TULSA, Okla — At Asbury Church, the Ukrainian community hosted its second annual prayer breakfast.
Community members spoke out about why events like these are so important.
Sam Reshetov is a missionary who’s been to Ukraine seven times since the war started.
WATCH: City of Tulsa strengthening connections with Ukrainian community:
“Good people need to come together and stand against evil," he said. "Goodness will prevail.”
He said having events like these help people know more about how they can give and receive help, like reaching out to organizations like the YWCA and the Slavic Baptist Church.
“It just open more to people the knowledge of what's going on in Ukraine," he said. "It's not just the front line where soldiers die. It tells us more about how people live in in this in this time of grief and pain.”
Karl Ahlgren helped organize the prayer breakfast and has volunteered a chaplain in Ukraine.
He said his biggest goal is to restore faith and positivity to the country.
“More importantly, the soldiers come in, and they just need some support," he said. "We have a coffee house that we actually started in one of the local military hospitals. So when the soldiers come in, they go, can we get fresh coffee?”
Deputy Mayor Krystal Reyes was also in attendance.
She said she's excited to keep welcoming the Ukrainian community to Tulsa.
“We want to make sure that we support all our communities in Tulsa and know that we stand with them and understand the trauma and the tragedy that's going on," she said. "If we can make Tulsa a place where they can feel safe and welcome. That's what we want to do.”
The city has also partnered with Sumy, a city in Ukraine, making it Tulsa’s first-ever friendship city.
Aaron York serves as the mayor’s liaison on the Tulsa Global Alliance board.
He said he wanted to help with building a closer connection with Ukraine.
“There was already an existing relationship between Sumy State University and Oklahoma State University, so it was kind of easy to jump on," he said. "And see how we're working well together and the industries that we see here and there- very much aligned.”
Overall, the community was overjoyed to come together and pray for those still fighting in Ukraine.
“I just want to remind us the words of Edmund Burke, the Irish philosopher," he said. "The only thing necessary for triumph of evil is when good people do nothing.”
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