TAMAQUA, Pa. — "These were beautiful homes, you can't tell," Andrew Leibenguth said in a recent video update posted to his YouTube channel, where he's been documenting his travels in Eastern Europe.
Surrounded by destruction, he still sports his signature smiley face hat as he continues his mission of spreading joy in Ukraine.
We first introduced you to the Tamaqua native earlier this month when he was in Poland, performing magic tricks and making people laugh in Ukrainian refugee shelters.
When he crossed the border into Ukraine about two weeks ago, he noticed a shift in the atmosphere that went beyond the sound of warning sirens in the air.
"It's harder to cheer people up, obviously. Something just happened to them; they just lost their family, loved ones, people picking up the remains of their loved ones. So many terrible stories."
Leibenguth still used magic and comedy to spread smiles, like in a Ukrainian orphanage, but most of his time was spent on the road.
He teamed up with a church in the western city of Lviv; the group distributed food and supplies to people in need, especially those without power in and around the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv.
They drove for 14 hours one day, navigating collapsed roads and bridges destroyed by Russian bombs.
Gratitude was not in short supply. You can see it on this man's face as Leibenguth hands him a stove.
"Somebody was crying - I gave them a can of corn and noodles. They were crying over a can of corn and noodles," Leibenguth said.
In a Ukrainian shelter, a group sang what's become a national battle song as a "thank you" to their new American friend before he returned home.
"I have zero regrets about coming over here. At first, I did because of the communication, but if I calculated how many people I made happy, and laugh and raised their morale even for a second, 20,000, minimum, guaranteed. And that doesn't include the food and the supplies that are going to help, months and months after I leave."
Leibenguth's goal was to come home broke. He accomplished that, purchasing supplies with his own money and money donated to him through social media. He says if he can afford to, he'll go back.
"They need as much support as possible. We can't forget. It's a big deal," Leibenguth said. "People are already forgetting, not only financially but emotionally. You watch the news; that's real what you're watching. That could be your next-door neighbor. That could be your loved one."
See more videos on our area’s connection to the Crisis in Ukraine.