‘This state truly lived up to its name: “Good Life State,”’ says Oleg Stepanyuk, lead pastor of House of Prayer in north Lincoln
By Zach Wendling | Nebraska Examiner
LINCOLN — Members of the Ukrainian community in Nebraska honored dozens of neighbors at an appreciation event Friday that spotlighted support for Ukraine during the nearly four years since Russia invaded.
House of Prayer lead pastor Oleg Stepanyuk, who is from Lviv in western Ukraine, near the Polish border, estimated that about 90% of displaced Ukrainians in Nebraska passed through the church.
He said the house of worship in north Lincoln “lived up to the challenge of embracing and helping and making the community stronger.”
“But it would have been impossible without you, without your kind hearts, without your support, prayers and everything,” Stepanyuk told about 100 people attending the three-hour event.
Among those honored were Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen, Lt. Gov. Joe Kelly, former State Sen. Tom Brewer, U.S. Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., and University of Nebraska President Jeffrey Gold.
Many Nebraskans who traveled to Ukraine or Poland or supported displaced Ukrainians relocated to the Cornhusker State since the February 2022 invasion also were honored.
“We noticed every help, every gesture, every public release, and we are very proud to have the leaders that we have in this state,” Stepanyuk said. “This state truly lived up to its name: ‘Good Life State.’”
The event featured photos of the war and life in Ukraine from Howard Buffett, the son of Warren Buffett. Earlier this year, he published a nearly 400-page book, “Courage of a Nation: Three Years of War,” which was gifted to honorees.
Some honorees also received one-of-a-kind gifts — Bacon received an original map of Ukraine that includes Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014 but many countries still recognize as Ukrainian. Pillen received a bulava, a ceremonial mace and traditional symbol of Ukrainian authority.
State Sens. Bob Andersen, Rob Clements, Stan Clouse, Barry DeKay, Rob Dover, Rick Holdcroft, Kathleen Kauth, Dave Murman and Merv Riepe attended, too, as did former State Sen. Anna Wishart.
‘We fight for survival’
A Ukrainian brigadier general, speaking virtually from the warfront, at about 3 a.m. where he was fighting, expressed gratitude to join a celebration of a Ukrainian community that, along with Americans, “break bread together during our mutual defense of freedom and liberty.”
He said he had seen up close the heroism and honors that American servicemen brought to the battlefield and said it was a privilege to serve with those who “truly make the world proud in the fight against the Kremlin evil.”
“War is not something any of us ask for or want, and every day we fight for survival and eventual victory,” the Ukrainian brigadier general said.
“We fight for freedom,” he said. “We fight for existence of our nation. We fight for future of our children.”
Gold, who worked with Brewer on how the university system could help, said Ukrainians were fighting to protect freedom and democracy locally but also “for the rest of the world.”
“For those that may not think that’s in question, rest assured, that’s exactly what’s in question and why this is so important,” Gold said. “Not just for the people of Ukraine, but for all of us that are here tonight.”
‘You are Nebraskans now’
Bacon, a retired Air Force brigadier general who served during the Cold War, has been among the most vocal members of Congress in defending Ukraine and its right to exist. He said the “bully” Russia can’t be appeased, that victory can’t mean Ukraine loses territory and that Russian leaders want to dominate and enslave those they see as “little Russians.”
He told the crowd he keeps speaking out “because it’s right,” not out of bravery or courage.
“They want their independence. They want free markets. They want to be part of the West,” Bacon said of Ukraine. “And we should embrace that with open arms.”
Stepanyuk said Ukrainians praying in support of their home country have cited Bacon’s congressional speeches and have looked to him as a “hero” and an example of a “true man.”
Pillen said the people of Ukraine touch his heart deeply and that Nebraskans can’t fathom what Ukrainians have been through or the courage many have shown in starting a new life.
“All of us from Nebraska want to simply say: ‘Welcome,’ because you are Nebraskans now,” Pillen said.
Brewer worked closely with Pillen in 2023 to pass a new law that allowed Ukrainian refugees and other migrants legally in the state to get driver’s licenses. Pillen and Stepanyuk credited and honored Rhonda Lahm, director of the Nebraska Department of Motor Vehicles, for the speedy rollout of that law.
When Brewer reached out to Gold for help, Gold said he responded, “Immediately, yes. Just tell me how.” Gold was the chancellor of the University of Nebraska Medical Center when the war began and became NU president in July 2024. Gold helped coordinate ag sector conversations, secured medical scholarships and opened up work on bioprosthetics in Omaha research labs.
“We are here to reach out our arms and to embrace others who need help and to be sure that we do it right, we do it with humility,” Gold said. “We’re grateful for the opportunity to do so.”
‘Thank you for the sacrifice’
Brewer, a two-time Purple Heart recipient, said that when he first went to Ukraine after the war began, he didn’t know what he was getting into. On one of his first trips, he helped move supplies from secure areas to villages with many elderly Ukrainians between the front lines of an evolving war.
The colonel said he didn’t expect the mission to change how he saw the world after eight combat tours, but now, wherever he goes in Ukraine, no matter the town size, little old ladies come up, hug him and say, “Thank you.”
“As a soldier, that’s really all you want, is just to say, ‘Thank you for the sacrifice,’” Brewer said, choking up.
“The sheer volume of death that was happening over there would break the spirit of most folks, but they figured out how to survive and how to live in this terrible situation that they have.”
Stepanyuk said Brewer, the “lionheart,” is a household name for many Ukrainians and said Brewer became a “brother in arms,” not just a friend, when he joined the war trenches.
Joining the “lionheart” on recent missions to Ukraine has been a farmer, Don Hutchens, the former executive director of the Nebraska Corn Board, who had been to Ukraine before the war, and a storyteller, John Grinvalds, a reporter with KETV.
Grinvalds documented the most recent mission in a five-part “Wounds of War” series published via KETV earlier this year. Grinvalds said the “wounds of war” can be seen globally and through many Nebraskans, neighbors who will carry the damage of war forever.
“I think for a fairer future, a brighter future, it’s time for us to look at how we can heal the wounds of war in our own backyard,” Grinvalds said.
A story of hope
Brewer recalled one of his early missions moving supplies, during which he was rushed to a potato cellar with about 20 people, mostly soldiers, as artillery shells landed above ground. Dirt fell from the ceiling as everything shook.
Ukrainian soldiers sat around making tea, Brewer said, with “no fear whatsoever. It’s just another day for them.”
He recalled a young soldier asking if Brewer wanted tea, and Brewer responded, “You betcha,” and quipped to the Friday crowd, “Vodka would have been better.”
Brewer didn’t know the group had run out of water. The young soldier opened the cellar door, darted into the courtyard and pumped a bucket of water from a hand-cranked well. He returned as more artillery rounds landed.
“I felt so terrible, because he just risked his life to get me a glass of tea, but that’s what I ran into in the way of love from these people,” Brewer said.
Starting a new life
The Protez Foundation in Minnesota is one U.S.-based nonprofit that has worked to give wounded Ukrainians who have lost limbs, for instance, a new start.
Among the more than 1,000 Ukrainians who have received care or are in steps to receive care are Dmitry, a 31-year-old former member of Ukraine’s 3rd Assault Brigade who lost both of his arms while fighting this year and teenager Alex, a native of Mariupol, which was among the earliest targets in the war. He lost his left leg in the first weeks of the war, at the age of 12.
Yuriy Gula, a representative of the foundation, translated the stories on behalf of Dmitry and Alex and thanked Nebraska and others for supporting Ukraine.
Dmitry did not know if it was a grenade or something else that injured him, but his arms were wrapped in tourniquets for 19 hours. A medical team could not reach him in time. Alex walked out of his house and a rocket fell near him. He lost a lot of blood and medical providers couldn’t save his leg.
‘Stay the course’
Pillen described the war as “totally unjust, should never have taken place.” He said Ukrainians and Nebraskans together are brothers and sisters, joining Brewer and Hutchens in highlighting the similarities Nebraska has with Ukraine, such as both being “bread baskets” of the world. Pillen said he hopes there will soon be peace.
Brewer intends to return to Ukraine with Hutchens and Grinvalds in December for about two weeks. The next mission will focus on uplifting Ukraine’s ag sector and orphanages. Brewer said he and Hutchens will stay closer to the country’s capital of Kyiv, working with country leaders and orphanages, while Grinvalds will be closer to the front.
Stepanyuk said people in his home country need Americans to “have Ukrainians in your heart.”
“There will be a day when this war is over and Ukraine will build back to what it was,” Brewer echoed. “I hope that Europe and the United States stay the course and are there to help them rebuild.”
