In church yesterday we were singing the lyrics, “Find hope when all the world seems lost. Behold the triumph of the cross.” My mind went to two things from the past week.
Earlier in the week I finished watching a documentary series focused on the plight of large groups of people around the world who were forced to suffer over the past few centuries (e.g., Native Americans, Jews, slaves). It was dark and depressing. Though I think some of the messaging was important, I can’t recommend the documentary because it was rough and not presented in a style that I was particularly fond of. The message of the documentary can be summarized pretty easily: The world has been broken and messed up for a long time, and it still is today.
As dark as the first memory from the week was, the second one was incredibly bright. There is good news.
On Saturday, I watched a video update that Tom Albinson, the president of IAFR, shared on his Facebook page. He was in Kosice, Slovakia, visiting a church that has been partnering with IAFR for emergency response efforts in Ukraine. Kosice is about an hour and a half drive from the western border of Ukraine and has served as a major refuge for Ukrainian refugees. Tom told stories of how that specific church in Kosice was connected to hundreds of pastors in Ukraine, listening to their needs and thoughtfully responding. Much of the early response involved acquisition of vehicles for transporting food and people. More recently, some of the prominent needs relate to the winter weather that has now arrived.
Being a pastor in a cold, war-torn country without any sort of normalcy, with people constantly coming and going, and unreliable income is a difficult role! It’s hard for me to even imagine. Thankfully, the Christian church is an amazing community that is networked around the world.
Tom told of a Russian pastor from Moscow who felt called to go to Kharkiv, Ukraine, after the war began. He is now pastoring a new Russian-speaking church there. The church has grown quickly. Addressing food needs in a rapidly growing church has been a big challenge to wrestle with, but God is working.
A pastor in Mariupol, Ukraine, has taken 35 orphans into his home since the war began. With such a high number, it was noticed by the Russian police. The police came during a church service, arrested the pastor, and threatened to execute him. The congregants followed the pastor out of the church and started praying. In response, the police dropped their weapons and ran away. The pastor is still preaching today.
What amazing hope there is in Christ when all the world seems lost. I’m thankful for the ways IAFR engages the worldwide church - in Ukraine, in Northern Colorado, and many other places, to share that hope.
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