Out of Hell and into Hope

From one family in Ukraine:

"Our lives changed at 4:30 am on February 24th. We woke up from terrible sounds. I ran to the window and saw the explosions. Everything was on fire. An hour later, the road was full of cars. People were leaving. We started to panic about what to do next. We decided to move to a godmother in a private house. When the lights were turned off, the heating was gone, and it was winter outside. Everything exploded overhead, the aircraft factory was bombed, we were all sitting in the cellar.

"In the morning, Russian soldiers passed under the windows in a column and became uneasy. In the evening there was a "cleanse" of the area, it was hell. Shooting, explosions, school 134 was on fire, equipment was on fire. The next day we decided to return home, but we lived there for three days and air raids began, there was nothing worse. At night, we decided to leave by evacuation train. Having collected all our lives in one bag, we decided to go. In the morning, on the news, we saw what was happening at the station, there was a terrible panic. I remembered that a couple of days ago a friend invited us to their city. The decision was made, we left...

"There were seven of us and a dog in one small car. But the main thing is that we left. Outside the city, another life immediately reigned, there were no explosions. On the way our friend was looking for an apartment for us. The journey took seven and a half hours. We arrived 15 minutes before curfew.

"We have been coming to our senses for two weeks. Then a friend suggested where we can find help. It was the church. Our family was helped with food, bed linen, clothes, medicines and food for our dog.

"Every Saturday we started attending meetings and our life changed. We have rethought our lives. We started coming over to help pack food parcels. We have made many friends. In the church we feel like at home, there are very nice people and atmosphere."

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When God First Widened My World: Remembering Urbana 1996 I still remember the winter air. It was December 1996, and I was a junior at Oakland University in Rochester Michigan, serving as a small group leader with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship—the ministry that had profoundly shaped my faith since my freshman year. I was growing spiritually, serving faithfully in my local church, and stepping into leadership on campus. Attending Urbana felt like the natural next step. Urbana only happened every three years, and I knew that once I graduated, I might miss the chance altogether. My church believed in that moment enough to cover the cost. They entrusted me—and my campus minister—with a van full of college students, driving from Detroit to Champaign-Urbana during the quiet days between Christmas and New Year’s. I had heard the stories: thousands of students, passionate worship, a clear call to live fully for Jesus. What I encountered exceeded every expectation. A Campus Taken Over by the Kingdom Buses poured in from every direction, unloading students onto a snow- covered campus. Dorm rooms filled. Cafeterias buzzed. The entire university seemed overtaken—not by noise or spectacle, but by a quiet, collective hunger for God. For the first time in my life, I met students from places far beyond Michigan— Harvard, Loyola, Wheaton. My world was expanding in real time. I don’t remember every speaker or session. What I do remember is the unmistakable clarity of the invitation. God was bigger than I had ever imagined. Not just personal. Not just local. He was King of the nations. And there were people—millions of them—who had never heard His name. The question was simple, but it felt weighty: Would I commit my life, in whatever way God asked, to the Great Commission? Explore God’s leading toward the nations with a SEND missions coach.
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