a nearby university. It’ s an excellent way for students to get their minds off the war while improving their English. One student was encouraged when discussing Jesus’ admonition not to worry from Matthew 6. With tears, she shared that it’ s a heavy topic but especially relevant considering the war. Another young woman asked to stay for two consecutive club meetings one day. We watched her mood shift from grumpy to light-hearted in an hour.
OMS missionary Debbie Nelson teaches business English classes and sees how studying and interacting with others has given her students a sense of normalcy and an opportunity to pursue goals despite the war. Last November, her classes began putting expressions of gratitude into a jar. After a month, they opened the jar and read the slips. The students were encouraged to see the many things they were grateful for and said that focusing on gratitude gave them hope.
Our teams also offer small group Bible studies and a variety of discipleship meetings. In a recent meeting, a young man expressed his worries about the war while sharing his parenting struggles. After receiving encouragement from others, he expressed his hope.
A young woman who evacuated to Italy after the invasion shared how her weekly Zoom meetings with OMS missionary
Shelley Marshall and another friend to discuss the Bible have inspired and encouraged her. She said many of her other meetings left her drained, but this one always leaves her energized.
Our OMS teams in Kyiv, the central city of Zhytomyr, and the western city of Lviv are privileged to carry Jesus’ light and hope into difficult situations. It’ s not easy, and at times, discouragement threatens to overwhelm us. But we are grateful that Jesus is never overwhelmed, and he keeps us going. Thank you for your prayers that his light will continue to push back the darkness of discouragement in the lives of those we interact with daily, bringing them hope.
photos, page 14-15: English clubs, Bible Studies, discipleship groups, and encouraging Zoom calls are all ministries that bring hope in challenging times.
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