As Russia deployed its troops into eastern Ukraine after weeks of military buildup on the border there, students at a Southern Maryland Catholic school are writing letters to their counterparts in that threatened nation to offer their prayers and support.

Third, fourth and fifth grade students at St. Michael’s School in Ridge, Maryland, have begun writing letters and sending pictures to students at School #6 in Chortiv, Ukraine.

“Our students have written to make a connection,” said Lila Hofmeister, principal of the school. “The stress these children (in Ukraine) are living under by being in a state of not knowing what is going to happen next is heart-wrenching. Those children are experiencing this world event on a level that children in the U.S. cannot comprehend.”

St. Michael’s fourth grade teacher Philip McQuilkin is spearheading the project at the school. McQuilkin’s brother, Bill, has served as a missionary to Ukraine, and the woman who served as Bill’s translator there, Olena Roydnuik, is a teacher at the Chortiv school. Roydnuik also teaches autistic children at a Catholic school, as well as English to adults at night.

“I see the gravitas of this situation, and I can only imagine how desperate they must be,” McQuilkin said. “For those children (in Ukraine) who are exposed to the dangers and threats of war, this (letter writing campaign) is a real opportunity for them to know that people thousands of miles away are concerned and willing to pray for them.”

McQuilkin said that since the students began the project last week, “the student body has been including prayers for peace in the Ukraine during our morning intentions.”

“Our efforts are new, and we have only just begun to create biographies and words of encouragement, while we all try and grapple with the unfolding drama, hoping and praying we can make a small difference for the people of Ukraine in the face of such adversity,” McQuilkin said.

St. Michael’s students have created biographies, photos, and videos that will be e-mailed to their new friends in Chortiv. By sending the Chortiv students everyday snippets of what the students at St. Michael’s do, Hofmeister said “this gives those children a sense of normalcy.”

“Our children are providing a sense of stability in their innocence. Through their connection, they are taking about their dog or what they had for breakfast or that we planted a garden here at school,” Hofmeister said. “This is not to make them envious, but to let them know what a gift they have in the sense that someone out there is praying for them and reminding them of everyday joys.”

Hofmeister added that in addition to offering goodwill and prayers to the threatened students in Ukraine, her students are also drawing a benefit from the pen pal project.

She said that as St, Michael’s students reach out, they are “getting a lesson in history, we have a large map so students can see the location (of Ukraine), they are learning about longitude and latitude. This also incorporates lessons in religion, writing, English, and social studies.”

McQuilkin added that “to help the St. Michael’s students understand the import of our correspondence, the grades have been studying Ukraine geography, history, culture, and current events.” He said lessons are “avoiding the more sensitive aspects of the Russian aggression.”

St. Michael’s students “understand the gravity and the fear and the reason behind the fear, but not the politics,” Hofmeister noted.

McQuilkin said that because mail service in Ukraine “is not dependable and slow,” his students are communicating electronically. He said St. Michael’s students are reaching out to Chortiv students “sending video messages, e-mails and hopefully linking up via Facetime or Skype.”

“This is a very poignant time, a sad time,” Hofmeister said. “Our students are learning to appreciate that there are people around the world who need us and need our prayers, and we can reach out to them; and they (the students in Ukraine) know they have someone reaching out to them and they are not alone.”

McQuilkin also sees this pen pal project as a benefit to the students.

“The experience is opening their (St. Michael’s students) eyes to the experiences of other Christian communities and cultures, and how fragile and precious our cherished freedoms of faith and democracy can be,” he said. “Our students are anxiously hoping for good news from their pen pals, while sharing their love and concern with family, friends and each other. We will continue to pray for peace and comfort for all those in distress.”