BAKER COUNTY, Fla. — Kathy Gould's cell phone hasn't left her side in the last 48 hours. Gould fled Ukraine and arrived in Jacksonville Sunday morning.
She's been anxiously waiting for word from friends and loved ones as Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine intensifies.
"Trying to keep in contact with my folks see if they're still alive where are they," Gould said.
Gould spent the formative years of her life surrounded by farm land in Baker County. Little did she know at the time, her path would change quite dramatically later in life.
"My first visit in 1992 the children stole my heart," Gould remembered. "The people I was visiting said, 'Kathy, when will you return?' I said, 'I don't know, but I want to come.' They said, 'How can you bare to leave our children?' I said, 'I can't.' And they said, 'Our children will cry until you return.' I said, 'Me too.'"
That was a moment of realization. Gould found her purpose.
"I was made to be there," Gould said. "God created me for that purpose to be there."
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A trip turned into a 29 year mission for Gould. God called her home to Ukraine. A place she'd never been, a culture she never experienced, a language she never spoke.
"I was a little nervous that first trip, because you know, Cold War. Back then it was very tough times, you would get coupons in order to be able to trade for the ability to buy sugar," Gould said. "Families would invite me to their home and they would gather coupons for different things from their different neighbors so they could put a big feast in front of me."
Gould is the President of ABC's of Life, an organization whose goal is to teach young children about God. She's fallen in love with the children in Ukraine. It's why her heart breaks as her home falls under siege.
The long-time Ukraine resident said didn't flee for fear of her own safety. Instead, it was for those she loved.
"If they're so busy taking care of me, they're not taking care of themselves, and if Russia did come in and there were Ukrainians helping me, they would be in a lot of trouble," Gould said.
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Fearing retaliation for helping an American, Gould fled late last week. She is keeping tabs on loved ones by the minute and is also trying to find out ways to send aid to her friends and family.
This is all part of Gould's plan now, to help her people and spread word about their fight and will. But her endgame is to get back home and reunite with her loved ones.
"If there is any Ukraine to go to, I will go back," Gould said. "It's my home, and we have ministry together God has brought us together."
"David (Ukraine) just needs the stones, so it's up to the rest of the word to make sure that David has the stones," she added.