alexandra Lynnyk, one Ukrainian refugee who volunteered to help with meat canning. “I want to help, because I can do it. I understand it’s helping people.”
On Dec. 17, 2022, Alexandra and her family fled their home in Sloviansk City in the Donetsk region of Ukraine due to the war and fighting near their home.
Through connections at First Mennonite Church of Berne and its resettlement program, Alexandra and her family came into the small Indiana community. For six months, they lived with a host family who helped her get a job and learn English. She and her family developed deep connections within the church community.
“We are now very close, like maybe just one family,” said Alexandra.
When the opportunity arose to help with MCC meat canning, Alexandra was eager to volunteer. She remembers in Ukraine how grateful they were to receive food from the U.S. and other places.
“When they see the words ‘food for relief in the name of Christ’ they understand it’s Christian people. It’s God doing it,” explained Alexandra. “It’s helping (people) understand (that) God is good, and people, when they work with God, are helping.”
Alexandra wasn’t familiar with Mennonites prior to coming to Berne, but she has found the church community to be similar to hers in Ukraine. In Berne she has become a spiritual leader for other Ukrainians in the area. Every Tuesday she gathers with a group of Ukrainian women to pray and remember together. Ukrainian families also gather as a larger community on Sunday afternoons and have church together.
The importance of helping others and giving back is a core value that Alexandra holds closely, motivating her to help with the MCC meat canning. “I say to my kids, you are not here just for you. You do it for God,” she said. “I can help for my country and a different country. I will be a coworker with my God – and a lot of people who do it together.”
Alexandra’s son, Davyd, who was just 17 when his family moved to Berne, was so excited to help with the meat canning that he kept asking about it for weeks leading up to the event. “God provided us this place. It’s the most blessed place I could ever imagine,” he said. “The community and people are just all so loving and caring.”
Davyd, who became a member of First Mennonite Church last year, is studying business administration and hopes to create his own business one day.
He explained why volunteering is important to him: “God gave me everything. I did not work for it. I just want to be thankful to God and do whatever I can to help others. And because we're called to.”
Last year, MCC sent 72,000 cans of meat to Ukraine. Davyd and his mother both emphasized how much it means to the people in Ukraine who will receive these cans of meat. They know firsthand that recipients will be extremely grateful and will pray for the people who sent the canned meat.
“I’m really, really thankful because there are people who are really in need of food,” said Davyd. “It’s hard. There are not a lot of jobs. I’m really thankful that there are people who care. There are people who bless others.”
MCC meat canning in Berne has a long history dating back to 1956. Jim Eicher from First Mennonite is part of the local committee who coordinates the meat canning in Berne. He has been involved for many years, and he sees it as an important opportunity for local churches to come together and help people in vulnerable situations around the world.
“Feeding hungry people in the name of Christ. Whatever faith you are, certainly whatever Christian faith you are, that’s foundational, totally foundational,” he said. “What’s refreshing to the world is people that are salt and are saying ‘let’s make a difference.’”
Eicher has also been part of the resettlement committee at First Mennonite. With emotion in his voice, he said to Alexandra, “You started as a project but have become dear friends.” He explained, “Having them here today is not any way a trophy, it is ‘my friends are here.’”
For everyone involved with the meat canning project, it’s powerful to volunteer with their Ukrainian friends and know the cans of meat will help people in similar situations.
“I think God does it. But people help Him,” reflected Alexandra. “It’s a big job, and I say thank you very much for us – for my Ukraine.”
Every year MCC’s mobile meat canner travels across the U.S., and volunteers join together to prepare cans of turkey, beef, chicken and pork. Those cans are sent to people in need around the world, providing important nutrients when meat is hard to purchase.