Reaching 'The One' with the Gospel

“I’ll never have anything to do with any sort of Bible study!” She spoke defiantly, her chin jutting out, her eyes fierce. Seventy-two years old, Tetiana hadn’t gone soft with age. She was confident, outspoken, and clearly used to taking the lead. A product of Russian communism, she was also a staunch atheist. A refugee from the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, Tetiana arrived in Hungary on March 4, 2022, day nine of the war. Her city was so close to the Russian border that residents had little to no warning of incoming bombs.

Tetiana and five other women had been attending emotional health support groups led by Olya Syniuk and Tanya Blynova, two displaced Ukrainian women who were part of a team of missionaries reaching out to Ukrainian refugees all over the country of Hungary. By that point, Bridge UA, a Calvary Chapel ministry to war-affected Ukrainians, had been visiting refugees in Tetiana’s city for over a year. The refugees trusted the Bridge UA missionaries, because they themselves had all been displaced by the war in Ukraine. They were also the only people who came to visit the refugees and minister to their most pressing needs.

As the six-week course on emotional health was wrapping up, Olya invited the ladies to continue to meet for a Bible discussion group. All the ladies expressed pleasure at the idea, except for Tetiana. “That’s fine,” Olya assured her. “You don’t have to come.”

They agreed that Svietlana Ihnat, another Bridge UA missionary, would be in touch about starting weekly Bible discussions. After a month-long pause, Svietlana made her first trip to lead a Bible discussion in the city of Győr.

Despite how many ladies had expressed interest in studying the Bible together, the only one to show up was antagonistic Tetiana. Svietlana read her the story of creation, and they discussed what makes humans unique, what it means to be created in the image of God, and the meaning of life. Unexpectedly, Tetiana was effusive in her thanks for the Bible study.

Svietlana made the 75-mile trip back to Budapest with a lot to think about. Over the next week, she contacted all the ladies from the emotional health group to remind them about the Bible discussion group, but once again, Tetiana was the only woman to show up.

Svietlana continued to share the story of the Bible, asking questions about the universal truths it brought up. Again, Tetiana, the once-staunch atheist, was moved and profoundly grateful that our team had taken the time to travel to her and help her understand God’s Word.

This pattern continued for about a month, then the Bridge UA team discussed if it was a wise use of time and money to continue to visit Győr weekly when only one person was coming to the Bible study. But they quickly realized that even if only Tetiana wanted to study the Bible, it was worth it for her sake. “You can’t put a price on a human soul, and Jesus is the Good Shepherd who leaves the 99 sheep to seek the one that is lost,” said Yaroslav Kolakovskyi, one of the Bridge UA missionaries.

“Take heed that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I [Jesus] say to you that in heaven their angels always see the face of My Father who is in heaven. For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost. What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine and go to the mountains to seek the one that is straying? And if he should find it, assuredly, I say to you, he rejoices more over that sheep than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray. Even so it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.” — Matthew 18:10-14

Each week, Svietlana continued to travel 150 miles round-trip to meet with Tetiana. Soon, Tetiana began to invite other women to join them. Like her, these ladies knew very little about the Bible, and they were getting in on the discussions late. Frequently, they needed to have the parts of the biblical story that they’d missed explained. Tetiana, who just a few months earlier said she would never be part of any Bible study, was always quick to jump in and get the newcomers up to speed. “We continued to study all the way through the life of Jesus and God’s plan of salvation, and the women drank in the truths they’d never heard before. It is always difficult to determine the state of another person’s soul, but we were all being challenged and changed,” emphasized Svietlana.

One week, Tetiana had something to say to Svietlana after the Bible discussion: “I can tell I’ve gotten softer since starting to study the Bible. You know, the other day I even called my daughter and asked for her forgiveness.”

Svietlana couldn’t have asked for a better confirmation that her tireless ministry to Tetiana and the other ladies in Győr was worth every mile traveled. Jesus told His disciples they could identify true followers of God by the fruit in their lives, and the humility and repentance Tetiana was displaying was beautiful fruit. Svietlana continues to meet with the ladies, discussing a new biblical passage each week, and together, they are all growing in their trust and obedience to God.