‘There Are Never Enough’: Getting the Bible into the Hands of the Ukrainian People

When Viktoriia heard missiles exploding in her hometown of Odessa, she knew it was time to run.

I met Viktoriia in Krakow, Poland, where thousands like her have arrived after fleeing the war in Ukraine. She told me that it took a while to embrace the scary reality that she was a refugee. “At first it, it just felt like a trip [to visit another country],” she admitted. In all likelihood, a trip home won’t be happening anytime soon.

But like so many Ukrainian believers I met in Poland, Viktoriia is following in the footsteps of her selfless Savior, declaring, “Even when we are without our homes, we are not without our God!” Just two weeks after arriving in Poland, Viktoriia started volunteering with First Baptist Church in Krakow, handing out Bibles and food supplies to needy Ukrainians.

Down to her last box of Bibles, Viktoriia shared a simple request with my team: “I want more! I want more!”

Both inside and outside Ukraine, the Bible shortage is very real. Since the conflict began, people have been turning to God’s Word like never before. Pastor Konrad, missions pastor at Christian Fellowship North in Warsaw, Poland, put it this way: “There are never enough Bibles; 99% of [refugees] don’t have Bibles when they arrive.”

Another report, this time from our team on the ground in Ukraine, describes Ukrainians swarming distribution vans and clamoring to obtain Bibles — just as eager for God’s Word as they are for food. “Everyone was rushing, everyone wanted the Bible! It was a real hunger!” says a Bible Society employee in Ukraine.

While Bible Societies are seeking to meet the basic needs of Ukrainians inside the war zone and outside their homeland, we are also doing all we can to get more Bibles printed and into the hands of people in crisis. I can tell you firsthand that God’s people are coming together like no other time in recent memory to reach every soul desperate for hope in this dark time.

Please continue to pray with me for Viktoriia, Pastor Konrad, and all those using God’s Word to remind our Ukrainian brothers and sisters that they are not forgotten. {eoa}

Rev. Enid Almanzar is Director of Global Access Partnerships for American Bible Society.

Read articles like this one and other Spirit-led content in our new platform, CHARISMA PLUS.