The nightmare journey from bombed-out cities in eastern Ukraine to the west of the country involved a desperate, high-risk trek, first on foot, then in the back of trucks swerving to avoid constant bombardment, and finally being packed like animals in trains headed towards the Polish border. Panic and chaos everywhere. Food and sanitary facilities in scant supply. The constant fear of death, plus the anxiety about what lay ahead for families being cruelly separated.
By God’s grace, some of the famished, exhausted refugees found their way to shelters run by Hope to the People, where workers had been busy setting up make-shift bomb shelters in the basements of churches in and near the western city of Rivne. Each shelter provided much-needed humanitarian aid, and open, welcoming arms. “What do you need? What do you want?”
You might be surprised what one after another asked for: “Do you have a Bible?” As it happens, in each shelter there was a table full of Bibles! In Ukrainian! And Children’s Bibles, and Bible coloring books telling about personal peace and an eternal hope beyond whatever the future holds for these precious little innocents and their beleaguered families.
Having Bibles available was no coincidence. When the prospect of war began to loom larger, the Eastern European Mission (EEM) team in Kiev began rushing shipments of Bibles for Hope to the People. As the invasion began, all was ready: food for the body; nourishment for the soul.
Since 1961, EEM has distributed free Bibles and Biblebased materials throughout Eastern Europe—and Russia—in more than twenty languages. These materials are given to individuals, families, children in youth camps, refugees, mission churches, public libraries, prisons, hospitals, orphanages, and…wait for it…public universities and public schools! In fact, governments are begging for Bibles to hand out in their public schools! What can’t happen in a “Christian” nation like the United States is happening in Eastern Europe! What’s wrong with this picture?
When military conflict breaks out, as in Ukraine, we rush to spend billions on weapons for use against totalitarian regimes. But what if we could spend a fraction of the cost so that war never again broke out? One doesn’t have to be a Pollyanna to believe that Bibles rather than bombs could actually have that effect. Bombs destroy people; Bibles change people… and nations.
There is much debate over whether we ought to engage in “nation-building.” While that is a political issue, “nationbuilding” in another sense has nothing to do with politics… and, then again, everything to do with politics. “Righteousness exalts a nation. Sin is a reproach to any people” (Proverbs 14:34). Show me a truly righteous nation, and I’ll show you a nation that has compassion, not aggression. Show me a nation that faithfully follows the Bible, and I’ll show you a nation that pursues peace and freedom, not war and devastation. Like nothing else can, Bibles build better!
Why are unbelievers, in particular, asking for Bibles? Could it be that, in the crush to escape terror, they have seen in the faces of believers a peace that passes understanding? Or perhaps they have heard from their fellow refugees the good news of Jesus being proclaimed in the midst of unimaginable bad news. If you are wondering what you can do for peace, both in Ukraine and in nations everywhere, the answer is simple: Help unleash the healing, freeing power of Bibles! (If you would like to help, visit EEM.org.)