We found treasure in Ukraine

My name is Olena. I grew up in Kramatorsk, Donetsk region.

In February 2022, my husband and I were expecting our second child, a little boy. Our daughter was four and a half.

On February 24, we woke up to the sound of war. A few hours later, the city was under heavy shelling. All my friends were sent home from work.

A month of fear

We didn’t have a basement, so there was nowhere to hide from the rockets. For almost a month, we lived in complete fear, hiding with our daughter as best we could, sleeping in the corridors and in bomb shelters. Three houses on our street were completely destroyed.

At the end of March, my doctor told me they were no longer accepting patients and I’d have to look for a maternity hospital in another city. Volunteers took us out and brought us to Poltava, about 180 miles away, where our baby boy was born. It took almost all of our savings to relocate.

A child leads the way

About a month later, we were invited to the local church. For several months, we came solely for humanitarian aid. There were always people there ready to talk and support us, but we never took them up on it.

In May, my daughter and I were invited to a children’s club. We began attending these events from time to time, but all these stories remained mere fairy tales for me.

It was our daughter who became most interested in God. She always asked questions about Him and wanted to watch cartoons about God. I didn’t know much and couldn’t answer her questions, but when we were invited to a service last winter, my husband and I went together. Our child was given a New Testament – the Treasure Hunt Bible. It was written for children, but we were very interested in reading it ourselves! It had lots of questions in it that we could all think about together.

The most valuable treasure

Our daughter made us pray and read this Bible with her every day. I thank God that last autumn, my husband came to faith, and in the winter, so did I.

In this new town, we found the most valuable thing – faith in God! It all started with a children’s book, but now our lives have completely changed.

You sent this Bible to Olena’s family!

Do you remember our 2022 Christmas appeal? Many of you gave generously to send Treasure Hunt Bibles, newly-translated into Ukrainian, to children experiencing their first Christmas as refugees. Olena’s little girl was one of them. A £5 Christmas present has changed the lives of her whole family forever. Thank you so much from Olena and us!

To support this ministry and others like it, you can give a gift here today.

A song from a six-year old

Matthew* is only six years old and has already been through brain cancer surgery.

Despite all this, this little Egyptian boy still wanted to pick up his guitar and sing a song for us – a song of praise to his Father God!

Matthew came to know a God who is always with us through thick and thin, thanks to receiving a children’s Bible in his own mother tongue, colloquial Egyptian.

A child’s mother tongue

This collection of Bible stories was one of the first Christian resources published for children in the Egyptian dialect – the first language that most Egyptian kids learn to speak. It’s much easier for young people to understand than material in formal classical Arabic.

Now God speaks to children through the Bible using just the same language as their mums, dads and friends. They understand he’s not a God who is far-off and hard to reach, but one who is close like their family.

God is close

Matthew had struggled with all the medical treatment he had to have. But now he knows that God loves him, is close, and will never leave him, no matter what he goes through. His joyful song in the midst of such a hard time shows this is a reality for him, giving him life and strength every day.

Matthew’s Bible was translated and provided thanks to the generosity of people like you donating to Biblica. You can do something amazing like this by donating today:

To support this ministry and others like it, you can give a gift here today.

*Not his real name

Dionne Mutambisi

Finance Officer

Dionne joined Biblica in January 2023. As a detail-orientated accounting and finance professional she has been meeting the accounting needs of companies, not-for-profit organisations and individuals for over 12 years. Dionne lives in Bournemouth with her husband and three children, Heavenly-Joy, Daniel-Jesse and Josiah-James. Together they attend City Gate Church. Dionne serves as a governor for two local Church of England schools.