One of the greatest gifts that is unique to men and women, that which truly separates us from all living creatures is our imagination.  We can imagine a better way of living, creating scientific advancements, engineering great marvels, and seeing new ways to care for people.  All this reflects the image of our Creator God, for we are made in His image.  Yet this imagination can be a challenge, as we also imagine how our lives should be. 

From this we form expectations.  And filled with ambition and a level of excitement, we pursue these expectations.  When they are rooted in God’s Word and His promises, we can be certain that they will happen.  But when things don’t happen as we had expected or dreamed, we can get angry, despondent, and even depressed.  Reality has not changed; God’s leading has not changed.  Only our expectations of how it would play out have been dashed.  So, peace can follow when are expectations are refined to be biblically rooted, trusting that God’s ways are higher than our ways (Psalm 25:4-5).  Please see this truth in the following testimonies from a church in western Ukraine.

Alla’s Testimony

During the war, my grandmother Nina and I were forced to move from eastern Ukraine to be closer to our relatives.

My grandmother started attending an evangelical church and later was baptized. My grandmother and I now also attend an evangelical church. We really like the church services here. We have new friends from the church who often come to our house to visit my grandmother and pray together.

They also help us with food. This is a great support for me and my grandmother, because she has a very small pension, and we would not have enough money for the food.

Also, the church supports us a lot on the spiritual aspect. I really like listening to the Word of God being explained in the church service. I realize how important it is when God touches your heart. It is important to know and believe in Him! I really like it when people pray in church and the Holy Spirit fills my heart and my faith grows and I want to sing, pray, cry. Despite everything, I am glad that we are in this church and I thank everyone who so generously helps us with wonderful food. Everything is served with such love!

In the most difficult moments of our life, in moments of pain and suffering, we want to feel warmth from our neighbor, from anyone…

Julia’s Testimony

We are IDPs from eastern Ukraine. Like everyone else, we lived and built plans for the future. But by February 24, 2022, all our plans and dreams were crossed out by the war. For two weeks, my husband and I spent time in the basement of our five-story building. It was very stressful because there was no electricity, no water, no gas, no heating. Every day it became harder to get food because nothing was brought in. We cooked on the fire during the hours when the shelling stopped at least a little.

At that time, I was pregnant with a long-awaited child, and it was even harder. When we found out that there was an opportunity to leave with the help of volunteers, we decided to flee to a safer place.

And so, God brought us to this beautiful city, showed me the way to this church, and I’ve met so many wonderful people. I am very grateful to the church for their help, not only material but also spiritual. I really like going to Sunday services, I really like the way the church praises God with songs, poems and just a nice message.

I am grateful to the pastor, to all the brothers and sisters, for showing and teaching me how to love the Lord God, for their encouragement and faith, for their support and understanding.

Thanks to the church and good people around the world, I am even more confident in our victory. I pray to God that peace would soon come to the country, so that we could all be happy and safe.

Liubov’s Testimony

I came from a city in northeastern Ukraine. From the very beginning of the war, we were under occupation, and my husband died there (he was killed by an enemy mine). To save both my life and my son’s, we were forced to flee. Currently, my son and I live in a dormitory.

One day, members of the evangelical church came to our dormitory, where, in general, there were other IDP families, mostly with disabilities, and they brought us food aid.

They shared with us their faith in God and invited us to a church meeting in their House of Prayer.

Thanks to God and these people, I heard the Word of God, read the New Testament and the Book of Psalms, and now I read the whole Bible—and always go to church.

On September 23, 2023, I was baptized and became a member of this church. I am very grateful to the Lord for helping me find the way to Him, repent, be baptized, and become a child of God. It is such a joy! And I am also grateful to all the good people who send us such wonderful food with prayer and care, and we have been receiving it and listening to the Word of God! Faith in the Son of God helps me to live, gives me hope for eternal life, and the Holy Spirit inspires me to write poems. May God bless all my distant friends so that they never get tired of helping and praying for our Ukrainian people. I thank God and good people for their support and care. 

In a time of great uncertainty, God is bringing help, healing, and hope to the people of Ukraine through SGA-supported pastors, churches, a seminary and SGA-supported Compassion Ministry. Be a part of God’s incredible work with your generosity and prayer support.

Your gift of compassion helps struggling people with emergency aid that generally includes Scripture materials, food, and hygiene supplies.