Our colleagues in Sweden were able to speak to Rostyslav in Ukraine as he reflected on this last brutal year:

Bible Society: How are you, how do you feel, after a year of war?
Rostyslav: To live a year in a full-scale war is wearing you down, even if you are not at the frontlines. The whole nation has been affected, the whole nation is mobilized and no one can stay away or take a break from the war. Some people I know, who are in the ministry, have had heart and head strokes and other health problems, just because they couldn’t allow themselves to slow down due to mounting needs around them. We, civilians, have never been prepared to withstand this amount of stress, and emotions that fill you daily can ruin you. Eventually, we all come to understanding that we should try taking basic care of ourselves in order to last longer. From the sprint mindset, we had to switch to understanding it is a marathon.

On the other hand, just like with having your first kid, you find strength you never thought you were capable of! In the ministry field, there is no greater motivation than knowing your every effort counts, every Bible given away is capable of changing someone’s current condition and future. But it does wear you down, so we all are looking forward to the day when the war is over and we all can take a break.

What are you most scared of?
 The biggest fear for me is that the war lasts for too long, to the point that we all lose our pre-war identities due to violence and tragedies we experience every day, and that the nation will just go downfall. To avoid this, there is no other way, I believe, than just force ourselves, individually and collectively, to stay connected to the source of humaneness and guidance, the Bible.

How has the war changed you?
Unfortunately, in order to survive all sorrows, at times, we stop being as sensitive to pain around us – in us and in other people. Too many deaths, too many pain; you won’t last for long if you allow your emotions to flow every time. So we are less driven by emotions (even though they still overwhelm most of us from time to time) but more – by understanding what we are called to do.

On the other hand, witnessing how fragile your life is, causes you to turn your thoughts to God, to eternity, to spiritual things. Yet, witnessing those miracles that happen around you, is also something that brings you closer to God. And finally, you revisit and start appreciating and being thankful for very basic things: light and warmth at your home, a good night’s sleep or quiet morning without sirens, being together with family, fellowship with others and many many more things.

What supplies do you lack the most? What are people’s major needs?
As the Bible Society, we are mostly concerned about having enough Bibles. Unfortunately, every time our teams head to the frontline and recently liberated areas, the Bibles we take always run out way too soon – there is always someone left without the Bible.

Same relates to practical things: huge needs in food, basic hygienic things, medicines, warm clothes. In many areas, people need flashlights, powerbanks, portable stoves etc.

What can we do to help?
Do pray for peace in Ukraine, pray for the victims of war, pray for the Church, the Bible Society and all ministers and volunteers. As believers we know that literally everything depend on God, literally everything is in His hands.

Secondly, as the Bible Society, we beg for support with the Bibles. The needs are much exceeding our supplies. What’s important, we have an incredible infrastructure of churches and organizations working with the victims of the war, so what we really need is to print more Bibles and they would be distributed in a meaningful way.

Besides that, do whatever you are able to do and whatever you feel being called: the large nation of 40 million people is being destroyed – there are immense practical needs inside the country, there are needs among those who left the country. Even the smallest practical help will make a difference

Do you dare to think about the future? What do you hope for?

We do think about future a lot! Of course, it is hard to make any firm plans since things change very rapidly at times. Still we try to prepare ourselves for various scenarios – both as an organization and as individuals, families.

For the Bible Society, these current circumstances are truly critical and decisive for the future of our nation and our organization. We are sawing the seed as never before – millions of people got exposed to the Word of God, who would have never do that otherwise. And we know that, having experienced true transformation, they would be won for the Kingdom of God, and our nation would come out of this war more God-fearing and stronger spiritually.

Can you share how you have seen God performing miracles in Ukraine?
Miracles: they are big and small and we are yet to hear of many more of them. I personally try to be rather careful to not ground my faith on supernatural events or to expect that God must work a miracle for you, but, in these circumstances, they became somewhat more visible. Clearly, I am especially appreciating what is related to me personally and my family (a shot-down rocket fell just 500 m away from my parents’ home, destroying only an old barn; my wife and son being welcomed by a great family in the foreign country whom we never met before; my ability to meet them from time to time; even the very fact that God has spared me and many people whom I know from any serious illnesses since the beginning of the war, and many other things that just show you how fragile everything is and yet you are alive and well and able to function). I also hear numerous stories of rather supernatural occurrences across the country (people leaving minutes before their home is shelled, a rocket hitting home but never exploding etc.)

Do you now have a favorite Bible verse that gives you strength or guidance?
I have a special selection of those passages that are helping me in moments of discouragement. These are my favourite ones: Philippians 4:6-7 (my no.1); Psalm 118:6-7; Romans 8:31; Psalm 91; Deuteronomy 31:6; Joshua 1:9 etc. It is so incredible because some verses that I knew for a long time, gained a totally different meaning in these circumstances. The Bible is truly incredible because you can always find something that would speak to you in a very special way in your today’s situation – but you have to have it. This is why our ultimate task is to make the Bible accessible to as many people as possible nowadays.