HOUSTON — Liza Sharii-Yukabovska fled her native Ukraine four years ago after Russia attacked its Eastern European neighbor.
In the U.S., the mother — who escaped with her daughter, Sophie, now 17 — connected with Houston’s Memorial Church of Christ and was baptized.
Liza speaks English, French, Portuguese, Russian and Ukrainian and a bit of German and Italian. She found fulfilling work as an interpreter for a faith-based nonprofit.
Liza Sharii-Yukabovska reflects on her personal journey during a midweek Bible class at the Memorial Church of Christ in Houston.
But the Memorial church member recently lost her job.
Her legal authorization to work in the U.S. expired — a frightening reality confronting thousands of Ukrainians.
“We came here not because we were looking to stay here, but we were looking for safety for our kids,” Liza told The Christian Chronicle. “We lost shelter back at home. We wanted stability.
“And, of course, as everyone knows all over the world, there is an American dream,” she added. “I guess, somehow, you believe that it’s a country of opportunities. Unfortunately, nobody tells you that it’s very difficult to get to this American dream.”
As a handful of Texans and two dozen Ukrainians gathered for a midweek Bible class at the Memorial church, tears and talk of bombs underscored the precarious circumstances.
As with Liza, the work authorization for Dirai Datsenko’s family lapsed.
Related: Expanded coverage of the war in Ukraine
“We need to pay our bills,” Datsenko said through tears, “and we don’t have the opportunity to do this because my husband lost a job … and he couldn’t work.
“We cannot go back to Ukraine because it’s unsafe,” added the 28-year-old mother, whose daughter is almost 5. “We are from Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, and Kyiv is bombed every day. My mom and my dad go to the shelter every night.”
‘Why are we not helping them stay?’
For three and a half years, the Memorial church has worked to serve the physical and spiritual needs of Ukrainian families — even as the estimated number of Russian and Ukrainian troop casualties has topped 2 million.
Olesia McGowan, right, shares details on Ukrainian dishes at a 2024 church dinner. At left is Yulia Merchant, who started Memorial’s refugee ministry.
“I don’t know of any situation where our church has said no — not just for people who come to church but for every Ukrainian,” said Olesia McGowan, a Ukrainian who met her husband, Matt, in the Wednesday night class.
But now, many of the 240,000 Ukrainians welcomed to America after Russia’s 2022 invasion face an uncertain future as they lose their legal right to live or work in the U.S.
“We’ve just come to love all these people so much, and we’re just so thankful for them,” said Connie McKaskle, who is active with Memorial’s ministry to Ukrainians.
The church member voiced frustration with the U.S. government’s handling of the Ukrainians’ cases.
“I don’t understand how they could treat them this way,” she said. “Our country gave them the permission to come and said, ‘We’ll protect you, and we’ll give you the benefits of being here.’ Now, to leave them in limbo by not renewing their visas to work and drive — I mean, that’s the worst thing you could do.”
Memorial’s Ukrainian ministry has organized a food bank, diapers for the refugees’ babies and other practical assistance along with “ongoing prayer for healing, stability and hope in their lives,” church leaders said in a letter prepared for Texas political leaders.
Like McKaskle, church member Brent Simmons stressed the Ukrainians’ reasons for fleeing to America.
“They were welcomed here because they needed a place to go because their communities were bombed, their country invaded,” Simmons said. “That has not changed, so why are we not helping them stay here?”
“They were welcomed here because they needed a place to go because their communities were bombed, their country invaded. That has not changed, so why are we not helping them stay here?”
Stuck in limbo
Most of the Ukrainians entered the U.S. through a “humanitarian parole” program launched by former President Joe Biden.
But after President Donald Trump’s inauguration in January 2025, his administration suspended Biden’s Uniting for Ukraine program. Trump has focused on ending legal pathways for immigrants to come to the U.S.
While Ukrainians already granted parole can seek an extension to remain in America, lengthy processing delays by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services leave many in limbo — with no work authorization or lawful status, refugee advocates told the Chronicle.
“This is … an unfortunate situation,” said Zori Opanasevych, a naturalized U.S. citizen who directs a Pentecostal Christian nonprofit that helped more than 1,300 Ukrainians resettle in Alaska. “The government is not saying anything, not to stay or leave. They opened renewal proceedings and skyrocketed the fees for the paperwork. USCIS says it’s dealing with backlogs and other more prioritized tasks.
“People, especially large families, decide if they should pay the insane USCIS fees or use that money for an airplane ticket home as there is no guarantee to getting an approval after applying for re-parole,” Opanasevych added. “It is $2,330 per person. Imagine if it’s a family of eight to 10 people.”
Zori Opanasevych, left, talks with her parents, Sergey and Alla Ilnitski, at New Chance Christian Church in Anchorage, Alaska, in 2022. Born in Ukraine, Opanasevych moved to the U.S. with her family at age 7.
In response to a request for comment, USCIS issued a written statement to the Chronicle.
“U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is actively processing discretionary re-parole cases, including those for Ukrainians, on a case-by-case basis as the law intends,” spokesman Zach Kahler said. “Under this administration, all aliens are undergoing intense screening and vetting to better protect the safety and security of the American people.”
Global Refuge, a Baltimore-based national refugee resettlement organization with ties to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, has warned of “quietly but dangerously eroding” protections for Ukrainians in the U.S.
“Some re-parole and work permit requests from Ukrainians are getting approved, but it remains spotty and inconsistent,” said Daniel Salazar, Global Refuge’s refugee and protection policy adviser. “Many more have gone unadjudicated or been delayed in their responses, resulting in the lapses in status and work authorization.”
“Under this administration, all aliens are undergoing intense screening and vetting to better protect the safety and security of the American people.”
No place to return
Back at Memorial, Angelina Titarenko said she has waited for over a year for any update on her status.
“It’s very hard for us just because we don’t have any information about our situation, and we don’t have any place where we can return,” the single mother of two said. “I’m from Odesa. Odesa is bombed every night, like most cities in Ukraine.
“I guess every Ukrainian is thinking right now about Plan B,” she added. “What should we do … if they will not give us permission to stay here?”
Olga Shostak and Inna Voievoda help prepare a special Ukrainian/American Thanksgiving meal at the Memorial church in 2024.
Oksana Loshkarova, another Ukrainian with ties to the church’s ministry, said her husband’s application for extended humanitarian parole remains pending.
At this point, he can’t work legally.
“We do not know how much longer we will have to wait for our case to be reviewed,” the mother of two young children wrote. “Despite all these hardships, we continue to hope for a positive decision and respectfully ask that our case be considered. We simply want the opportunity to return to a normal life, so that my husband can obtain work authorization, support our family and provide for our basic needs, including housing, food and other essential expenses.”
Yulia Merchant, a naturalized U.S. citizen born in Russia, started Memorial’s outreach to Ukrainians in 2023.
“My heart is breaking for them,” said Merchant, a nurse practitioner and mother of three young boys. “They are very honest people. They want to pay taxes. They want to be a part of the community.”
Yulia Merchant, right, holds her son Mark as she visits with Ukrainian refugee Aleksandra Hmyria and daughter Milana at the Memorial church in 2023.
David Duncan, preaching minister for the church, which averages Sunday attendance of about 800, echoed Merchant.
Duncan spent a decade as a missionary to Brazil — an experience that helped shape his love and concern for Houston’s diverse population.
“They’re real people with real families, and they don’t know what tomorrow brings,” he said of the Ukrainian refugees. “I guess none of us do, but can you imagine not knowing what country you will live in? … That’s hard, and some of the kids who are now in school have lived in the United States longer than they’ve lived anywhere.”
Liza Sharii-Yukabovska interprets for fellow refugee Oleksandr Voievoda at a special Ukrainian/American Thanksgiving meal at the Memorial church in 2024.
On behalf of her fellow Ukrainians, Liza — the interpreter who lost her job — emphasized that the refugees are grateful for the church’s help and support.
They’re trying hard not to lose hope, she said.
“God always told us that you will never lack anything with me,” Liza said. “So that’s my motto from the Bible, I guess. I try to calm myself down, saying that I was never hungry in my life, and I was never homeless.”
Mike Avery, one of the Memorial church’s ministers, baptizes Liza Sharii-Yukabovska at Camp Bandina in South Texas in 2024.
Still, she can’t help but contemplate how long the journey to a better life might take.
Recalling the biblical Israelites’ time in the wilderness, she wondered, “Will it take us 40 years to be walking around to finally get to our Promised Land?”
As the midweek class ended, Memorial member Philip Bailey — who leads the Bible study along with elder Chris Shanks — asked God to intercede and bring peace.
Ukrainian refugees pray during a midweek Bible class at the Memorial church.
“Father, we have our hope in you, not in our governments but in you,” Bailey said in an English prayer interpreted into Ukrainian. “As Americans, we thank you for blessing us in our lives with these Ukrainians. You have blessed us richly.
“God, to you be the glory. It’s in Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.”
BOBBY ROSS JR. is Editor-in-Chief of The Christian Chronicle. He traveled to Houston to report this story. Reach him at bobby@christianchronicle.org.
