It began with a dream, or as some might call it, a vision: a vision of a large home in northeastern Poland. A vision of multiple generations living, loving, eating, playing and working together.

A vision of family. A vision of home.

Only God could connect St. Michael’s, Orlando, with that large home in Poland and a multigenerational family from Ukraine who desperately needed a place to escape the current crisis. And only God could fulfill that long-held vision.

For Czeslaw and Gienia Andraka of Balystok, Poland, that vision remained unfilled during their time on earth. A daughter died in early childhood, and their remaining two children grew up and moved across the world – the daughter to Montreal, Canada; the son landing in Gainesville, Florida.

The Andraka family home in Balystok, Poland | Photo Credit: Bohdan Andraka

But the vision lived on, and the couple kept their four-story house. Even after Czeslaw died, Gienia steadfastly refused to leave.  She died in 2021 at age 92, still holding onto her home — which she left to her children – and the vision.

Earlier this year, Gienia’s son, Bohdan Andraka, 67, traveled to Balystok for a planned skiing vacation. At the time, he had no idea that an international crisis would thrust him into a role that would help fulfill his parents’ original vision.

“The house is empty the vast majority of the year,” said Basia Andraka-Christou, Bohdan’s daughter and St. Michael’s member. “My dad still has good friends there because he grew up in that city. … He decided to go skiing, and then this invasion happened.”

That’s when the Andraka family went into action. Messages flew back and forth, and Andraka-Christou said they all agreed: “We need to do something with all this unused space and start hosting people.”

Now an assistant professor at the University of Central Florida, Andraka-Christou, who formerly taught at Indiana University, contacted a Ukrainian colleague there. “I knew her family was trying to leave, so I reached out to her, and she responded.

“Her family had fortunately already found a place,” Andraka-Christou said. But the colleague knew another Ukrainian whose family needed to emigrate. A few quick messages later, and arrangements were set. At first, the Andraka family expected 10 guests, but some went to Germany instead.

Left to Right: Nella, Bohdan, Alexandra, Oksana, Mark, Gregory, Margo | Photo Credit: Bohdan Andraka

The multigenerational family (Gregory, 62; Alexandra, 44; Oksana, 36; Nelia, 14; and twins Mark and Margo, who turned 4 the day the family crossed the border; plus one dog and three cats) made the long drive from Ukraine in one vehicle, bringing little else with them. That and the fact that, during her final years, Gienia had not maintained the house, drove some immediate needs when the family arrived on Monday, March 7, Andraka-Christou said.

“It’s a lot of space, which is wonderful,” she added. “The downside of it was that it really wasn’t updated. … So there have just been various things that needed to be fixed.” Current estimates for plumbing updates alone are in the $8,000 range.

The evening of the day the family arrived – greeted by Bohdan, who had prepared a traditional Polish meal and purchased a birthday cake for the twins –  Andraka-Christou lay in bed, consumed with the situation. Suddenly, a thought came to mind: Should I get my church involved?

“I’ll give it a shot,” she decided. “Let me shoot an email out and see if they’d be willing to help.”

By the next morning, she had heard from no less than three staff members: The Rev. Rick Luoni, her priest; Mike Robertson, church assistant administrator and outreach coordinator; and Emilie Vick, youth minister. “It was just mind-blowing,” Andraka-Christou said. “And every single one of them saying, ‘We’re on it; we’re doing this. This is awesome. How can we help?'”

The church transferred $2,000 from its discretionary fund to Bohdan, who had decided to remain in Poland for at least a month, to help with immediate expenses. Robertson included a four-page insert in the church bulletin explaining the need, and both he and Luoni addressed the congregation on Sunday, March 13.

“It really feels like answered prayer, because we often wonder, ‘What can we do for Ukraine?'” Luoni said, thanking the church for the donations that enabled him to send the initial funds. “To have this direct connection here at St. Michael’s, and then for this family to be able to respond and hopefully make a difference, it really, truly touched my heart.”

Twin Ukrainian refugees, Mark and Margo, in Poland with artwork from St. Michael’s in Orlando | Photo Credit: Bohdan Andraka

Robertson added a personal element to the church’s ministry, printing out coloring sheets and encouraging the congregation to join him after the 10:30 service in preparing one or more as belated birthday cards for the Ukrainian twins and reminders to the other family members of their love.

“There were people of all ages, 80-year-olds and 5-year-olds, drawing pictures,” Andraka-Christou said. The church emailed photos of the artwork, and a friend of her father’s printed them out at his business in Balystok.

The community there has joined her family and the St. Michael’s family in supporting the refugees, Andraka-Christou said. “The next-door neighbor has been coming over with baked goods and soup. And she has a daughter who is around the age of the 14-year-old Ukrainian, and so she immediately invited her over.”

Another of her father’s friends, a physician, offered the family free medical exams during their first week in Poland and is helping them obtain medication. Bohdan helped the family enroll the children in school and has continued cooking and obtaining needed supplies. And family friends have assisted in taking the children to visit malls, swimming pools, parks and other fun places.

“It’s just been a lot of people coming out of the woodwork and helping however they can,” said Andraka-Christou. Her grandparents’ vision intact, she is still seeking additional refugees who need a home.

Promotion for St. Michael’s spaghetti dinner fundraiser for the Andraka house Ukrainian refugee ministry in Poland | Photo Credit: St. Michael’s, Orlando

And her church continues its ministry. At the time of publication, St. Michael’s had received more than $5,000 for its Ukraine fund in addition to the original $2,000. The church is also planning a spaghetti dinner on Wednesday, April 13, with all proceeds going to help the refugees.

“We just kind of stepped out in faith, and whatever we can do, we’re going to do,” Robertson said.

“I feel blessed to be able to help,” Bohdan said, expressing the heart of his family and of all those involved.

Those who sense God’s leading to assist St. Michael’s and the Andrakas may visit this link and use the “Outreach – Ukraine 2022” dropdown or send a check to the church with “Ukraine” in the memo line: 2499 N. Westmoreland Drive, Orlando FL 32804.