After six long months, Bible Society volunteers were finally able to make their way into the city of Sviatohirsk, in the northern part of Donetsk Province, Ukraine. The area had been bombed, under enemy occupation all that time. For those who lived there, life became horrific — seeing family, friends, and neighbors die . . . hiding in cellars . . . going without food, water, and other necessities for months on end. The stench in the air made it difficult to breathe.

Eight-year-old Oleksii* emerged from the cellar of a bombed-out building and waited for his eyes to adjust to the light. When he saw the Bible Society vans, he ran to us and asked for some bread. Oleksii’s parents were killed in the invasion. He misses them terribly and now stays with his uncle. We gave Oleksii some bread and a children’s Bible. He had never known anything about the Bible before.

While speaking with Oleksii, a soldier asked the team to follow him to a destroyed school nearby, where over 60 children had taken refuge. As the team followed, Oleksii shouted after them, “Thank you for the food and for this book!” He walked away clasping his new Bible to his chest, with a glimmer of hope in his heart.

Through the Bibles provided by our generous partners, men, women, and children enduring the darkest days of their lives are finding comfort, peace, and hope in God’s Word.

*Names changed for privacy