Eleven-year-old Iaroslava remembers the day her mother left the country to find work, leaving her in a boarding school. “The most difficult thing I ever did was to say good-bye to my mom. She told me just a day before she left and I had no time to make her change her mind. I often imagine that it was a dream, and I would wake up and she is with me,” Iaroslava shares.

Iaroslava began to wish for a Bible of her own after a visit to Sunday School introduced her to God. And one day, she got her wish! Iaroslava and other children at her school received their very first Bibles.

Iaroslava hopes to take her Bible someday to live with her mother. Until then, she can find peace and comfort through Scripture, which is making a life-changing difference for her and all those hit by the Ukraine crisis.

Iaroslava and her mother are among more than 1 million people torn from their homes in the troubled country of Ukraine. And Iaroslava is one of the tens of thousands of orphans and children whose parents have relinquished custody due to the many hardships in this nation.

The violence in eastern Ukraine has not only displaced families, it continues to endanger lives. Fighting and landmines have already killed thousands. The gift of God’s Word brings God’s peace and hope to people living in fear.

Reaching out to people like Iaroslava with Scripture is American Bible Society’s mission, and children and adults in Ukraine need hope and comfort now more than ever.

When Iaroslava received an illustrated Children’s Bible … she was thrilled! “It is the best gift I ever had,” she exclaimed as she hugged and kissed her Bible.