Pastors Yulia from youth ministry and Michael from Schorndorf Kirche visited Kherson and the “My Home” Social Care Center. For Michael, it was his first trip to Kherson, although he has already visited Ukraine six times.

But Kherson left a special impression on him.

“I like this city. I like the people. I’m amazed by the strength of the churches and what they do for children and adults. You don’t give up. Something gets destroyed, and then it’s rebuilt again. That’s what I love about this place,” Michael says.

During meetings with children and teenagers, Yulia and Michael admitted that what impacted them most was not only the war itself, but the fact that people here continue thinking about the future of the next generation.

Yulia shared that in Germany, young people have almost everything they need for a comfortable life — their own spaces, support systems, and opportunities for growth. At the same time, more and more young people there struggle with depression, inner emptiness, and a loss of purpose.

“In Germany, young people have everything. But we face huge problems with mental health, depression, and suicide. People come to us even though they have everything they need for life. Yet inside, they still carry darkness,” she says.

That is why the teenagers and ministry leaders in Kherson especially moved her.

“Yesterday I spoke with a youth leader and asked her: how do you do this? You stand in the middle of war, gathering young people together and creating community for them. And she wasn’t talking to me about the war. She was talking about her dream — a new safe and welcoming room for youth. It sounds a little crazy, but at the same time it’s deeply inspiring,” Yulia shares.

She says she expected to meet children who were frightened by war. But reality turned out differently.

“Before coming here, I thought the children would be terrified. But they live with this every day. One girl calmly told me, ‘If we see a drone, we’ll just go to the shelter.’ She said it as casually as if she were saying, ‘I’m going to get ice cream.’ For me, that was scarier than it was for them,” she says.

One child’s prayer especially touched her:

“This is a child who prays today: ‘God, please end this war so we can go back to school.’ That deeply touched me.”

After the trip, Michael and Yulia said they want to carry these stories back home to young people in Germany.

“I think it would be wrong to stay silent about this. This trip was not accidental. I want to go home and share what I witnessed here,” Michael says.

For the “My Home” team, visits like this are not only support for children. They are also a reminder that even in the middle of war, Kherson continues to inspire people who come here for the first time.