Back

February 23, 2023

One Year of War

For 365 days, Ukraine has been on the center stage of history. This has been a year of unprecedented hardship for our Josiah Venture Ukraine team serving God in the midst of a full-scale war. Yet for such as time as this, our team has been living out God’s great story. Some people pity us; others fear for us! Some people question our willingness to stay; others are a little envious of such a calling! Regardless of how you might view the situation, join me in reflecting on the living hope of Jesus that has sustained us as we approach the one-year commemoration of the attacks of February 24, 2022.

Three key observations come to mind as I attempt to summarize quite possibly the hardest year of our lives: War has changed us for good. The Scriptures come alive in suffering. God is on the move.

1. War has changed us for good

Our team in Ukraine is made up of 25 full-time staff who have all been changed by this tragedy. People have asked us, “how has this war changed you?” and we honestly answer that no segment of our lives remains untouched by 365 days of war. Yet somehow, by the grace of God, we can declare that the positive changes outweigh the negative. For example:

  • Our souls are deeper, leading to new depths of relationships and Gospel conversations everywhere. When you stop counting on tomorrow, your todays become richer and more significant.
  • We are more compassionate with those we encounter because every person you meet is carrying a heavy burden.
  • We catch ourselves in the middle of complaining and quickly repent. Any instability or discomfort I may feel at the moment doesn’t compare to what people in Eastern and Southern Ukraine are experiencing. We choose gratitude that we have a roof over our heads and can still minister in this beloved land.
  • We are strangely comfortable with danger because the Lord has proven to be our physical shield and refuge. These are no longer abstract concepts.
  • We are more anchored in Jesus Christ as our suffering servant. As we console others and ourselves, we resonate with his ultimate suffering that led to victory over sin and death.
  • Our faith has been severely tested by the fire of 1 Peter 1, and by His grace, we are still standing. The Church is still standing. Our purpose and mission are alive.

2. The Scriptures come alive on the path of suffering

A unique result of the past year is that the Josiah Venture Ukraine team has had little choice but to read the Bible through a lens of war and suffering. In doing this, we experience fresh Biblical truth maybe never experienced before in Christian life.  For example, my heart soars with:

  • every gut-wrenching Psalm
  • every woe of Job and every firm answer from God
  • every contrast of the wise man and the foolish man from the Proverbs
  • every run-in with Pharaoh and every conversation with a foreign king
  • every battle scene for the Promised Land and every supernatural miracle in Israel’s wars
  • every wall rebuilt in the tumultuous history of Jerusalem
  • every comforting word of Jesus
  • every thousand that were added to the church in the face of persecution
  • every promise of Revelation that fast-forwards us to final victory

I believe we identify with the story of God so deeply because the Bible is the ultimate drama of good versus evil. We see ourselves in this adventure every single day as we teach at youth group in the dark, as we head to the bomb shelters during leadership training conferences, as we text one another when rockets fly over the nation, as we share generators through winter power outages, as we preach the constant message that today is the day of salvation, and as we spur one another on to be messengers of hope, even when we catch ourselves growing weary of doing good. The Scripture has genuinely come alive as our story too.

3. God is on the move, especially in Europe

As scriptures come alive through the path of suffering, every Bible verse has potential new significance. Take, for example, the introduction to Peter’s epistle. While this is a greeting that may get skimmed over by some, to those who feel like “elect exiles of the Dispersion” or for those of us working with such people, we pause and take keen notice.

To those who are elect exiles of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood: May peace be multiplied to you. 1 Peter 1:1-2

8 million Ukrainians are refugees outside of Ukraine’s borders, with 5 million of them in Europe. Several million more are internally displaced inside Ukraine. Tens of thousands of Ukrainians have been mobilized in the military. Looking at the situation with spiritual eyes, we take note of this supernatural dispersion of Ukrainian believers. According to the foreknowledge of God the good Father, we have been elected for this unsolicited migration. We did not choose this dispersion, but God is using it to draw many to himself. The Ukrainian refugee crisis has woken up the European Church to serve the hurting. The Ukrainian Church is exploding across Europe. The Church inside Ukraine is more unified than ever before. This war is destroying pretenses against Protestant believers (a consequence of Communist ideology). The Gospel is going forth in places of power, like in the presidency and in city halls. We get daily reports of souls being saved because the Church is living out its calling like never before.

God knew this was going to be a long battle ahead for our team and our nation. This is what Peter is referring to as the “sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ.” God foreknew that it would not end in a few weeks like we naively hoped at the beginning. We have all been washed in humility; we have had to surrender many hopes and dreams of what could have been. We confess that it is not our will but his that is being done.

People ask why God hasn’t stopped the war yet, and “what will it finally take to stop this war?” Those are questions no human has the answers to. Only a supernatural intervention from the hand of a miracle-working God can stop the plans of a seething enemy who knows his days are numbered. God has not stopped this war for reasons we cannot fathom. He sees a future that we cannot see, and he understands the importance of eternity more than we can. He sees every person who has surrendered his or her life to Jesus as a result of this conflict. This war has not changed God. He remains worthy to be trusted, even when we are not getting our hearts’ desires.

So in the meantime, we live between the date of our upheaval, February 24, 2022, and some unknown future date when God will change the tides, just like the first church of the Dispersion. In the beginning of a letter about hope in suffering, Peter’s first wish for those scattered was that “peace may be multiplied to you.” The Lord’s peace has been multiplied to the Josiah Venture Ukraine team. We are elect. We are being sanctified. We are trying to be obedient. And the presence of God the Father, the Spirit, and Jesus Christ is with us as we face day 366 and whatever else is to come.

Listen to a national reflecting on the war in Ukraine

Kristy Williams

Related Posts

Read Story

Events, Stories

You’re Not Alone in the Battle

When you’re used to leading, serving, and pouring into others, what happens when you suddenly can’t? What happens when the person who normally encourages everyone else wakes up and realizes she has nothing left to give? That’s where I found myself last year. I’m naturally a driven person. I love to see progress—to watch people grow, ministries flourish, and God’s work move forward. But last year, right before a major conference I had been preparing for—a mental health summit for nearly 700 youth leaders and church leaders—everything stopped. I got sick, and my normal pace of life vanished overnight. Suddenly, I couldn’t do what I thought I had to do. At first, I tried to stay positive, to find purpose in the pause. I told myself God was teaching me patience, humility, or to delegate better. But underneath those thoughts, a more dangerous narrative started to form: “God is disappointed in you.” “You’re not strong enough.” “You’re failing as a leader.” “Maybe God is holding back because you don’t deserve his help.” Those are the kinds of lies that can take root quietly—and quickly. It’s the same old whisper the enemy used in the Garden: “Did God really say…?” (Genesis 3:1). The serpent’s goal was never just to tempt Eve; it was to make her question God’s heart. And he still uses that same strategy today. He wants us to believe that God is distant, that we’re alone, unseen, and unloved. I’ve seen this pattern not only in my life, but in the lives of so many young people and leaders I’ve walked with. The moment things get hard—disappointment, exhaustion, relational conflict, failure—the enemy twists the truth. He tells us we’re forgotten, that our prayers don’t matter, and that no one really understands. And slowly, we start to isolate ourselves. But isolation is one of his most effective weapons. Once we withdraw, our vision blurs. We stop hearing the truth clearly. We start interpreting everything through the lens of fear, shame, and self-pity. Even Scripture is full of people who felt this same ache. David cried, “Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted” (Psalm 25:16). Elijah, after a great victory, ran into the wilderness and said, “I have had enough, Lord” (1 Kings 19:4). Job sat surrounded by friends who misunderstood him. And even Jesus—our Savior—experienced complete abandonment in Gethsemane and on the cross. Loneliness and lies are not new, but neither is God’s response to them. In my own season of weakness, when I couldn’t find the strength to pray, others prayed for me. When I felt unseen, people showed up with meals, with text messages, and with quiet presence. Even my unbelieving neighbors said, “We think someone up there cares about you.” That was God reminding me: You are not forgotten. You are not alone. The truth is, the Body of Christ was never meant to function in isolation. Strength in God’s kingdom doesn’t mean independence—it means connection. It means letting others carry you when you can’t walk and trusting that God is at work even when you can’t see progress. This experience also helped me recognize a pattern: the enemy always attacks identity and connection first. He wants to disconnect us from God’s truth and from God’s people. But the way we stand firm is by returning to both. When I start to spiral now—when I believe I have to prove my worth or carry everything alone—I stop and remind myself of what’s true. I reach out to trusted friends and ask for prayer. I ground myself in simple spiritual and physical practices that bring me back to reality: breathing deeply, reading a psalm, or stepping outside to notice beauty. These small moments become declarations of faith. Romans 11:33-36 says, “Oh, how great are God’s riches and wisdom and knowledge! How impossible it is for us to understand his decisions and his ways!” That verse anchors me. I don’t have to understand everything; I just have to trust the one who does. Maybe you’re in a similar place right now. Or maybe you’re walking with young people who feel lost, invisible, or stuck in lies about who they are. The battle is real, but so is our victory in Christ. So, here’s my invitation to you: Would you take a moment to pray—for yourself, for your friends, and for the next generation—that we would recognize the lies of isolation, stand firm in truth, and live connected as the Body of Christ? You’re not alone in the battle. And neither are they.
Read Story

Missionary Kids, Stories

Heroes of Faith

Dear Friends, Faith has an unexpected ripple effect. In October of 1955, a 27-year-old woman named Margaret Olsen boarded a Norwegian freighter bound for the Philippines. While a grad student at Bible college, she heard a young missionary named Dick speak about his ministry to the military. Over the next couple of years, she saw him again at a few conferences and was later invited to visit him, along with her mom, for a week as his ship was delayed. He was moving to Subic Bay, Philippines, to establish a ministry to U.S. sailors stationed there after the war. After this brief time together, they continued to communicate through letters, and then a tape came in the mail with a marriage proposal. After prayer and counsel, Margaret accepted, and now she was on her way to marry him. It was a huge step of faith. Her future husband was far away, and so much was unknown. Before leaving, she had managed to gather just $150 in monthly support and donations of supplies for the new servicemen’s center Dick had opened. Standing with her dad and nephew beside the ship, she clutched a portable Singer sewing machine that provided her passage. It was an unusual ticket, but the captain of the ship had agreed to take on one more passenger if she would work her way across the ocean, mending uniforms, bedding, and flags, washing dishes, and scrubbing floors. Before this bold change of direction, she worked a steady job as a registered nurse. But when she gave her life to Christ at the age of 12, Margaret decided that following Jesus wherever he led was worth more than safety, stability, or a career. Now she headed into challenge and uncertainty, anchored only by the promises of God. Two weeks after they were married, she was learning to cook as she fed 60 hungry Sailors who gathered in their home for food and Bible study. It was more difficult than she imagined, yet her steady faith enabled her to view the challenges of long hours of work, heat, and an unfamiliar culture through the lens of God’s sovereignty and loving care. Six years later, I was born in the Philippines, the second child of Dick and Margaret Patty. Throughout my early years as a child, I was surrounded by fruitful ministry to the military. Then, our family moved to Denver as my dad became the director of the mission. In each of these places, daily examples of a life of faith filled our home. Courage, trust, thankfulness, sacrifice, and investment in the lives of others were consistently demonstrated through small acts of kindness and large steps of obedience. A year ago this month, my mom graduated to Glory at the age of 96, preceded just three years earlier by my dad. As I reflect on her passing, I think of the 27-year-old holding a sewing machine as she boarded a ship, confident in the future because she trusted in Jesus. And I realize that Josiah Venture would not exist today if it were not for that young woman’s example of faith. Many of you are also quiet heroes. What unexpected impact is rippling out of your steps of faith? Grateful for each of you, Dave Patty President, Josiah Venture
Read Story

Internship, Stories

“Yes” to God’s Calling

This summer, 40 of us—including myself—became summer missionaries in Central and Eastern Europe. Pretty amazing, right? Each of us said “yes” to God’s call to serve. I am from Ukraine, and for the past three years, I’ve been living, working, and serving in the Czech Republic, in the city of Ústí nad Labem. This year, I’m serving as a Josiah Venture intern. Before the internship began, I was really nervous. I kept wondering how I would communicate with Americans and people from other European countries—it’s a whole mix of different cultures. About a week before departure, I kept telling myself, “Nika, why are you doing this? Wouldn’t it be better to just keep working at your coffee shop and enjoy the summer in your hometown?” I was afraid that maybe this internship wasn’t what God wanted from me, but I was so wrong. As soon as intern training started and I met so many young people with the same heart as mine —to serve youth and follow the same God—I didn’t feel invisible or alone anymore. It was a priceless feeling to worship God together, study His Word, listen to powerful testimonies, and be inspired by how beautiful our Lord truly is. For a long time, I struggled with the thought: “Why did God choose me for this mission?” I was overwhelmed by doubts. I wondered if I was wise enough, interesting enough, outgoing enough, spiritual enough, etc. My thoughts were full of me, me, me. But during intern training, I received a word from God: “Nika, this isn’t about you. It’s about what I want to do through you and how I want to show my power through your life.” God doesn’t look at how “cool” we are or how many Bible verses we can recite. He looks at hearts that are ready to serve him. Among the interns at training, there was one more Ukrainian —Emily. This summer, she is serving with the Fusion International team. It was such a comforting feeling to know I wasn’t the only one from my home country. One of the most powerful moments for me was when the intern teams gathered to pray for and bless one another for the summer ahead. Sadly, due to the war in Ukraine, the Ukrainian intern team couldn’t join us in person. So when it came time to pray for Ukraine, Emily and I stepped into the center of the circle. Everyone began to pray for us, for Ukraine, for the ongoing war. At that moment, I was overwhelmed with emotion. I cried tears of gratitude to God for the unity of his people, for the deep sense that we are not alone in this war. It was a family moment. It was a moment that reminded me again that Christians are not just people who believe in the same God, but are a true family. They’re a family that walks through both joy and pain together—a family that supports and prays for one another. Would you join me in praying for a generation that cries together, rejoices together, and says “yes” to God’s call to serve youth, right where we are?