They stand at their window and watch squirrels romp and play in their yard. “Never have I seen so many squirrels!” Ivanna Zimroz, laughs. “Even the squirrels are happy here!” Her five kids cluster around her and giggle at the sight. They also appreciate the positive change in lifestyle from what they left behind. They had been crammed into a small, two room apartment in Poland, seven of them — mother, father and five children — for two years, after fleeing Ternopil. They were waiting to find a sponsor in the United States. They had to be careful. There were disreputable sponsors who would take advantage of people fleeing war-torn Ukraine. Ivanna prides herself in having an intuition for knowing who they could trust. Her tuition told her she could trust Ken and Patty Madden from Crawfordsville, Iowa, to be their sponsor.

“We are so happy here,” Ivanna says. “This is home. We feel safe. This country cares a lot about its people. There is not the violence or the many widows in black, mourning their deceased husbands. We are so grateful and thankful for what everyone has done for us. People who don’t even know us are bringing food and toys for the kids, and making contributions. Americans are so friendly! God is looking after us.”

Her kids, Vadym, 14; Darii, 10; Makar, 9; Diana, 7 and Denys, 5 nod in agreement, and hug her. Volodymyr, her husband and the children’s father, is in Pennsylvania attending truck-driving school. Iowa’s CDL test is in English, which Volodymyr is still struggling with. Pennsylvania has a Russian Language test. He is staying with friends and will return to his family in a couple of weeks upon completion of his CDL. When he is home he spends a lot of time in the garage tinkering, arranging and building things. They did not have a garage in Poland.

The kids miss the friends they had in Poland, but love school here. Four of them are in grade school and the oldest in middle school. During spring break, the kids couldn’t wait to get back to school. Ivanna was surprised that she didn’t have to pay anything to get them enrolled in school. She thinks maybe an anonymous donor may have purchased the pencils, paper and supplies they needed. “Whoever you are,” she says, and looks up, “Thank you.”

In fact, the organization known as War Sucks for Children in Mt. Pleasant, the First Presbyterian Church of Mt. Pleasant, and others, stepped forward, surrounded the Ukrainian family with love and all the material possessions they would need to start a new life. A home was found, furniture and utensils provided, clothes, a used vehicle and so many other things, like computer tablets for the kids, bicycles, a larger computer and printer for the home, a refrigerator full of food, bunk beds, the list goes on. Ivanna is shocked and so grateful. “A lady even brings farm eggs once a week!” she proclaims.

Ivanna misses her family terribly. But she calls them daily, and hopes that maybe in the future she will be able to bring her family to the United States. There is another Ukrainian family in Mt. Pleasant, and they are friends. It helps with the home sickness.

Why are Americans so welcoming to Ukrainians? It probably relates to the barbaric attack on a sovereign nation by Russia, and the basic feeling by Americans that there’s not a whole lot they can do about it. But they can help refugees. And also the realization that these European refugees are so much like Americans. They look like, act like and have the same aspirations as Americans: free will to achieve what they want without repression. So when the Ukrainians were brutalized and left homeless, Americans welcomed them with open arms, i.e., “Join us in the good life. Work hard, chase your dreams, and prosper. We have plenty of room.”

Ivanna looked out her front door and saw iris coming up along the sidewalk. It’s an early spring, and the iris are choked with leaves. She’s itchy to spiffy up the flower bed. “They tell me this is the Iris City,” she beams. “Those iris will be blooming and looking real pretty for Volodymyr when he comes home.”

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Have a good story? Call or text Curt Swarm

in Mt. Pleasant at 319-217-0526, email him at: curtswarm@yahoo.com, or visit his website at

www.empty-nest-words-photos-and-frames.com