Evangelism is religious propaganda.
\nThis is the view of many students in Moldova. On campus, talk of Jesus isn\u2019t often taken seriously. Veaceslav Tu\u0219inschi, Director for CSC, the IFES national movement, explains:
\n\u201cStudent life is marked by materialism and individualism. Some students may agree to a brief discussion on Christian topics, but that\u2019s usually out of politeness, mild curiosity, or a desire to contradict you.\u201d
\nSo, CSC students in Chi\u0219in\u0103u were deeply encouraged when invitations to their \u201cSerios?\u201d mission week led to serious interest from peers.
\nChristina first met Gabriel at the beginning of the events week. She was on an internship at the hospital with several other medical students. While offering invites to friends, she felt prompted to offer one to Gabriel too. He was shy \u2013 and busy \u2013 and didn\u2019t come all week. But he turned up for the final evening, when 70 students gathered at an Uzbek restaurant for games, live music, a kebab, and a talk.
\nTo follow up the week, various groups were planned \u2013 socials, discussion groups, and a seeker\u2019s Bible study. Gabriel chose the Bible study!
\nVeaceslav reports, \u201cHe\u2019s come each week open and interested in learning more about God, grace, salvation, and forgiveness of sins. His questions are sincere and his heart is open to receive.\u201d
\nEugenia, a first-year philosophy student, was also committed to inviting friends to Serios? events. Three coursemates were willing to attend. They too joined the final evening, with one leaving his details to find out more.
\nBut he couldn\u2019t wait. When the program ended, he hung around chatting with Veaceslav and two others.
\n\u201cAfter we\u2019d left the caf\u00e9, we had a long conversation with him. He was amazed that such evenings were being organised. It was getting late, so we started to head for our homes. But he insisted on walking each of us to our trolleybus stops \u2013 it seemed like he was so intrigued that he wasn\u2019t yet ready to part ways.\u201d
\nEugenia also followed up with her coursemates. For Easter weekend, she hosted a picnic in the park so that they could read about Jesus on the cross and she invited them to the Sunday celebration at her church.
\nThe post Seriously? appeared first on IFES.
\n", "content_text": "Evangelism is religious propaganda. \n\n\n\nThis is the view of many students in Moldova. On campus, talk of Jesus isn\u2019t often taken seriously. Veaceslav Tu\u0219inschi, Director for CSC, the IFES national movement, explains: \n\n\n\n\u201cStudent life is marked by materialism and individualism. Some students may agree to a brief discussion on Christian topics, but that\u2019s usually out of politeness, mild curiosity, or a desire to contradict you.\u201d \n\n\n\nSo, CSC students in Chi\u0219in\u0103u were deeply encouraged when invitations to their \u201cSerios?\u201d mission week led to serious interest from peers. \n\n\n\nBusy, Shy, but Interested \n\n\n\nChristina first met Gabriel at the beginning of the events week. She was on an internship at the hospital with several other medical students. While offering invites to friends, she felt prompted to offer one to Gabriel too. He was shy \u2013 and busy \u2013 and didn\u2019t come all week. But he turned up for the final evening, when 70 students gathered at an Uzbek restaurant for games, live music, a kebab, and a talk. \n\n\n\nTo follow up the week, various groups were planned \u2013 socials, discussion groups, and a seeker\u2019s Bible study. Gabriel chose the Bible study! \n\n\n\nVeaceslav reports, \u201cHe\u2019s come each week open and interested in learning more about God, grace, salvation, and forgiveness of sins. His questions are sincere and his heart is open to receive.\u201d \n\n\n\nBeyond Curious \n\n\n\nEugenia, a first-year philosophy student, was also committed to inviting friends to Serios? events. Three coursemates were willing to attend. They too joined the final evening, with one leaving his details to find out more. \n\n\n\nBut he couldn\u2019t wait. When the program ended, he hung around chatting with Veaceslav and two others. \n\n\n\n\u201cAfter we\u2019d left the caf\u00e9, we had a long conversation with him. He was amazed that such evenings were being organised. It was getting late, so we started to head for our homes. But he insisted on walking each of us to our trolleybus stops \u2013 it seemed like he was so intrigued that he wasn\u2019t yet ready to part ways.\u201d \n\n\n\nEugenia also followed up with her coursemates. For Easter weekend, she hosted a picnic in the park so that they could read about Jesus on the cross and she invited them to the Sunday celebration at her church. \n\n\n\nPray \n\n\n\n\nPraise God for the serious interest generated through the Serios? events week in Chi\u0219in\u0103u. One staff worker remarked, \u201cI was shocked how many of the non-Christian students listened so attentively to every word!\u201d. \n\n\n\n\n\nPray for those who heard the gospel for the first time and the 50+ students who gave contact details for follow up \u2013 that their interest will deepen over their summer break. And pray for CSC\u2019s \u201cWelcome to the university, welcome to the community\u201d outreach planned for Chi\u0219in\u0103u and B\u0103l\u021bi in September. \n\n\n\n\n\nGive thanks for CSC Moldova student leaders like Eugenia and Cristina. Please pray for the 16 student leaders from Moldova who are attending the IFES Eurasia Formacion training in Georgia, 20-31 July. Students from a dozen countries will learn and share around the theme of \u201cRooted\u201d \u2013 ask that they will be firmly established in their faith and calling.\n\nThe post Seriously? appeared first on IFES.", "date_published": "2025-07-08T10:31:26+01:00", "date_modified": "2025-07-11T13:24:40+01:00", "authors": [ { "name": "Roja Jacob", "url": "https://ifesworld.org/en/author/roja-jacob/", "avatar": "https://ifesworld.org/wp-content/litespeed/avatar/270fe6ae830fb4ad45dd518c8013666f.jpg?ver=1760274904" } ], "author": { "name": "Roja Jacob", "url": "https://ifesworld.org/en/author/roja-jacob/", "avatar": "https://ifesworld.org/wp-content/litespeed/avatar/270fe6ae830fb4ad45dd518c8013666f.jpg?ver=1760274904" }, "image": "https://ifesworld.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/photo_2025-03-27_13-31-31-rotated.jpg" }, { "id": "https://ifesworld.org/?post_type=prayerline&p=44834", "url": "https://ifesworld.org/en/prayerline/unleashing-the-word/", "title": "Unleashing the Word", "content_html": "Posted on corridor walls, it caused a stir. Turned into TV interviews, it brought new insights. This was God\u2019s Word, unleashed.
\nIn Armenia, although over 95% of people identify as Christian, the Bible often remains a closed book. But students in CICI, the IFES movement, have been opening it to others in bold and thoughtful ways.
\nLast October, CICI\u2019s prayer event on World Student Day inspired students to intercede together for their campuses. That day, a fire was kindled in three students from one university in Yerevan: they felt compelled to see God\u2019s Word read on site.
\nBut campus Bible study groups are not permitted \u2013 those interested in reading Scripture must head off-site to the movement\u2019s office. So, the students decided to write encouraging verses like John 3:16 and Philippians 4:13 on sticky notes and leave them on walls around the university building. Peers were soon reading, smiling, and discussing God\u2019s love and Christ\u2019s strength.
\nThe security guards weren\u2019t happy. Having checked CCTV, they summoned one of the students to their office. She was questioned about her faith and forbidden from posting more verses. She respectfully agreed to stop doing so on campus but defiantly announced that they would continue their activity on public walls just outside it. And they did.
\nStaff in the movement said:
\n\u201cThis was all the students\u2019 initiative \u2013 they had a passion and acted on it. It\u2019s exciting to see Jesus giving them such boldness in their faith!\u201d
\nMeanwhile \u2013 back in the office! \u2013 students are digging deeper into the Word. Since a visit from the IFES Scripture Engagement team last year, the movement has continued to develop and use a \u2018participatory drama and TV interview\u2019 approach.
\nAfter reading a narrative passage together, participants are invited to closely analyse the text in small groups by imagining themselves as one of the characters in the story. TV interview style questions then tease out the significance of what they are thinking and feeling \u2013 and how that applies to life today. (See the full process here).
\nStaff note that both committed believers and seeking friends love exploring the Word in this way and are often keen to dramatize the interview. At a recent study on Jesus washing his disciples\u2019 feet, one student remarked:
\n\u201cIt was touching to read the story through Jesus\u2019 eyes. It made me feel the love and care he had for his disciples \u2013 and also for us.\u201d
\nThrough students reaching students, a shut book is now open. The Word is unleashed \u2013 read and considered. Let\u2019s pray for the response:
\nThe post Unleashing the Word appeared first on IFES.
\n", "content_text": "Posted on corridor walls, it caused a stir. Turned into TV interviews, it brought new insights. This was God\u2019s Word, unleashed. \n\n\n\nIn Armenia, although over 95% of people identify as Christian, the Bible often remains a closed book. But students in CICI, the IFES movement, have been opening it to others in bold and thoughtful ways. \n\n\n\nWord on the Wall \n\n\n\nLast October, CICI\u2019s prayer event on World Student Day inspired students to intercede together for their campuses. That day, a fire was kindled in three students from one university in Yerevan: they felt compelled to see God\u2019s Word read on site. \n\n\n\nBut campus Bible study groups are not permitted \u2013 those interested in reading Scripture must head off-site to the movement\u2019s office. So, the students decided to write encouraging verses like John 3:16 and Philippians 4:13 on sticky notes and leave them on walls around the university building. Peers were soon reading, smiling, and discussing God\u2019s love and Christ\u2019s strength. \n\n\n\nThe security guards weren\u2019t happy. Having checked CCTV, they summoned one of the students to their office. She was questioned about her faith and forbidden from posting more verses. She respectfully agreed to stop doing so on campus but defiantly announced that they would continue their activity on public walls just outside it. And they did. \n\n\n\nStaff in the movement said: \n\n\n\n\u201cThis was all the students\u2019 initiative \u2013 they had a passion and acted on it. It\u2019s exciting to see Jesus giving them such boldness in their faith!\u201d \n\n\n\nLights, Bible, Action… \n\n\n\nMeanwhile \u2013 back in the office! \u2013 students are digging deeper into the Word. Since a visit from the IFES Scripture Engagement team last year, the movement has continued to develop and use a \u2018participatory drama and TV interview\u2019 approach. \n\n\n\nAfter reading a narrative passage together, participants are invited to closely analyse the text in small groups by imagining themselves as one of the characters in the story. TV interview style questions then tease out the significance of what they are thinking and feeling \u2013 and how that applies to life today. (See the full process here). \n\n\n\nStaff note that both committed believers and seeking friends love exploring the Word in this way and are often keen to dramatize the interview. At a recent study on Jesus washing his disciples\u2019 feet, one student remarked: \n\n\n\n\u201cIt was touching to read the story through Jesus\u2019 eyes. It made me feel the love and care he had for his disciples \u2013 and also for us.\u201d \n\n\n\nThrough students reaching students, a shut book is now open. The Word is unleashed \u2013 read and considered. Let\u2019s pray for the response: \n\n\n\nPray\n\n\n\n\nGive thanks for the passion and courage of the three students who shared verses on one campus. Pray that the interest sparked by the Word will generate meaningful conversations and lasting connections. \n\n\n\n\n\nAsk that the drama/interview Bible studies will continue to engage seeking students and that the Spirit will lead them into a personal encounter with Christ, the Living Word. \n\n\n\n\n\nPray for CICI small group leaders as they grow in their handling of the Bible. Ask the Lord to bless campuses and churches through their regular, creative, and faithful study of Scripture. \n\n\n\n\n\nThe post Unleashing the Word appeared first on IFES.", "date_published": "2025-02-04T08:00:00+00:00", "date_modified": "2025-02-04T13:34:50+00:00", "authors": [ { "name": "Roja Jacob", "url": "https://ifesworld.org/en/author/roja-jacob/", "avatar": "https://ifesworld.org/wp-content/litespeed/avatar/270fe6ae830fb4ad45dd518c8013666f.jpg?ver=1760274904" } ], "author": { "name": "Roja Jacob", "url": "https://ifesworld.org/en/author/roja-jacob/", "avatar": "https://ifesworld.org/wp-content/litespeed/avatar/270fe6ae830fb4ad45dd518c8013666f.jpg?ver=1760274904" }, "image": "https://ifesworld.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Armenia-PL-e1738320898556.jpg" }, { "id": "https://ifesworld.org/?post_type=prayerline&p=40522", "url": "https://ifesworld.org/en/prayerline/deepening-daily-devotions/", "title": "Deepening Daily Devotions", "content_html": "\u201cI\u2019ve read this so many times before, but I never saw that!\u201d
\nIt\u2019s a common reaction from those who are reading the Bible alongside study notes produced by the IFES Scripture Engagement team in Central Asia.
\nThe indigenous resource was developed to meet a deep need, as Paul, a former General Secretary of an IFES movement in the Eurasia region, explains:
\n\u201cWhen I was a student, I grew in my faith by developing the habit of daily Bible reading. In the UK, I could easily access resources that helped me understand the text and apply God\u2019s Word to my situation. But in the 20 years I\u2019ve served in Central Asia, I\u2019ve found that such resources in Russian are extremely scarce.\u201d
\nOver the years, various foreign materials have been translated into Russian. But using these can prove problematic. For example, Bible study questions often focus on particular words or phrases that lack the same connotations in the Russian Bible text. Or the applications tend to reflect mindsets, values, or cultural issues that are alien to Central Asian students.
\nThis is also complicated by the fact that the most widely-used Bible version \u2013 the Russian Synodal Translation (RST) \u2013 was translated in 1867 from the poetic and archaic Church Slavonic language. Although Biblica has published a new Russian translation, many churches still use the RST.
\nPaul continues:
\n\u201cWe needed to write our own questions which would help students engage with the Bible in both the RST and the new translation. We wanted questions that would reflect their level of understanding and be attentive to the pressing social and theological issues they\u2019re facing in their context.\u201d
\nSo, during COVID, the team composed Bible study questions and posted them on a church Telegram channel. Although written with students in mind, the questions were appreciated by a wider audience \u2013 teens, older adults, and the elderly.
\n\n\nWe wanted questions that would reflect their level of understanding and be attentive to the pressing social and theological issues they\u2019re facing in their context.
\n
As the team witnessed this hunger and received feedback, they realised something else: the questions could be helpfully accompanied by a short explanation or reflection \u2013 a summary of the key points in the passage.
\nOver the last two years, the team has written booklets featuring both questions and notes, with each booklet containing daily studies on one book of the Bible. Around 250 copies have been distributed so far. Paul is delighted:
\n\u201cWe hope to see more students using these booklets for daily quiet times and we rejoice in every story of someone being impacted by studying God\u2019s Word.\u201d
\nThis Prayerline is adapted from a blog on the IFES Scripture Engagement website \u2013 read other stories and access resources here.
\nThe post Deepening Daily Devotions appeared first on IFES.
\n", "content_text": "\u201cI\u2019ve read this so many times before, but I never saw that!\u201d\n\n\n\nIt\u2019s a common reaction from those who are reading the Bible alongside study notes produced by the IFES Scripture Engagement team in Central Asia.\n\n\n\nThe indigenous resource was developed to meet a deep need, as Paul, a former General Secretary of an IFES movement in the Eurasia region, explains:\n\n\n\n\u201cWhen I was a student, I grew in my faith by developing the habit of daily Bible reading. In the UK, I could easily access resources that helped me understand the text and apply God\u2019s Word to my situation. But in the 20 years I\u2019ve served in Central Asia, I\u2019ve found that such resources in Russian are extremely scarce.\u201d \n\n\n\nOut of Context\n\n\n\nOver the years, various foreign materials have been translated into Russian. But using these can prove problematic. For example, Bible study questions often focus on particular words or phrases that lack the same connotations in the Russian Bible text. Or the applications tend to reflect mindsets, values, or cultural issues that are alien to Central Asian students.\n\n\n\nThis is also complicated by the fact that the most widely-used Bible version \u2013 the Russian Synodal Translation (RST) \u2013 was translated in 1867 from the poetic and archaic Church Slavonic language. Although Biblica has published a new Russian translation, many churches still use the RST.\n\n\n\nIn Context\n\n\n\n\n\nPaul continues:\n\n\n\n\u201cWe needed to write our own questions which would help students engage with the Bible in both the RST and the new translation. We wanted questions that would reflect their level of understanding and be attentive to the pressing social and theological issues they\u2019re facing in their context.\u201d\n\n\n\nSo, during COVID, the team composed Bible study questions and posted them on a church Telegram channel. Although written with students in mind, the questions were appreciated by a wider audience \u2013 teens, older adults, and the elderly.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nWe wanted questions that would reflect their level of understanding and be attentive to the pressing social and theological issues they\u2019re facing in their context.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMore Context\n\n\n\nAs the team witnessed this hunger and received feedback, they realised something else: the questions could be helpfully accompanied by a short explanation or reflection \u2013 a summary of the key points in the passage.\n\n\n\nOver the last two years, the team has written booklets featuring both questions and notes, with each booklet containing daily studies on one book of the Bible. Around 250 copies have been distributed so far. Paul is delighted: \n\n\n\n\u201cWe hope to see more students using these booklets for daily quiet times and we rejoice in every story of someone being impacted by studying God\u2019s Word.\u201d\n\n\n\nPray\n\n\n\n\nGive thanks for the development of this indigenous resource and its ongoing impact. Pray that it will help many students in Central Asia to nurture their faith by consistently reading and studying the Bible.\n\n\n\nThank God for the Fellowship of Eurasian Bible Expositors, a joint project between IFES Eurasia and Langham Preaching that\u2019s training students, staff, and church partners in the region to preach faithfully and relevantly.\n\n\n\nPray for a student leadership camp in Central Asia, 18-29 August, bringing together students and staff from three movements in sensitive countries \u2013 ask that they will experience inspiring and formative times in Scripture.\n\n\n\n\nThis Prayerline is adapted from a blog on the IFES Scripture Engagement website \u2013 read other stories and access resources here.\nThe post Deepening Daily Devotions appeared first on IFES.", "date_published": "2024-08-06T16:26:02+01:00", "date_modified": "2024-08-06T16:32:41+01:00", "authors": [ { "name": "Tim.Boland", "url": "https://ifesworld.org/en/author/tim-boland/", "avatar": "https://ifesworld.org/wp-content/litespeed/avatar/2021787e4b2a866a6efcc474e3c84514.jpg?ver=1760274904" } ], "author": { "name": "Tim.Boland", "url": "https://ifesworld.org/en/author/tim-boland/", "avatar": "https://ifesworld.org/wp-content/litespeed/avatar/2021787e4b2a866a6efcc474e3c84514.jpg?ver=1760274904" }, "image": "https://ifesworld.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Anon-bible-study-2-sm.jpg" }, { "id": "https://ifesworld.org/?post_type=prayerline&p=38107", "url": "https://ifesworld.org/en/prayerline/profound-journeys/", "title": "Profound Journeys", "content_html": "It\u2019s quite a journey. Each year, thousands travel from India to study in the Caucasus, mostly at medical universities. But the journey is more than physical: away from family and cultural pressures, the students have a unique moment in life to explore their beliefs.
\nIn the Georgian city of Kutaisi, the local IFES group is seizing this opportunity by introducing international students to Jesus.
\nSunil has been attending the group for three months. At the end of his first Bible study, he asked to take the Bible home. He\u2019s been reading it on his own and now comes to the group with searching questions. Recently he asked, \u201cI have too many sins \u2013 how can I be sure that Christ has forgiven me?\u201d
\nAmitha has been coming for over a year. At first, she was negative about Jesus \u2013 she couldn\u2019t accept the idea of Christ as \u201cthe way, the truth and the life\u201d and argued against his divinity. But, in a recent study, she admitted to feeling a change: \u201cfor the first time I\u2019ve begun to call the Creator my Father.\u201d
\nPrutvi was also deeply sceptical about Christianity; each week he questioned the reliability of the Bible. But, two years on, he trusts it more than his traditional religious scriptures and is now faced with a difficult decision: \u201cSometimes I just want to entrust my life to Christ. But I\u2019m afraid of my mother finding out because she believes that Krishna is our family\u2019s protector.\u201d
\nOver time, as the group faithfully shared Scripture and offered friendship, these three have discovered the promises, claims, and trustworthiness of Jesus. \u201cOur hope is that they will discover him personally and follow him as Saviour and Lord,\u201d declares Larisa, IFES Georgia staff who pioneered the International Student Ministry (ISM) group.
\nIt was two and half years ago that she invited three Indian Christian students to her home so they could read the Bible together. Soon, they were inviting friends, and, within a few weeks, more than 20 students were participating \u2013 with meals, studies in Mark\u2019s Gospel, and board games. It wasn\u2019t long before they needed to find a new venue to accommodate the growing numbers.
\nThe Christian international students have now been trained up to lead these meetings. Now, each Friday and Saturday, they guide Bible studies in English and Telugu. In September, they hope to launch another group in Tamil.
\nLet\u2019s pray that the many Indian students in the Caucasus will take journeys of faith \u2013 and discover Jesus.
\nThe post Profound Journeys appeared first on IFES.
\n", "content_text": "It\u2019s quite a journey. Each year, thousands travel from India to study in the Caucasus, mostly at medical universities. But the journey is more than physical: away from family and cultural pressures, the students have a unique moment in life to explore their beliefs. \n\n\n\nIn the Georgian city of Kutaisi, the local IFES group is seizing this opportunity by introducing international students to Jesus. \n\n\n\nThree Journeys of Discovery \n\n\n\nSunil has been attending the group for three months. At the end of his first Bible study, he asked to take the Bible home. He\u2019s been reading it on his own and now comes to the group with searching questions. Recently he asked, \u201cI have too many sins \u2013 how can I be sure that Christ has forgiven me?\u201d \n\n\n\nAmitha has been coming for over a year. At first, she was negative about Jesus \u2013 she couldn\u2019t accept the idea of Christ as \u201cthe way, the truth and the life\u201d and argued against his divinity. But, in a recent study, she admitted to feeling a change: \u201cfor the first time I\u2019ve begun to call the Creator my Father.\u201d \n\n\n\nPrutvi was also deeply sceptical about Christianity; each week he questioned the reliability of the Bible. But, two years on, he trusts it more than his traditional religious scriptures and is now faced with a difficult decision: \u201cSometimes I just want to entrust my life to Christ. But I\u2019m afraid of my mother finding out because she believes that Krishna is our family\u2019s protector.\u201d \n\n\n\nA Journey of Growth \n\n\n\nOver time, as the group faithfully shared Scripture and offered friendship, these three have discovered the promises, claims, and trustworthiness of Jesus. \u201cOur hope is that they will discover him personally and follow him as Saviour and Lord,\u201d declares Larisa, IFES Georgia staff who pioneered the International Student Ministry (ISM) group. \n\n\n\nIt was two and half years ago that she invited three Indian Christian students to her home so they could read the Bible together. Soon, they were inviting friends, and, within a few weeks, more than 20 students were participating \u2013 with meals, studies in Mark\u2019s Gospel, and board games. It wasn\u2019t long before they needed to find a new venue to accommodate the growing numbers. \n\n\n\nThe Christian international students have now been trained up to lead these meetings. Now, each Friday and Saturday, they guide Bible studies in English and Telugu. In September, they hope to launch another group in Tamil. \n\n\n\nLet\u2019s pray that the many Indian students in the Caucasus will take journeys of faith \u2013 and discover Jesus. \n\n\n\nPray \n\n\n\n\nGive thanks for the way God has guided and grown ISM ministry in Georgia. \n\n\n\n\n\nPray for Sunil, Amitha, and Prutvi \u2013 that they will encounter the living Christ as they grapple with questions of assurance, divinity, and allegiance. \n\n\n\n\n\nPray for the current student leaders (Hema, Rakshana, Deepak, Smiley, and Irene) \u2013 that they will continue to grow and be led by the Holy Spirit \u2013 and for the discipling of two new leaders (Pranitha and Sharon). \n\n\n\n\n\nPray for God\u2019s guidance and provision for the movement in Georgia \u2013 with a new General Secretary, funding challenges, and a tense political situation. \n\nThe post Profound Journeys appeared first on IFES.", "date_published": "2024-06-11T15:53:25+01:00", "date_modified": "2025-01-15T10:57:32+00:00", "authors": [ { "name": "Bryn Rickards", "url": "https://ifesworld.org/en/author/bryn-rickards/", "avatar": "https://ifesworld.org/wp-content/litespeed/avatar/8672abde7ce0c7ed71f1b1cc3ec261a2.jpg?ver=1760274006" } ], "author": { "name": "Bryn Rickards", "url": "https://ifesworld.org/en/author/bryn-rickards/", "avatar": "https://ifesworld.org/wp-content/litespeed/avatar/8672abde7ce0c7ed71f1b1cc3ec261a2.jpg?ver=1760274006" }, "image": "https://ifesworld.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/5-e1718102954752.jpg" }, { "id": "https://ifesworld.org/?post_type=prayerline&p=31155", "url": "https://ifesworld.org/en/prayerline/transformed-by-love/", "title": "Transformed by love\u202f\u202f", "content_html": "\u202f
\n\n\n\u201cWith the Christian student community, I realized that in this world I am loved. I’m not alone here.\u201d
\n
For student Sophia*, this was not just a good feeling. It was life-saving.
\nShe had been suffering from the personal repercussions of war in the Eurasia region. Her boyfriend had left the country, her father was drafted into military service, and her mother, due to a change in personal circumstances, also moved abroad. She was devastated.
\nHer loneliness further deepened because she felt so at odds with the political beliefs of those around her. Day after day, she lay in bed, often screaming into her pillow. She was diagnosed with severe depression.
\nAt that time, Anya*, a volunteer staff with the national student movement, invited her on a church trip to see some horses. \u201cFor the first time in months, I started to feel something \u2013 it was happiness,\u201d Sophia recalls. As she was touched by the beauty of the animals and the friendship of the group, she felt able to engage in conversation about God. She heard how he not only saves us, but keeps going with us, coming alongside in troubled times. The darkness started to lift.
\nThis was a reawakening of the love Sophia had experienced a couple of years prior. At the time, a close relative was sick with cancer, and Sophia shared her distress with a Christian lecturer at the university. She offered to pray for Sophia and brought her a copy of Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis, which Sophia devoured. Then she invited Sophia, along with other students, to her home for meals, Bible studies, and prayer. This is when Sophia first met Anya.
\nSophia describes the quality of relationship in those gatherings: \u201cI felt loved \u2013 they always listened to everybody and seemed to relate to the pain students were going through. They never superficially asked \u2018How are you?\u2019. They were truly interested in our answers.\u201d
\nLife-changing groups like these were widespread in this country until the pandemic and a recent war. Anya is one of two volunteers and nine staff who currently work across six cities to sustain and re-invigorate this IFES national movement. At the end of August, staff were able to train up a dozen new student leaders with their \u201cAmbassador\u201d program. In her university city, Anya says that their main goal is to develop relationships with the students: \u201cWe dream of reviving the traditions of student lunches and dinners.\u201d
\nAnd Sophia?
\n\u201cI\u2019m still working on my emotional condition. But I know for sure: if it were not for God, prayers, and the love of that family, if it were not for the other students that I can talk to and have some fun with, I would never feel anything again. But now I do. And I\u2019m really thankful for that.\u201d
\nPray with us for students and staff in this Eurasia movement:
\n*Names changed to protect identities
\nThe post Transformed by love\u202f\u202f appeared first on IFES.
\n", "content_text": "\u202f \n\n\n\n\n\u201cWith the Christian student community, I realized that in this world I am loved. I’m not alone here.\u201d \n\n\n\n\nFor student Sophia*, this was not just a good feeling. It was life-saving. \n\n\n\nShe had been suffering from the personal repercussions of war in the Eurasia region. Her boyfriend had left the country, her father was drafted into military service, and her mother, due to a change in personal circumstances, also moved abroad. She was devastated. \n\n\n\nHer loneliness further deepened because she felt so at odds with the political beliefs of those around her. Day after day, she lay in bed, often screaming into her pillow. She was diagnosed with severe depression. \n\n\n\nAt that time, Anya*, a volunteer staff with the national student movement, invited her on a church trip to see some horses. \u201cFor the first time in months, I started to feel something \u2013 it was happiness,\u201d Sophia recalls. As she was touched by the beauty of the animals and the friendship of the group, she felt able to engage in conversation about God. She heard how he not only saves us, but keeps going with us, coming alongside in troubled times. The darkness started to lift. \n\n\n\nThis was a reawakening of the love Sophia had experienced a couple of years prior. At the time, a close relative was sick with cancer, and Sophia shared her distress with a Christian lecturer at the university. She offered to pray for Sophia and brought her a copy of Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis, which Sophia devoured. Then she invited Sophia, along with other students, to her home for meals, Bible studies, and prayer. This is when Sophia first met Anya. \n\n\n\nSophia describes the quality of relationship in those gatherings: \u201cI felt loved \u2013 they always listened to everybody and seemed to relate to the pain students were going through. They never superficially asked \u2018How are you?\u2019. They were truly interested in our answers.\u201d \n\n\n\nLife-changing groups like these were widespread in this country until the pandemic and a recent war. Anya is one of two volunteers and nine staff who currently work across six cities to sustain and re-invigorate this IFES national movement. At the end of August, staff were able to train up a dozen new student leaders with their \u201cAmbassador\u201d program. In her university city, Anya says that their main goal is to develop relationships with the students: \u201cWe dream of reviving the traditions of student lunches and dinners.\u201d \n\n\n\nAnd Sophia? \n\n\n\n\u201cI\u2019m still working on my emotional condition. But I know for sure: if it were not for God, prayers, and the love of that family, if it were not for the other students that I can talk to and have some fun with, I would never feel anything again. But now I do. And I\u2019m really thankful for that.\u201d \n\n\n\nPray with us for students and staff in this Eurasia movement: \n\n\n\n\nGive thanks that the love of God has been felt as well as heard. Give thanks for Sophia*, Anya*, and the student ministry in this sensitive country \u2013 that in the midst of personal and national troubles, God is at work. \n\n\n\nPray for protection and inspiration for the movement as it seeks to navigate the limitations caused by recent political events. Pray that the staff will be able to establish deep, loving relationships with students in all six cities. \n\n\n\nPray for the student leaders who attended the \u201cAmbassador\u201d training \u2013 that they will be filled with all the wisdom, boldness, and love they need to be witnesses for Jesus in their universities. \n\n\n\n\n*Names changed to protect identities \nThe post Transformed by love\u202f\u202f appeared first on IFES.", "date_published": "2023-11-14T05:10:00+00:00", "date_modified": "2023-11-13T11:22:25+00:00", "authors": [ { "name": "admin", "url": "https://ifesworld.org/en/author/admin/", "avatar": "https://ifesworld.org/wp-content/litespeed/avatar/3021a3e3433971d777b4933267a9b6db.jpg?ver=1760286604" } ], "author": { "name": "admin", "url": "https://ifesworld.org/en/author/admin/", "avatar": "https://ifesworld.org/wp-content/litespeed/avatar/3021a3e3433971d777b4933267a9b6db.jpg?ver=1760286604" }, "image": "https://ifesworld.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/DSCF5250-2.jpg" }, { "id": "https://ifesworld.org/?post_type=prayerline&p=25595", "url": "https://ifesworld.org/en/prayerline/sowing-seeds-on-new-ground/", "title": "Sowing seeds on new ground", "content_html": "Last August, a unique opportunity catalysed pioneering student ministry in several sensitive countries in Eurasia. A team of 13 students and staff workers, selected mostly from various national movements in the region, spent two weeks in a sensitive country training students from Eurasian countries yet to establish formal national student movements.
\nThe team led Bible studies, talks, seminars and worship sessions, and shared testimonies \u2013 all with the goal of imparting a vision for student ministry that would encourage small beginnings. In this, they were sowing and watering the seeds of new student movements.
\nMore than 30 young believers from these Eurasian countries took part, and the training team was deeply moved by the strength of their faith.
\n\u201cWe really were humbled hearing from the students here,\u201d shared one staff worker. \u201cMany students are first-generation believers, from broken family backgrounds. I was speechless to see how vibrant and real their faith is.\u201d
\nThe IFES Eurasia region contains a diverse mix of countries: some have active and growing student movements while other nations have little religious freedom and no formal student ministry. Regional training events, like this one, inspire students in their first steps towards forming student groups and reaching out to peers.
\nAs a result of last August\u2019s event, Christian students in one country launched an English-speaking club in the park for their friends before boldly asking the university authorities for a regular meeting room. Students in a different country committed to start studying Scripture with their friends using Uncover Bible study notes.
\nA student from yet another country was inspired to share the gospel with her lecturer. \u201cI don\u2019t want to waste time,\u201d she said. \u201cI will be direct and just share the gospel. I will invite my lecturer to a coffee shop, and I will talk to her about prayer. We have a very good relationship, and she believes that prayer is the key to paradise. I want to explain to her what true prayer means. I am really surprised about where my courage has come from.\u201d
\nThe team received many invitations to return, and local church leaders have received such positive feedback from their student attendees that they want to send more people next time. In August 2023, IFES will organise a second training team to visit this country. In addition, 10 students from this sensitive country and one from another sensitive country have already applied to participated in an IFES Eurasia student leaders formation event being held in July.
\nPlease pray with us for students in Eurasia:
\nThe post Sowing seeds on new ground appeared first on IFES.
\n", "content_text": "Last August, a unique opportunity catalysed pioneering student ministry in several sensitive countries in Eurasia. A team of 13 students and staff workers, selected mostly from various national movements in the region, spent two weeks in a sensitive country training students from Eurasian countries yet to establish formal national student movements.\n\n\n\nThe team led Bible studies, talks, seminars and worship sessions, and shared testimonies \u2013 all with the goal of imparting a vision for student ministry that would encourage small beginnings. In this, they were sowing and watering the seeds of new student movements.\n\n\n\nMore than 30 young believers from these Eurasian countries took part, and the training team was deeply moved by the strength of their faith.\n\n\n\n\u201cWe really were humbled hearing from the students here,\u201d shared one staff worker. \u201cMany students are first-generation believers, from broken family backgrounds. I was speechless to see how vibrant and real their faith is.\u201d\n\n\n\nThe IFES Eurasia region contains a diverse mix of countries: some have active and growing student movements while other nations have little religious freedom and no formal student ministry. Regional training events, like this one, inspire students in their first steps towards forming student groups and reaching out to peers.\n\n\n\nAs a result of last August\u2019s event, Christian students in one country launched an English-speaking club in the park for their friends before boldly asking the university authorities for a regular meeting room. Students in a different country committed to start studying Scripture with their friends using Uncover Bible study notes.\n\n\n\nA student from yet another country was inspired to share the gospel with her lecturer. \u201cI don\u2019t want to waste time,\u201d she said. \u201cI will be direct and just share the gospel. I will invite my lecturer to a coffee shop, and I will talk to her about prayer. We have a very good relationship, and she believes that prayer is the key to paradise. I want to explain to her what true prayer means. I am really surprised about where my courage has come from.\u201d\n\n\n\nThe team received many invitations to return, and local church leaders have received such positive feedback from their student attendees that they want to send more people next time. In August 2023, IFES will organise a second training team to visit this country. In addition, 10 students from this sensitive country and one from another sensitive country have already applied to participated in an IFES Eurasia student leaders formation event being held in July.\n\n\n\nPlease pray with us for students in Eurasia:\n\n\n\nPray for boldness and passion for students who attended the training and are starting to form new student groups.Pray for fruit in the country that the team visited.Pray for more opportunities to start Christian student groups in areas of Eurasia where there are none.Pray that God will use the formation event in July and the training event in August to raise up even more young leaders who will strengthen student witness in this region.\nThe post Sowing seeds on new ground appeared first on IFES.", "date_published": "2023-05-02T11:17:46+01:00", "date_modified": "2023-05-02T11:17:48+01:00", "authors": [ { "name": "admin", "url": "https://ifesworld.org/en/author/admin/", "avatar": "https://ifesworld.org/wp-content/litespeed/avatar/3021a3e3433971d777b4933267a9b6db.jpg?ver=1760286604" } ], "author": { "name": "admin", "url": "https://ifesworld.org/en/author/admin/", "avatar": "https://ifesworld.org/wp-content/litespeed/avatar/3021a3e3433971d777b4933267a9b6db.jpg?ver=1760286604" }, "image": "https://ifesworld.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/IFES-World-Assembly-2019-09072019-\u00a9-IFES-Alexandra-Smart-2019_77-scaled.jpg" }, { "id": "https://ifesworld.org/?post_type=prayerline&p=20433", "url": "https://ifesworld.org/en/prayerline/see-what-god-does/", "title": "See what God does!", "content_html": "The team at CICI, the national movement in Armenia, thought that Hannah* did not seem interested in Jesus. And although she wanted to come to camp after being invited, she didn\u2019t have the money to go. Amazingly, however, God inspired someone else to generously pay for her place. \u201cAfter this,\u201d says a staff worker, \u201cI had a strong feeling that something would happen.\u201d
\nAt the camp, located on the shores of the beautiful Lake Sevan, students were challenged to embrace their identity in Christ, see the world his way, and give their lives, more wholeheartedly than ever, to Jesus. Many students had powerful experiences of God. \u201cThe Holy Spirit came with power and revealed Jesus,\u201d says Anna, the general secretary of the movement. \u201cSee what God does!\u201d
\nOne evening the students were using drama to explore the Bible in sketches. The staff worker was surprised to see Hannah in tears. She went over, and asked Hannah what she thought of camp. \u201cI\u2019ve learnt so many new things about God,\u201d she said, \u201cbut I still have many questions.\u201d The next day, she and a CICI volunteer prayed together. \u201cIt was amazing for Hannah\u201d, shares the staff worker, \u201cand she is now so hungry to know more about God and about our fellowship.\u201d
\nPlease pray with us for Hannah and CICI Armenia:
\n*Name has been changed to protect privacy.
\nThank you for supporting CICI Armenia in prayer.
\nIf you feel led to contribute to their movement financially, you can do so here.
\nThe post See what God does! appeared first on IFES.
\n", "content_text": "The team at CICI, the national movement in Armenia, thought that Hannah* did not seem interested in Jesus. And although she wanted to come to camp after being invited, she didn\u2019t have the money to go. Amazingly, however, God inspired someone else to generously pay for her place. \u201cAfter this,\u201d says a staff worker, \u201cI had a strong feeling that something would happen.\u201d\n\n\n\nAt the camp, located on the shores of the beautiful Lake Sevan, students were challenged to embrace their identity in Christ, see the world his way, and give their lives, more wholeheartedly than ever, to Jesus. Many students had powerful experiences of God. \u201cThe Holy Spirit came with power and revealed Jesus,\u201d says Anna, the general secretary of the movement. \u201cSee what God does!\u201d\n\n\n\nOne evening the students were using drama to explore the Bible in sketches. The staff worker was surprised to see Hannah in tears. She went over, and asked Hannah what she thought of camp. \u201cI\u2019ve learnt so many new things about God,\u201d she said, \u201cbut I still have many questions.\u201d The next day, she and a CICI volunteer prayed together. \u201cIt was amazing for Hannah\u201d, shares the staff worker, \u201cand she is now so hungry to know more about God and about our fellowship.\u201d\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nPlease pray with us for Hannah and CICI Armenia:\n\n\n\nGive thanks to God for the work of the Holy Spirit at camp and pray that the students would continue to pursue Jesus while they grow as disciples.Pray that Hannah and other camp participants who are still searching would find hope in Jesus. Pray for the Holy Spirit to continue working in all the students\u2019 lives, especially those who don\u2019t know Jesus for themselves, and those who had powerful spiritual experiences.Pray for the new school year, and the start of new groups in the cities of Gyumri and Alaverdi.Please pray for a blessing on CICI\u2019s banking and accounting, as the processes are often confusing, complicated, and time consuming. The last few months have been particularly challenging.\n\n\n\n*Name has been changed to protect privacy.\n\n\n\nThank you for supporting CICI Armenia in prayer. \n\n\n\nIf you feel led to contribute to their movement financially, you can do so here.\nThe post See what God does! appeared first on IFES.", "date_published": "2022-11-07T11:14:59+00:00", "date_modified": "2022-11-08T09:11:56+00:00", "authors": [ { "name": "admin", "url": "https://ifesworld.org/en/author/admin/", "avatar": "https://ifesworld.org/wp-content/litespeed/avatar/3021a3e3433971d777b4933267a9b6db.jpg?ver=1760286604" } ], "author": { "name": "admin", "url": "https://ifesworld.org/en/author/admin/", "avatar": "https://ifesworld.org/wp-content/litespeed/avatar/3021a3e3433971d777b4933267a9b6db.jpg?ver=1760286604" }, "image": "https://ifesworld.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/IMG-6015.jpg" }, { "id": "https://ifesworld.org/?post_type=conexion&p=19382", "url": "https://ifesworld.org/en/blog/in-the-midst-of-the-darkness-part-two/", "title": "In the midst of the darkness (Part Two)", "content_html": "The war in Ukraine has impacted the work of IFES on a number of levels. In this special two-part edition of Conexi\u00f3n, we share first-hand accounts of how, even in the midst of the darkness of war, God is working. Here you can read perspectives from IFES students, staff, and graduates in surrounding countries affected by the war, and the role the fellowship has played in providing support. You can read Part One, which features first-hand accounts from Ukraine and Russia, here.
\nFor ChSA Poland staff worker Vera, the war in Ukraine initially presented her with a dilemma. When news of it came, she was attending a youth conference with some Belarusian students when the news came. One student left immediately to drive to the border and pick up friends. Vera wondered – should she also jump in the car and race down to Ukraine?
\nAs it turned out, she didn\u2019t need to. As the coming months showed, God had different plans. Vera was born in Russia, but her family relocated to Canada when she was a child. Later, Vera served with InterVarsity Canada before moving to \u015awidnica, Poland. This background prepared her perfectly to make a difference in the crisis that unfolded after Ukraine\u2019s invasion.
\nWhen Vera returned home to \u015awidnica from the conference, she was surprised to find Ukrainians already in her town. Using her Canadian connections, Vera and her husband Konrad began fundraising for refugee accommodation with their church. Generous friends gave over four times what Vera requested. Consequently, they were able to open seven rooms, with an overflow space housing 25-30 people in the church hostel. There was so much money left they even rented a seven-bedroom house, which is currently a haven for 15 people.
\n\n\u201cThe way God provided finances was really amazing,\u201d says Vera. \u201cThe account would get close to zero, and then more funds would come from places we weren\u2019t expecting. Similarly, while we looked into renting small apartments, I prayed for the house that I envisioned \u2013 big and empty, with light and a garden. The next day, a house exactly like this became available. We prayed specific prayers, and God answered quickly and gave abundantly.\u201d
As she recounts her experience, Vera emphasises the mutually fulfilling relationships she has developed with these refugees. \u201cI\u2019m expecting a baby and many of them have given me presents, like baby clothes. Because I speak Russian, it\u2019s a friendly dynamic, not a \u2018we\u2019re helping you\u2019 dynamic. We\u2019re trying to start a little business on Etsy to create jobs.\u201d The contribution of refugees is also significant in other ways: \u201cIt\u2019s been incredible to see how the churches and youth groups have grown. It\u2019s a huge gift to the church in Poland to receive so many people with different experiences. As we give to them, so too we receive a lot from our Ukrainian brothers and sisters.\u201d
\nThis has also been the story for ChSA. While they’ve sent two trucks of supplies to CCX and assisted with temporary residence applications. they also emphasise that the refugees from Ukraine and elsewhere are beginning something new. In Warsaw, there are many young men from Belarus who have escaped from the risk of conscription. There, a staff worker (himself from Belarus) has been meeting with Belarusian and Russian-speaking students \u2013 including non-Christian students.
\n\n\u201cGod is using this horrible situation to begin something in Poland,\u201d explains Vera. \u201cSo, we need to remember why we\u2019re doing this. A lot of people have reached their limits and they\u2019re tired. Pray for people to come to Jesus. Pray for openness, and for vision to see the opportunities.\u201d
Suceava, the city where Adelina is a student, is in northern Romania, close to Ukraine\u2019s southern border. In the first week of the war, 42,000 refugees came to the city. Since then, over a million have entered Romania and, of these, around 85,000 have decided to stay. \u201cIt all began very suddenly,\u201d Adelina remembers. \u201cI wanted to help, but there was one big barrier. I didn\u2019t know Ukrainian, and they didn\u2019t know English or Romanian. What could I do?
\n\n\u201cI struggled a lot. I saw everybody trying to give food and clothing. But I felt they weren\u2019t addressing the soul, the trauma people had been through.\u201d Adelina has met many people devastated by war: \u201ckids with no parents, single parents, and old people, with no hope and no direction.\u201d There is one encounter that stays with her. \u201cI met a lady who was really scared and in pain. I asked what I could do to help her. But she just looked at me with tears in her eyes and said \u2018unfortunately, there is nothing you can do to help me\u2019. My breathing stopped and I felt a pain in my chest. I felt powerless – everything felt pointless.\u201d
Adelina\u2019s experience of the war has been defined by \u201cmoments of unrest, questioning, and feeling overwhelmed.\u201d But it has made other things more certain for her. \u201cMeeting the Ukrainian people and hearing their stories, I realise that the only solution for our lives is Jesus.\u201d
\nThere have been occasions when the love and hope of Jesus shines through especially brightly. \u201cThere were some people who couldn\u2019t explain for themselves how we were able to do so much for them, how we could open our hearts and hands for them,\u201d Adelina says. \u201cI can define my experience with the word \u2018hope\u2019. When nothing makes sense, when it hurts, if God is our Father there is hope in his promises no matter the circumstances.\u201d
\nIgors is Secretary of Staff and Team Development within IFES. Previously he was part of the IFES Europe team, and before that he was General Secretary of LKSB, the national student movement in Latvia. Since the war began, his primary involvement has been to support Ukrainian staff. However, with roughly 30,000 Ukrainian refugees in Latvia, Igors\u2019 wife, Nora, a LKSB board member, has had a significant role in coordinating help for these displaced people. In Riga, a group of churches have joined together as the Baltic Global Initiative. Working with a church in Chelm, Poland, near the Ukrainian border, they have coordinated deliveries, helped refugees get to Latvia, and connected them with local communities. Latvia is a relatively uncomplicated place for Ukrainians because the two nations share a Soviet heritage. Many older Latvians speak Russian and, in Riga, Ukrainian-language schools and kindergartens still operate.
\nIn addition to his work at IFES, Igors is involved with the Baltic Pastoral Institute (BPI). From the outset of war, BPI students have been going to Ukraine. As Igors explains, they are eager to help because \u201cmany Latvians resonate with the experience of war from our own history.\u201d It\u2019s been powerful. One student said that he couldn\u2019t recall ever having a more vivid sense of God\u2019s presence. \u201cThe closer you go in the darkness, the stronger you feel God\u2019s presence. It\u2019s illogical.\u201d Similarly, a Ukrainian told Igors that \u201cthere\u2019s no more space in Ukraine for atheism. You need to believe in hell and heaven.\u201d
\nIt\u2019s interesting, says Igors, \u201cbecause you wouldn\u2019t think that this would be the result. But if there\u2019s no judgement, it\u2019s hard to face the ongoing evil, and without heaven there\u2019s no hope. It\u2019s raised questions of good and evil. And I can almost see the whole nation going on this spiritual journey.\u201d
\nHow can we pray? \u201cEverybody is tired,\u201d says Igors. \u201cFor Ukrainians as well, we all feel like marathon runners, facing another phase. Collectively, we need to redefine what we\u2019re fighting for. Pray for more strength.\u201d
\nOlena, the IFES Head of Global Resource Ministries, is from Kyiv. She helped evacuate international students during the first few weeks of the war. \u201cSome students were simply paralysed by the fact that there is a war,\u201d she recalls. \u201cThey needed encouragement and logistical guidance. Some were stuck in basements without food or water. When their phones were charged and internet worked, I stayed in touch, assuring them that assistance is coming. God was in the middle of it all. He connected me with local pastors and representatives of international NGOs like the UN\u2019s International Organisation for Migration (IOM), to join forces in helping students evacuate. It was teamwork at its best.\u201d
\nFor those students, the initial ordeal is over. All were evacuated safely, and as Olena adds, \u201cmiraculously.\u201d One evacuee, named Clinton, says that his \u201cvery existence is a huge testimony. I have seen, and still see God working in my life. From the time the invasion started until now, God in his glory has made every passage smooth for me. He has showered me with his infinite love and protection, giving me the courage and strength to forge ahead.\u201d
\nThis doesn\u2019t mean that things have been easy. \u201cIt was a traumatic, lonely experience. I don\u2019t want to think about it.\u201d Clinton travelled for three days to the IOM office outside Kyiv, where they assisted him in getting to Poland. There, he has resumed his studies. \u201cPray for me, for divine protection, provision, and comfort,\u201d he asks. \u201cAnd above all, let me not depart from God’s presence. Because I understand that without him, I am empty.\u201d
\n\u201cOn 24 February everything had to stop. I never thought I would face war. All I did was stay inside and cry, until I no longer had words to tell God.\u201d
Audrey is from Tanga, Tanzania, where, for three years, she was a student with TAFES, the Tanzanian national movement. She had started a medical degree at Sumy State University, very close to the Russian border with Ukraine, when the war began.
\n\u201cI was looking for transport out of Sumy and communicating with Joan, a TAFES staff member. She linked me with Olena in Poland, who kept in touch with me throughout my journey from Sumy to Poltava, Lviv, Chop, Z\u00e1hony, Budapest, and, finally, to Tanzania. She always asked if I needed any support and made sure that I was safe.\u201d
\nWhile Olena could offer practical support, Audrey adds that \u201cTAFES were with me in prayer until I got to Poltava on 7 March. I saw miracles through it. All I can say is thank you CCX and TAFES. Stay faithful and believe our almighty God. I hope that through my testimony people will learn the goodness of our Lord.\u201d
\nNay, from the IFES Europe team, has played a significant role in coordinating the IFES response to this war, in Europe and beyond. \u201cWe’ve been amazed,\u201d she says, reflecting on how people have assisted with these efforts. Nay has also called on people to unite in prayer. \u201cWe started Whatsapp prayer groups in English and French, which have 1200 people from across the world committed to sustained prayer. We’ve run weekly Instagram Live interviews, and a monthly online prayer meeting. Supporters, staff, and students have given to the emergency funds \u2013 totalling around USD 300,000.\u201d
\nAs well as facilitating prayer support, Nay is coordinating pockets of hospitality across Europe. What began as informal arrangements for the friends of Ukrainian and Belarusian staff has developed into a wider, joint effort with Langham and UFM called Ukraine Connect. \u201cIt has been amazing to see how IFES has responded,\u201d she says. \u201cLike a family.\u201d
\nThe post In the midst of the darkness (Part Two) appeared first on IFES.
\n", "content_text": "The war in Ukraine has impacted the work of IFES on a number of levels. In this special two-part edition of Conexi\u00f3n, we share first-hand accounts of how, even in the midst of the darkness of war, God is working. Here you can read perspectives from IFES students, staff, and graduates in surrounding countries affected by the war, and the role the fellowship has played in providing support. You can read Part One, which features first-hand accounts from Ukraine and Russia, here.\n\n\n\nVera, Poland: \u2018God answers quickly and gives abundantly.\u2019 \n\n\n\nFor ChSA Poland staff worker Vera, the war in Ukraine initially presented her with a dilemma. When news of it came, she was attending a youth conference with some Belarusian students when the news came. One student left immediately to drive to the border and pick up friends. Vera wondered – should she also jump in the car and race down to Ukraine? \n\n\n\nAs it turned out, she didn\u2019t need to. As the coming months showed, God had different plans. Vera was born in Russia, but her family relocated to Canada when she was a child. Later, Vera served with InterVarsity Canada before moving to \u015awidnica, Poland. This background prepared her perfectly to make a difference in the crisis that unfolded after Ukraine\u2019s invasion. \n\n\n\nWhen Vera returned home to \u015awidnica from the conference, she was surprised to find Ukrainians already in her town. Using her Canadian connections, Vera and her husband Konrad began fundraising for refugee accommodation with their church. Generous friends gave over four times what Vera requested. Consequently, they were able to open seven rooms, with an overflow space housing 25-30 people in the church hostel. There was so much money left they even rented a seven-bedroom house, which is currently a haven for 15 people. \n\n\n\n\u201cThe way God provided finances was really amazing,\u201d says Vera. \u201cThe account would get close to zero, and then more funds would come from places we weren\u2019t expecting. Similarly, while we looked into renting small apartments, I prayed for the house that I envisioned \u2013 big and empty, with light and a garden. The next day, a house exactly like this became available. We prayed specific prayers, and God answered quickly and gave abundantly.\u201d \n\n\n\nAs she recounts her experience, Vera emphasises the mutually fulfilling relationships she has developed with these refugees. \u201cI\u2019m expecting a baby and many of them have given me presents, like baby clothes. Because I speak Russian, it\u2019s a friendly dynamic, not a \u2018we\u2019re helping you\u2019 dynamic. We\u2019re trying to start a little business on Etsy to create jobs.\u201d The contribution of refugees is also significant in other ways: \u201cIt\u2019s been incredible to see how the churches and youth groups have grown. It\u2019s a huge gift to the church in Poland to receive so many people with different experiences. As we give to them, so too we receive a lot from our Ukrainian brothers and sisters.\u201d \n\n\n\nThis has also been the story for ChSA. While they’ve sent two trucks of supplies to CCX and assisted with temporary residence applications. they also emphasise that the refugees from Ukraine and elsewhere are beginning something new. In Warsaw, there are many young men from Belarus who have escaped from the risk of conscription. There, a staff worker (himself from Belarus) has been meeting with Belarusian and Russian-speaking students \u2013 including non-Christian students. \n\n\n\n\u201cGod is using this horrible situation to begin something in Poland,\u201d explains Vera. \u201cSo, we need to remember why we\u2019re doing this. A lot of people have reached their limits and they\u2019re tired. Pray for people to come to Jesus. Pray for openness, and for vision to see the opportunities.\u201d \n\n\n\nAdelina, Romania: \u2018Meeting the Ukrainian people made me realise that the only solution is Jesus.\u2019 \n\n\n\nSuceava, the city where Adelina is a student, is in northern Romania, close to Ukraine\u2019s southern border. In the first week of the war, 42,000 refugees came to the city. Since then, over a million have entered Romania and, of these, around 85,000 have decided to stay. \u201cIt all began very suddenly,\u201d Adelina remembers. \u201cI wanted to help, but there was one big barrier. I didn\u2019t know Ukrainian, and they didn\u2019t know English or Romanian. What could I do? \n\n\n\n\u201cI struggled a lot. I saw everybody trying to give food and clothing. But I felt they weren\u2019t addressing the soul, the trauma people had been through.\u201d Adelina has met many people devastated by war: \u201ckids with no parents, single parents, and old people, with no hope and no direction.\u201d There is one encounter that stays with her. \u201cI met a lady who was really scared and in pain. I asked what I could do to help her. But she just looked at me with tears in her eyes and said \u2018unfortunately, there is nothing you can do to help me\u2019. My breathing stopped and I felt a pain in my chest. I felt powerless – everything felt pointless.\u201d \n\n\n\nAdelina\u2019s experience of the war has been defined by \u201cmoments of unrest, questioning, and feeling overwhelmed.\u201d But it has made other things more certain for her. \u201cMeeting the Ukrainian people and hearing their stories, I realise that the only solution for our lives is Jesus.\u201d \n\n\n\nThere have been occasions when the love and hope of Jesus shines through especially brightly. \u201cThere were some people who couldn\u2019t explain for themselves how we were able to do so much for them, how we could open our hearts and hands for them,\u201d Adelina says. \u201cI can define my experience with the word \u2018hope\u2019. When nothing makes sense, when it hurts, if God is our Father there is hope in his promises no matter the circumstances.\u201d \n\n\n\nIgors, Latvia: \u2018There is no space for atheism in Ukraine\u2019. \n\n\n\nIgors is Secretary of Staff and Team Development within IFES. Previously he was part of the IFES Europe team, and before that he was General Secretary of LKSB, the national student movement in Latvia. Since the war began, his primary involvement has been to support Ukrainian staff. However, with roughly 30,000 Ukrainian refugees in Latvia, Igors\u2019 wife, Nora, a LKSB board member, has had a significant role in coordinating help for these displaced people. In Riga, a group of churches have joined together as the Baltic Global Initiative. Working with a church in Chelm, Poland, near the Ukrainian border, they have coordinated deliveries, helped refugees get to Latvia, and connected them with local communities. Latvia is a relatively uncomplicated place for Ukrainians because the two nations share a Soviet heritage. Many older Latvians speak Russian and, in Riga, Ukrainian-language schools and kindergartens still operate. \n\n\n\nIn addition to his work at IFES, Igors is involved with the Baltic Pastoral Institute (BPI). From the outset of war, BPI students have been going to Ukraine. As Igors explains, they are eager to help because \u201cmany Latvians resonate with the experience of war from our own history.\u201d It\u2019s been powerful. One student said that he couldn\u2019t recall ever having a more vivid sense of God\u2019s presence. \u201cThe closer you go in the darkness, the stronger you feel God\u2019s presence. It\u2019s illogical.\u201d Similarly, a Ukrainian told Igors that \u201cthere\u2019s no more space in Ukraine for atheism. You need to believe in hell and heaven.\u201d \n\n\n\nIt\u2019s interesting, says Igors, \u201cbecause you wouldn\u2019t think that this would be the result. But if there\u2019s no judgement, it\u2019s hard to face the ongoing evil, and without heaven there\u2019s no hope. It\u2019s raised questions of good and evil. And I can almost see the whole nation going on this spiritual journey.\u201d \n\n\n\nHow can we pray? \u201cEverybody is tired,\u201d says Igors. \u201cFor Ukrainians as well, we all feel like marathon runners, facing another phase. Collectively, we need to redefine what we\u2019re fighting for. Pray for more strength.\u201d\n\n\n\nOlena and Clinton, Ukraine: \u2018miraculous delivery\u2019. \n\n\n\nOlena, the IFES Head of Global Resource Ministries, is from Kyiv. She helped evacuate international students during the first few weeks of the war. \u201cSome students were simply paralysed by the fact that there is a war,\u201d she recalls. \u201cThey needed encouragement and logistical guidance. Some were stuck in basements without food or water. When their phones were charged and internet worked, I stayed in touch, assuring them that assistance is coming. God was in the middle of it all. He connected me with local pastors and representatives of international NGOs like the UN\u2019s International Organisation for Migration (IOM), to join forces in helping students evacuate. It was teamwork at its best.\u201d \n\n\n\nFor those students, the initial ordeal is over. All were evacuated safely, and as Olena adds, \u201cmiraculously.\u201d One evacuee, named Clinton, says that his \u201cvery existence is a huge testimony. I have seen, and still see God working in my life. From the time the invasion started until now, God in his glory has made every passage smooth for me. He has showered me with his infinite love and protection, giving me the courage and strength to forge ahead.\u201d \n\n\n\nThis doesn\u2019t mean that things have been easy. \u201cIt was a traumatic, lonely experience. I don\u2019t want to think about it.\u201d Clinton travelled for three days to the IOM office outside Kyiv, where they assisted him in getting to Poland. There, he has resumed his studies. \u201cPray for me, for divine protection, provision, and comfort,\u201d he asks. \u201cAnd above all, let me not depart from God’s presence. Because I understand that without him, I am empty.\u201d \n\n\n\nAudrey: \u2018How God saved me out of Ukraine.\u2019 \n\n\n\n\u201cOn 24 February everything had to stop. I never thought I would face war. All I did was stay inside and cry, until I no longer had words to tell God.\u201d \n\n\n\nAudrey is from Tanga, Tanzania, where, for three years, she was a student with TAFES, the Tanzanian national movement. She had started a medical degree at Sumy State University, very close to the Russian border with Ukraine, when the war began. \n\n\n\n\u201cI was looking for transport out of Sumy and communicating with Joan, a TAFES staff member. She linked me with Olena in Poland, who kept in touch with me throughout my journey from Sumy to Poltava, Lviv, Chop, Z\u00e1hony, Budapest, and, finally, to Tanzania. She always asked if I needed any support and made sure that I was safe.\u201d \n\n\n\nWhile Olena could offer practical support, Audrey adds that \u201cTAFES were with me in prayer until I got to Poltava on 7 March. I saw miracles through it. All I can say is thank you CCX and TAFES. Stay faithful and believe our almighty God. I hope that through my testimony people will learn the goodness of our Lord.\u201d \n\n\n\nNay: Responding like a family \n\n\n\nNay, from the IFES Europe team, has played a significant role in coordinating the IFES response to this war, in Europe and beyond. \u201cWe’ve been amazed,\u201d she says, reflecting on how people have assisted with these efforts. Nay has also called on people to unite in prayer. \u201cWe started Whatsapp prayer groups in English and French, which have 1200 people from across the world committed to sustained prayer. We’ve run weekly Instagram Live interviews, and a monthly online prayer meeting. Supporters, staff, and students have given to the emergency funds \u2013 totalling around USD 300,000.\u201d \n\n\n\nAs well as facilitating prayer support, Nay is coordinating pockets of hospitality across Europe. What began as informal arrangements for the friends of Ukrainian and Belarusian staff has developed into a wider, joint effort with Langham and UFM called Ukraine Connect. \u201cIt has been amazing to see how IFES has responded,\u201d she says. \u201cLike a family.\u201d \nThe post In the midst of the darkness (Part Two) appeared first on IFES.", "date_published": "2022-08-04T04:01:00+01:00", "date_modified": "2022-08-22T12:25:04+01:00", "authors": [ { "name": "admin", "url": "https://ifesworld.org/en/author/admin/", "avatar": "https://ifesworld.org/wp-content/litespeed/avatar/3021a3e3433971d777b4933267a9b6db.jpg?ver=1760286604" } ], "author": { "name": "admin", "url": "https://ifesworld.org/en/author/admin/", "avatar": "https://ifesworld.org/wp-content/litespeed/avatar/3021a3e3433971d777b4933267a9b6db.jpg?ver=1760286604" }, "image": "https://ifesworld.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Anna-and-team.jpg" }, { "id": "https://ifesworld.org/?post_type=conexion&p=19298", "url": "https://ifesworld.org/en/blog/in-the-midst-of-the-darkness/", "title": "In the midst of the darkness", "content_html": "The war in Ukraine has impacted the work of IFES on a number of levels. In this special two-part edition of Conexi\u00f3n, we share first-hand accounts of how, even in the midst of the darkness of war, God is working.\u00a0 Read here the perspectives of IFES students, staff, and graduates from Ukraine as well as Russia.
\nThe second part of this post, available here, includes accounts of how the fellowship has responded more broadly to the impact of the war.\u00a0
\nAnna was a student in Kyiv before the war. Originally, she comes from Lysychansk, in the Donbas region. For months, that city was on the frontline, and the fighting was so fierce that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky pronounced it a \u201cdead city.\u201d Nonetheless, while everybody fled Lysychansk, Anna went back home to work with a small team from her church, helping those left behind.
\nThough Anna initially stayed in Lysychansk, providing basic care to those who needed it, at the beginning of April the fighting came close enough to destroy the buildings surrounding her church. The team changed their approach. Positioning themselves slightly further away, they have been driving into and out of Lysychansk, and have evacuated more than 600 people from the city.
\nOne evacuee, an elderly woman, attempted to end her own life several times before Anna\u2019s team finally reached her. After having the woman checked over in hospital, they found her a place to stay and shared the gospel with her.
\nThe team are working in very dangerous places. One day, on the journey into Lysychansk, they met an international journalist travelling by armoured vehicle in the same direction. On the return journey a few hours later, they discovered that he had been killed by shell fragments. On another occasion, the team had to hide from shelling under a bridge. Nonetheless, when it subsided, they got back in their van and continued towards Lysychansk.
\nAs Lysychansk is now under Russian occupation, the team can no longer access the city. Instead, they administer humanitarian aid in other places, while still navigating the danger and taking refuge from shelling when needed. \u201cEvery time God has provided for them,\u201d shares Marina, CCX staff who began mentoring Anna before the war. \u201cI was really worried about her. But when I shared my concerns, Anna said \u2018I\u2019m not afraid of anything. I know that if I die I\u2019ll be with Jesus. God has called me to do this, and this is the mission I should fulfil.\u2019\u201d
\nIt was 5am when Marina awoke to the explosions ringing through Kyiv. Her phone was full of messages from concerned friends, and the roads out of the city were already blocked with hundreds of cars. As she sat tensely with her family at breakfast, the query of her 12-year-old stepsister brought home the reality of their situation: \u201cam I going to die?\u201d
\n\u201cYes.\u201d Marina\u2019s reply was stark. Then she explained that \u201cwhether now, or many years in the future, what\u2019s important is whether you are saved.\u201d In that moment, through prayers and tears, Marina\u2019s sister accepted Jesus. Looking back, Marina can now recognise the seeds that God had sown. \u201cIn the previous month,\u201d she explains, \u201c[my sister] had been asking a lot about the Bible and life after death. God was definitely working in her life.\u201d Marina\u2019s sister has since been attending Discipleship Explored and helping with humanitarian work at church.
\nSince the war began, Marina has continued her work with CCX, the student movement in Ukraine. She meets remotely with groups from Kyiv, Cherkasy, and Mykolaiv \u2013 another city on the frontline. The students in these groups have been dispersed all over Europe. Beyond working to keep pre-war student communities strong, Marina is also helping to start a new group in a university in Kyiv, establishing friendships with around 20 students. Moreover, as part of a joint initiative with ChSA, the national movement in Poland, CCX Ukraine provided boxes of Easter gifts and gospel materials to university and high school students in Kyiv.
\nFar from home, Marina knew many Ukrainians were missing the opportunity to gather and worship in their own language. Forced to leave Kyiv back in February, Marina spent two months in Western Ukraine, before moving to Bucharest. She made a new, albeit temporary, home in an apartment belonging to IFES Europe staff member Heidi\u2014a home which included a piano. This meant Marina could arrange worship nights live on Instagram. She has since spoken to an audience of 13,000 youths, at the Christival conference in Germany, about her experience of God\u2019s work during the war.
\nMarina plans to return to Kyiv at the end of July to help prepare CCX students and staff for the new academic year. While she doesn\u2019t know whether another attack will come, her church back home is full of new people \u2013 over 100 newcomers each Sunday. There aren\u2019t enough Christians to help them all, and the church has run out of Bibles. As Marina explains, \u201cthey are mostly older people from Mariupol, Kharkiv, and Izum \u2013 those who have lost their jobs and homes. They have nothing. But they find hope when they come to church.
\n\u201cStudents have finished exams and now need clarity about whether to continue their studies at universities in Ukraine, or apply to European universities,\u201d explains Marina. \u201cPlease pray as well for renewed strength for CCX staff, many of whom have started new lives in other cities. Pray that God will provide for their needs and give them the strength to serve others.\u201d
\n\u201c\u2019How do you cope, Dmitri?\u2019
\n\u2018With prayer.\u2019
\n\u2018Does it work?\u2019 My colleague was incredulous.
\n\u2018Yes,\u2019 I replied.
\nAnd then we had to stop talking.\u201d
\nThe city where Dmitri lives is north of the Arctic Circle and quite remote. It was there that Dmitri participated in the Russian student movement at university, and there that he made his home afterward. Nonetheless, Dmitri has, since the outbreak of war, been trying to help people in Ukraine. He used his connections to find accommodation for a family from Mariupol and help them get to Norway. Twice a week, Dmitri also does translations as part of the Psalms for Ukraine project, work that is passed along to him by Kenny, a staff member at UCCF, the UK national movement. This project serves Ukrainians whose first language is Russian.
\nDmitri acknowledges that it is very hard to discuss the war in Russia. \u201cI don\u2019t have many friends with whom I can talk about such things. People just say that it\u2019s complicated, or that we don\u2019t have enough information, to excuse themselves from making a judgement. Lots of people are hiding their heads in the sand.\u201d
\nUnfortunately, this malaise applies to Christians too. \u201cWhile local churches spoke about justice and equality at first, they are now unwilling to speak publicly,\u201d explains Dmitri. \u201cBeing a Protestant in Russia was dangerous before, and now even more so. And at the same time, I have Christian friends in Crimea who view the war completely differently. It\u2019s very difficult.\u201d
\nAs this new reality settles in, Dmitri asks us to pray against \u201cwar fatigue.\u201d \u201cWe need spiritual stamina to keep praying. At some point you feel like you\u2019ve run out of words. Pray also for the healing of both nations. No matter how the war ends, we will eventually have to look each other in the eye. Most of all, pray that believers would stay active, be salt and light, sharing hope, even when it feels like there is none.\u201d
\nNext week we will publish more perspectives from those impacted from the surrounding countries, as well as expanding on the role IFES has played in supporting students and staff who have been affected.
\n*Identities have been protected for security reasons.
\nThe post In the midst of the darkness appeared first on IFES.
\n", "content_text": "The war in Ukraine has impacted the work of IFES on a number of levels. In this special two-part edition of Conexi\u00f3n, we share first-hand accounts of how, even in the midst of the darkness of war, God is working.\u00a0 Read here the perspectives of IFES students, staff, and graduates from Ukraine as well as Russia. \n\n\n\nThe second part of this post, available here, includes accounts of how the fellowship has responded more broadly to the impact of the war.\u00a0\n\n\n\nAnna: \u201cI\u2019m not afraid to die\u201d \n\n\n\nAnna was a student in Kyiv before the war. Originally, she comes from Lysychansk, in the Donbas region. For months, that city was on the frontline, and the fighting was so fierce that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky pronounced it a \u201cdead city.\u201d Nonetheless, while everybody fled Lysychansk, Anna went back home to work with a small team from her church, helping those left behind. \n\n\n\nThough Anna initially stayed in Lysychansk, providing basic care to those who needed it, at the beginning of April the fighting came close enough to destroy the buildings surrounding her church. The team changed their approach. Positioning themselves slightly further away, they have been driving into and out of Lysychansk, and have evacuated more than 600 people from the city. \n\n\n\nOne evacuee, an elderly woman, attempted to end her own life several times before Anna\u2019s team finally reached her. After having the woman checked over in hospital, they found her a place to stay and shared the gospel with her. \n\n\n\nThe team are working in very dangerous places. One day, on the journey into Lysychansk, they met an international journalist travelling by armoured vehicle in the same direction. On the return journey a few hours later, they discovered that he had been killed by shell fragments. On another occasion, the team had to hide from shelling under a bridge. Nonetheless, when it subsided, they got back in their van and continued towards Lysychansk. \n\n\n\nAs Lysychansk is now under Russian occupation, the team can no longer access the city. Instead, they administer humanitarian aid in other places, while still navigating the danger and taking refuge from shelling when needed. \u201cEvery time God has provided for them,\u201d shares Marina, CCX staff who began mentoring Anna before the war. \u201cI was really worried about her. But when I shared my concerns, Anna said \u2018I\u2019m not afraid of anything. I know that if I die I\u2019ll be with Jesus. God has called me to do this, and this is the mission I should fulfil.\u2019\u201d \n\n\n\nMarina: \u201cGod is working\u201d \n\n\n\nIt was 5am when Marina awoke to the explosions ringing through Kyiv. Her phone was full of messages from concerned friends, and the roads out of the city were already blocked with hundreds of cars. As she sat tensely with her family at breakfast, the query of her 12-year-old stepsister brought home the reality of their situation: \u201cam I going to die?\u201d \n\n\n\n\u201cYes.\u201d Marina\u2019s reply was stark. Then she explained that \u201cwhether now, or many years in the future, what\u2019s important is whether you are saved.\u201d In that moment, through prayers and tears, Marina\u2019s sister accepted Jesus. Looking back, Marina can now recognise the seeds that God had sown. \u201cIn the previous month,\u201d she explains, \u201c[my sister] had been asking a lot about the Bible and life after death. God was definitely working in her life.\u201d Marina\u2019s sister has since been attending Discipleship Explored and helping with humanitarian work at church. \n\n\n\nSince the war began, Marina has continued her work with CCX, the student movement in Ukraine. She meets remotely with groups from Kyiv, Cherkasy, and Mykolaiv \u2013 another city on the frontline. The students in these groups have been dispersed all over Europe. Beyond working to keep pre-war student communities strong, Marina is also helping to start a new group in a university in Kyiv, establishing friendships with around 20 students. Moreover, as part of a joint initiative with ChSA, the national movement in Poland, CCX Ukraine provided boxes of Easter gifts and gospel materials to university and high school students in Kyiv. \n\n\n\nFar from home, Marina knew many Ukrainians were missing the opportunity to gather and worship in their own language. Forced to leave Kyiv back in February, Marina spent two months in Western Ukraine, before moving to Bucharest. She made a new, albeit temporary, home in an apartment belonging to IFES Europe staff member Heidi\u2014a home which included a piano. This meant Marina could arrange worship nights live on Instagram. She has since spoken to an audience of 13,000 youths, at the Christival conference in Germany, about her experience of God\u2019s work during the war. \n\n\n\nMarina plans to return to Kyiv at the end of July to help prepare CCX students and staff for the new academic year. While she doesn\u2019t know whether another attack will come, her church back home is full of new people \u2013 over 100 newcomers each Sunday. There aren\u2019t enough Christians to help them all, and the church has run out of Bibles. As Marina explains, \u201cthey are mostly older people from Mariupol, Kharkiv, and Izum \u2013 those who have lost their jobs and homes. They have nothing. But they find hope when they come to church. \n\n\n\n\u201cStudents have finished exams and now need clarity about whether to continue their studies at universities in Ukraine, or apply to European universities,\u201d explains Marina. \u201cPlease pray as well for renewed strength for CCX staff, many of whom have started new lives in other cities. Pray that God will provide for their needs and give them the strength to serve others.\u201d \n\n\n\nDmitri*: \u201cThere is something more universal than politics\u201d \n\n\n\n\u201c\u2019How do you cope, Dmitri?\u2019 \n\n\n\n\u2018With prayer.\u2019 \n\n\n\n\u2018Does it work?\u2019 My colleague was incredulous. \n\n\n\n\u2018Yes,\u2019 I replied. \n\n\n\nAnd then we had to stop talking.\u201d \n\n\n\nThe city where Dmitri lives is north of the Arctic Circle and quite remote. It was there that Dmitri participated in the Russian student movement at university, and there that he made his home afterward. Nonetheless, Dmitri has, since the outbreak of war, been trying to help people in Ukraine. He used his connections to find accommodation for a family from Mariupol and help them get to Norway. Twice a week, Dmitri also does translations as part of the Psalms for Ukraine project, work that is passed along to him by Kenny, a staff member at UCCF, the UK national movement. This project serves Ukrainians whose first language is Russian. \n\n\n\nDmitri acknowledges that it is very hard to discuss the war in Russia. \u201cI don\u2019t have many friends with whom I can talk about such things. People just say that it\u2019s complicated, or that we don\u2019t have enough information, to excuse themselves from making a judgement. Lots of people are hiding their heads in the sand.\u201d \n\n\n\nUnfortunately, this malaise applies to Christians too. \u201cWhile local churches spoke about justice and equality at first, they are now unwilling to speak publicly,\u201d explains Dmitri. \u201cBeing a Protestant in Russia was dangerous before, and now even more so. And at the same time, I have Christian friends in Crimea who view the war completely differently. It\u2019s very difficult.\u201d \n\n\n\nAs this new reality settles in, Dmitri asks us to pray against \u201cwar fatigue.\u201d \u201cWe need spiritual stamina to keep praying. At some point you feel like you\u2019ve run out of words. Pray also for the healing of both nations. No matter how the war ends, we will eventually have to look each other in the eye. Most of all, pray that believers would stay active, be salt and light, sharing hope, even when it feels like there is none.\u201d \n\n\n\nNext week we will publish more perspectives from those impacted from the surrounding countries, as well as expanding on the role IFES has played in supporting students and staff who have been affected. \n\n\n\n*Identities have been protected for security reasons. \nThe post In the midst of the darkness appeared first on IFES.", "date_published": "2022-07-28T06:22:00+01:00", "date_modified": "2022-08-16T10:57:19+01:00", "authors": [ { "name": "admin", "url": "https://ifesworld.org/en/author/admin/", "avatar": "https://ifesworld.org/wp-content/litespeed/avatar/3021a3e3433971d777b4933267a9b6db.jpg?ver=1760286604" } ], "author": { "name": "admin", "url": "https://ifesworld.org/en/author/admin/", "avatar": "https://ifesworld.org/wp-content/litespeed/avatar/3021a3e3433971d777b4933267a9b6db.jpg?ver=1760286604" }, "image": "https://ifesworld.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/War-2.jpg" }, { "id": "https://ifesworld.org/?post_type=prayerline&p=18776", "url": "https://ifesworld.org/en/prayerline/proclaiming-christs-name-in-war/", "title": "PROCLAIMING CHRIST\u2019S NAME IN WAR", "content_html": "For this edition of Prayerline, we want to tell the story of a country in the Eurasia region. Despite continued turbulence over the last few years, and most significantly from the war in Ukraine, student ministry has continued. It hasn\u2019t been easy; because of the fear that men will be mobilised against Ukraine, many people are leaving the country. This means that around half the national movement staff are gone. One staff worker writes that \u2018people are covered with fear, hopelessness and despair. Our economy is collapsing, people are losing their jobs and prices are steeply increased.
\n\u2018I wasn\u2019t sure whether I should leave as well. But the students haven\u2019t left. They continue to attend our Bible studies, so I decided to stay.\u2019 While the national movement was advised to cancel the four mission weeks planned, the students and remaining staff were still eager to proclaim the gospel in this desperate time. So, \u2018we rushed to restart our planning process\u2019, for two missions in two different cities.
\nDomestic and international students joined forces alongside students from other cities who came to help. One of the mission weeks went ahead even with new student leaders and a new staff worker, who were brought close together as a team. The inspiration and fervour of the students in these two cities is spreading across campuses throughout the country. Students who no longer have a staff worker were inspired to hold their own mini missions, one of which has already taken place.
\nAccording to one staff worker, \u2018those left here have been feeling lost and lonely, but it is so encouraging to know we are not alone, because students and staff have been travelling across multiple cities for the three missions. We have become more united, and the gospel is more precious to us. In one city, 13 students wrote in our feedback forms that they had prayed a prayer of repentance! Twenty-seven students came to the first follow-up Bible study. One student had found us on Instagram because she was searching for events related to a meditation podcast \u2013 which happened to have the same name as our event. So instead of a seminar on meditation, she came to our event, which was about suffering, stayed until the end and came for food with the student team. She is now meeting with a student leader for coffee and Bible study.\u2019
\nThe act of uniting together to proclaim the gospel to a lost world in dark days was a glimmer of resurrection hope. In fact, resurrection was at the forefront of the students\u2019 minds. A provocative tagline, used to invite fellow students to a Bible study, read: \u2018we will be resurrected, but you will not\u2019. And God has given grace upon grace, not only to those who received Jesus for the first time, but to the student leaders themselves. \u2018These three days saved me from depression\u2019, one student said; \u2018I felt so much joy during our mission week.\u2019
\nPray with us for students in this country:
\nThe post PROCLAIMING CHRIST\u2019S NAME IN WAR appeared first on IFES.
\n", "content_text": "For this edition of Prayerline, we want to tell the story of a country in the Eurasia region. Despite continued turbulence over the last few years, and most significantly from the war in Ukraine, student ministry has continued. It hasn\u2019t been easy; because of the fear that men will be mobilised against Ukraine, many people are leaving the country. This means that around half the national movement staff are gone. One staff worker writes that \u2018people are covered with fear, hopelessness and despair. Our economy is collapsing, people are losing their jobs and prices are steeply increased.\n\n\n\n\u2018I wasn\u2019t sure whether I should leave as well. But the students haven\u2019t left. They continue to attend our Bible studies, so I decided to stay.\u2019 While the national movement was advised to cancel the four mission weeks planned, the students and remaining staff were still eager to proclaim the gospel in this desperate time. So, \u2018we rushed to restart our planning process\u2019, for two missions in two different cities.\n\n\n\nDomestic and international students joined forces alongside students from other cities who came to help. One of the mission weeks went ahead even with new student leaders and a new staff worker, who were brought close together as a team. The inspiration and fervour of the students in these two cities is spreading across campuses throughout the country. Students who no longer have a staff worker were inspired to hold their own mini missions, one of which has already taken place.\n\n\n\nAccording to one staff worker, \u2018those left here have been feeling lost and lonely, but it is so encouraging to know we are not alone, because students and staff have been travelling across multiple cities for the three missions. We have become more united, and the gospel is more precious to us. In one city, 13 students wrote in our feedback forms that they had prayed a prayer of repentance! Twenty-seven students came to the first follow-up Bible study. One student had found us on Instagram because she was searching for events related to a meditation podcast \u2013 which happened to have the same name as our event. So instead of a seminar on meditation, she came to our event, which was about suffering, stayed until the end and came for food with the student team. She is now meeting with a student leader for coffee and Bible study.\u2019\n\n\n\nThe act of uniting together to proclaim the gospel to a lost world in dark days was a glimmer of resurrection hope. In fact, resurrection was at the forefront of the students\u2019 minds. A provocative tagline, used to invite fellow students to a Bible study, read: \u2018we will be resurrected, but you will not\u2019. And God has given grace upon grace, not only to those who received Jesus for the first time, but to the student leaders themselves. \u2018These three days saved me from depression\u2019, one student said; \u2018I felt so much joy during our mission week.\u2019\n\n\n\nPray with us for students in this country:\n\n\n\nThank God that due to the unity and courage of students and staff, the gospel is being proclaimed and people are coming to Christ.Pray that God would provide new staff workers to continue the ministry of those who have left the country, and pray for the continuing ministry in uncertain times. Pray for wisdom to minister well to students who have difficult questions about God in the wake of the war.Pray for non-Christian international students who have just returned from a Bible study retreat, and for summer evangelistic camps that are currently being planned. Pray that students would respond to the call of Christ.\nThe post PROCLAIMING CHRIST\u2019S NAME IN WAR appeared first on IFES.", "date_published": "2022-05-10T06:31:00+01:00", "date_modified": "2022-05-17T10:01:37+01:00", "authors": [ { "name": "admin", "url": "https://ifesworld.org/en/author/admin/", "avatar": "https://ifesworld.org/wp-content/litespeed/avatar/3021a3e3433971d777b4933267a9b6db.jpg?ver=1760286604" } ], "author": { "name": "admin", "url": "https://ifesworld.org/en/author/admin/", "avatar": "https://ifesworld.org/wp-content/litespeed/avatar/3021a3e3433971d777b4933267a9b6db.jpg?ver=1760286604" }, "image": "https://ifesworld.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Eurasia-Belarus-scaled.jpg" } ] }