Ministry in Poland

The following is a testimony of Olha Shumkova, UETS librarian and refugee, about how God has been using her at the wartime:

When the war broke out, I was on the UETS campus. During shelling, I was hiding together with other staff, faculty and students in a basement. In a week or so, as soon as we got a chance, we evacuated to Western Ukraine. Later, my friend from Poland invited me to come over and stay with her.

When I arrived to a town of Polkowice in Poland, I immediately went to the New Life Church, where I got acquainted with the pastor and ministry leaders. I learned from them that there were many Ukrainian refugees in their town, mostly non-believers, who needed assistance.

For some time, while I was looking for a place to live, I was staying with Polish ministers. Though it was for the first time when I heard Polish, due to my non-stop communication with their family I realized how similar Ukrainian and Polish are. So, my friends were learning Ukrainian and I was learning Polish. As a result, in several weeks, I began to understand the new language quite well. Today, these lingual skills help me a lot in the ministry I am involved in.

Frankly speaking, I have not felt myself so needed as I do today for a long time. I receive information about people who need help, meet them, learn about their current needs… Then we process this information with church representatives, buy and distribute the necessities. Also, we help refugees with paperwork.

As it turned out, there are many new children at the church today… Mostly, these are children from Ukrainian families who have found refuge in this Polish community. So, together with a local girl, we began to conduct classes for them in the Sunday School format. This is another ministry in which I can use my skills of working with kids, doing crafts and speaking a new foreign language.

I am thankful to God for everyone I have met at the church, their sacrificial hearts which allocate their time to serve the refugees with everything they can! I am also grateful to God that I can be useful for my fellow countrymen, that here, under such circumstances, Ukrainian children can hear about God and their parents see Him through the ministry of this amazing congregation to them.

Despite all challenges in connection with the ongoing horrendous war in Ukraine, I am happy that I am able to help my new Polish friends and be involved in a new kind of ministry for God’s glory!