(Le Mars, IA) — A Maurice, Iowa, native who has lived in Ukraine for more than 15 years is back in the area to connect with her family and her mission supporters. Miranda Heytsi, her husband, and their church in Tyachiv ministered to refugees fleeing the country when the Russian invasion started six months ago. She says hundreds of people passed through their community trying to escape to different countries, and many returned to them because they weren’t allowed to cross the border. Now they work with refugees who stayed there. Miranda Heytsi attended school in Sioux Center and Orange City and first traveled to Ukraine in 1999 while a college student. Miranda married her husband Vasya in 2006 and has lived in that country ever since.
