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“At best of times, when we were there, they lived from hand to mouth. Basically you went to work, you got paid, you came home through the market, you bought your supper and enough for the next day, then back to work,” Konkel said.

“They were there for one another, they really did help each other.”

From 1996 to 1998, Konkel was hired by an evangelical Christian organization in Canada for the position of putting together a team of pastors for one of the churches in the nation.

“The people would tell me over and over again that economically we have it bad, but religiously, we have it good,” said Konkel.

“This was shortly after the collapse of the Berlin Wall and a collapse of communism because of economic reasons primarily. I was employed with an organization called the Evangelical Free Church of Canada at the time. The doors were open for Westerners to come in.

“The organization started teaching English as a second language at the university, then that led to the establishing of a seminary over there to help teach pastors.

“My role was primarily to put a team together so that we could help teach pastors and train pastors for the ministry over there.

“I also pastored to an international church. It was mostly university students and professors that came, perhaps for the English, but we had a few hundred people coming to the church every week.” 

Konkel said at a Thanksgiving service, he asked people to stand up and share what they were thankful for.

“They had freedom and they really appreciated and enjoyed that. I think when we were there, the people that we knew were happy, but there was still a fair bit of fear,” he said.

“For example, I had asked people to say something in our international church, it was Thanksgiving Sunday, and they told me ‘we never express an opinion in public.’ So that was shocking to me.

“I also remember speaking at a youth rally. There were probably around 200 to 300 kids there. I just thought I would talk about how we’re all created unique, we each have gifts and abilities and we have a contribution to make as individuals that no one else can fill.

“I was expressing this idea to the rally and I looked out and everyone was in tears. There’s just tears rolling down their faces and I said to my translator, ‘what did I say?’ He said ‘Mel, they never heard this kind of a message.’

“He said he noticed it was hard for people in Ukraine to think of freedom the way he interpreted it.”

With Russia’s invasion of the Ukraine right now, Konkel spoke about Russia’s previous invasion of Crimea in 2014.

“Crimea was a major blow, there’s not doubt about that and it scared a lot of people. I think they thought he would’ve stopped there.”

He said in order for Ukraine to fight back, the world will need to help.

“Without help I can’t see Ukraine surviving, without all the international pressure, you never know what could happen,” he said.

“We’re all between a rock and a hard place, but I do appreciate the international response and Canada’s response. I mean if we can put enough financial pressure on these people and these multi-millionaires that are losing their money, who knows. Putin is not going to care, but maybe his own people will put enough pressure on him.

“If he takes over the Ukraine, I don’t think he’ll stop there, that’s my own personal feeling about it.” 

Konkel said he has hope for the people in Ukraine to fight against Russia’s invasion of the country.

“That’s definitely my prayer, but not only for Ukraine but for the world. I’m very fearful about Putin, there’s nothing about him that I trust.

“The Ukrainian president truly impresses me, I think they’ve come a long way from those years when we were there, and I think things have changed a great deal for the Ukraine, for the better,” said Konkel.

“I just see faces and people and they love their family.” 

Recently in Moosomin, families from the community have come together in support of helping citizens in Ukraine.

They have donated items and money that will be going to support the daily needs of individuals and families in the Ukraine at this time.  

“One of the great things that I’ve seen out of all of this, is even though how divided Canada has been in the last two years, you see the goodness in the human heart,” Konkel said.

“All of a sudden everyone cares and you see how our community is pulling together, how communities are pulling together, how people are saying I’m going to go fight for the Ukraine.

“Can you imagine leaving what we have here and putting your life at risk, but you see that in the goodness of the human heart.

“I mean that’s worth something and I think maybe goodness will win, at least that’s what I have to believe. I think we are fighting evil, I can’t explain it any other way. I think we’re looking evil straight in the face, and we’re fighting, that’s my personal feeling.”