In Ukraine winters can be desperately hard. The war has made life more challenging and heavy snow can block off roads and villages, making food scarce. Families face the constant fear of air raid sirens and the very real anxiety of finding food to put on the table for their children.

Oksana lives with her husband and three children in western Ukraine. They live in an old wooden shack with only one room, where poorly fitted windows let in the cold air. The furniture is worn and they have no bathroom.

Oksana's husband, Bogdan, does his best to provide for the family but his salary does not cover their living costs. Their situation became desperate. Simply surviving day-to-day became an ongoing and stressful challenge.

Oksana fell into despair.

"I remember the morning when I stood and cried because I had nothing to give the children to eat."

Living every day with these challenges can cause long-term psychological harm to adults and children, but since the outbreak of war Mission Without Borders has gained considerable expertise helping refugees with deep trauma and in need of support.

Operation Christmas Love is a really important part of this work. It is a strong helping hand to keep the weary from falling during the bleakest time of the year. We want to say to them:

"We see the suffering you're enduring and we want to bring you relief."

As the freezing weather draws in we are committed to relieving the suffering of the poor and marginalised and sharing the hope found in Jesus. We want to raise funds to deliver 40,000 Operation Christmas Love boxes across six countries in Eastern Europe. It's a huge number, but people are in desperate need and we need your help to make this happen.

A gift of £30 will cover the cost of one food parcel, bringing joy to families like Oksana's and helping to share the true meaning of Christmas.

Working with local churches, we want to bring these words alive from Jesus in Matthew 11:"8, "Come to me all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest."

There are a lot of weary, tired souls, who need relief. Your gift of £30 will cover one food parcel, bring joy to children and enable a family in need to share the true meaning of Christmas.