Hope rising from Ukraine: ‘My home belongs to Jesus’

I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I put my hope.
— Psalm 130:4

The bombs are followed by torture, kidnapping, and looting. Marina describes these as “shades of evil” experienced by her fellow Ukrainians as Russia continues its war against her country.

In a recent interview with the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students — Europe, she says:

“[People ask,] ‘Who can deal with such darkness?’ Government can’t deal with it. Countries can’t deal with it. Presidents can’t deal with it. Because it’s not just physical war, but spiritual war. When people are suffering…the only hope they see is to go to church because they know the churches are open. And I see that people feel like there is God only who can deal with such darkness.”

Marina is among those who’ve attended Langham’s training seminars for pastors and lay leaders in Ukraine — and today she is shining the light of Christ into the darkness.

“In such darkness, there is hope . . .”

More than 12 million have fled Ukraine since the start of the war. Marina talks about her home church, where only 10 congregation members remain. Yet, each Sunday, 100 people fill the church — most of them newcomers and non-believers in search of hope.

“There are not enough Christians to work with these non-Christians,” she says. “The members [who remain] are trying to explain [simply] about the Bible, prayer, worship. In such darkness there is hope God is working… It gives me hope.”

Marina shares the hope she has in Christ with the newcomers to her church, as well as with students through her ministry. One of the things that has helped strengthen her impact is her attendance at Langham’s preaching seminars in Ukraine, where she found training and mentoring on how to study and teach Scripture. She says it helps her “handle the Word faithfully.”

“. . . My home belongs to Jesus.”

With her eternal hope in the gospel, Marina trusts that even in hardship and uncertainty, God is working powerfully.

“I miss my home, my house,” she says. “For two months, I didn’t know if it was there. But, I have the most precious thing ever — my soul that belongs to Jesus. I know I will be with Jesus. … This brings me hope that my home belongs to Jesus. Wherever God is, this is my home.”

Thank you for your prayers and support of Langham, which helps train leaders like Marina. Please continue to pray for strength for God’s people in Ukraine who shine the light of Christ amid “shades of evil.”