Tomasz & Miriam Chmiel

Hannah, Kristina, Lydia and David

Tomasz first visited Ukraine in summer 2004. After that, he had a burning desire to go back and invest in the youth of Ukraine. Tomasz and Miriam were married in 2005, Tomasz finished his seminary internship in 2006, and the Chmiels moved to Ukraine in 2007. Tomasz's passion is to invest into local church, support Ukrainian churches and also to encourage and equip young leaders in Central and Eastern Europe to be involved in missions. Tomasz and Miriam joined Josiah Venture in 2010. The Chmiels have an interesting multicultural background. Both Tomasz and Miriam come from the Czech Republic, where Tomasz grew up in a Polish family. The two of them met in Minnesota and were married in Wisconsin. While in Minnesota, Tomasz obtained his Master of Divinity degree from the Association Free Lutheran Seminary in Minneapolis. Tomasz and Miriam, along with their four children, live in Lviv, a city in western Ukraine. Tomasz and Miriam focus on the ministry of European camps and they are also involved in family ministry in Lviv (investing both in teens and their other family members, praying for healthy families and churches). At the beginning of the war the Chmiels served across the border in humanitarian aid and refugee assistance using their unique language skills (being able to communicate in Ukrainian, English, Czech, Polish and Slovak). In the summer, despite the war, the Chmiels were able to spend time in Ukraine and help organize two European Camps. From September 2022 all family will be back in Lviv, back to life, ministry and school in Ukraine.