Dec 28, 2022 God Found Me in Poland

Do you believe God sees you individually? Through challenges and trials, and in the darkest valleys, He is with you. God has promised, I will never leave you nor forsake you. (Hebrews 13:5b)

One of the most rewarding projects this year was your help in providing much needed food and Bibles for displaced families in Ukraine and Ukrainian refugees who have fled to other countries. In spite of the challenges with limited electricity and lights, churches are holding meetings to bring hope and love to their communities. The response has been incredible and miraculous.

One special example is from Poland. A Ukrainian pastor was holding evangelism meetings for the refugees in Katowice City. On his way to the meetings, he heard someone playing Ukrainian anthems on a piano in the middle of the city square. He came closer and saw a teenage girl at the piano with a Ukrainian flag beside her.

When she finished playing, the pastor invited her to the meetings. He discovered that the girl and her mother had fled to Poland because of the war. The girl was lonely there without any friends, so she liked to play the piano. She and her mother both agreed to come to the Bible study meeting and get some food.

When they came close to the church building where the program was soon to start, they stopped to read the sign with the church name. And then the girl started crying.

The pastor was very surprised when she explained that, back in Ukraine, she had been enrolled in an Adventist school. She missed her friends so much and all of the honest, caring teachers. She never thought it would be possible to find another church group that was so special in Poland. Seeing the church sign, she said, I cannot believe that God has found me here again! and she burst into tears.

It turns out that the pastor in Poland was friends with the principal of the girl’s school in Ukraine. He pulled out his phone so they could have a video chat right then and there before the meetings started!

This situation created such a warm and comfortable atmosphere that made this teenager feel like she had met an extended family.

At the end of the series of meetings, the girl stood up at the call to be baptized, along with 16 others from all the meeting sites. What a miracle! Even when you are far from home, God is never far from you!

Will you continue to pray for our displaced brothers and sisters in Eastern Europe? Please pray we can continue supporting them in this time of need.

So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Isaiah 41:10

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