Sharing Bible stories with children as bombs rain down

Anatoliy Raychynets was carrying his sleeping seven-year-old son Georgy in Kyiv as Russian missiles rained down all around. 

The Ukrainian Bible Society Deputy General Secretary entered a bomb shelter and laid his boy down beside a concrete wall.

Georgy stirred and muttered the words: ‘Dad, are there rockets again? Why doesn't God answer our prayers for the war to end?’

Anatoliy was reminded of the story of Simeon (see Luke 2.25–33), who waited on God's promise that he would not die until he saw the Lord’s promised Messiah, the salvation of all nations, with his own eyes. 

Sitting in the shelter, Anatoliy shared Simeon’s story with Georgy and other children, saying it was a reminder that the Lord always fulfils his promises. 

‘Sometimes we just need to wait long and patiently, trusting him,’ said Anatoliy as explosions were heard outside the shelter.

If and when this conflict will end, only God knows. But one thing is for sure, Ukraine will be needing our healing prayers for many years to come.

For more than two years now, our colleagues at Ukrainian Bible Society such as Anatoliy have been risking their lives taking aid, medicine and the Scriptures to people across the country, and increasingly to areas of fighting. 

In England and Wales, Bible Society supporters have responded to the invasion by generously donating more than £1.17 million. This has been used not only to help distribute more than a million Bibles, but also to provide the Bible-based handbook, Beyond Disaster, to help people to deal with trauma suffered during the conflict. The money has also provided other much-needed help and support for Anatoliy and his colleagues. 

It was thanks to the reliable monthly giving of Bible a Month supporters that we were able to get Scriptures to Ukraine without any delay when the war started. Join Bible a Month today to help provide this kind of immediate provision of Scripture. You’ll receive our prayer letter for Bible a Month members (where this story first appeared) every three months, outlining how your regular giving puts the Bible in the hands of people all over the world.