Imagine that your nation is at war. You’ve been forced to flee from your home, and you don’t even know if it’s still standing—if everything you had to leave behind has already disappeared in the fireball of an enemy missile.
Worse, you’ve been separated from many of your family members and fear that they, too, may be gone. Then, if your home has also been destroyed, you might not even have photos left.
Seeking hope and answers, you turn to your Bible … but the words of God are written in the language of the people who have bombed your city and maybe even killed your loved ones.
That’s the experience of Ukrainians who’ve had to rely on Russian translations of the Bible.
But thanks to generous Biblica supporters like you, hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians have already been able to hear God speak in their own language. And as you continue your support, we’re rushing more Bibles and other Scripture resources in Ukrainian into the country and to refugees in other nations.
In God’s providence, our new Contemporary Ukrainian New Testament and Psalms was scheduled to be released in June 2022. While the war was looming, your support helped us direct the resources to finish early so that we could release the translation digitally. It was ready just as the war began. Within months, more than 450,000 people had downloaded the digital translation—downloads that were free thanks to your gifts.
Originally, we planned to print a “first run” of 10,000 copies of the New Testament and Psalms. By July, we had already printed and distributed 189,000 copies! We were also able to use the new translation to create new Scripture resources:
- The Survivors (trauma resource for children): 20,000 copies
- When Your Whole World Changes (trauma devotional): 20,000 copies
- Illustrated Mark (magazine format of Mark, designed for young adults): 10,000 copies
- Follow Book (magazine format of Luke, designed for young adults): 20,000 copies
And yet, as you can imagine, there is still immense need for more resources. One of our partner ministries has requested another 250,000 copies of the New Testament and Psalms for immediate distribution.
Gheorghe, who ministers to refugees and also runs a network getting aid into Ukraine, reports that when they send in food and other supplies, “People are begging for Bibles.”
Oxanna and her daughters were able to flee to Romania. Every day they pray for the safety of her husband and sons, still in Ukraine. And together they minister to other refugees. “People have seen how Christians are helping,” Oxanna says, “and they want to learn how to speak to God, how to read the Bible. This is a real opportunity to give people Bibles.”
If your family is like mine, you read the story of Jesus’s birth from the book of Luke aloud together every Christmas. This Christmas, I want millions of Ukrainians to be able to read that hope-filled story in the language of the homeland they have defended so valiantly. Thank you for your continued support that will help answer the urgent call for more Bibles!
“People have seen how Christians are helping, and they want to learn how to speak to God, how to read the Bible.” —Oxanna
