A Norvell Note for February 28, 2022
Vol. 26 No. 09 – Vol. 26 No. 09
A Light in the Darkness
In 1992 several Christians from Virginia and across the United States made a trip to Ukraine. That first trip was to Kyiv. I made four more trips into Ukraine over the next six years. We flew into Kyiv and traveled west to Zhytomyr, and I made one memorable excursion to a small village north of Zhytomyr. The work in Zhytomyr grew and expanded to Rivne, with teams making regular visits until very recently.
The heartbreaking scenes of the invasion bring back many memories. Although it was almost twenty-five years ago, and some of the details escaped me, one memory still shines brightly in my mind.
A significant part of every trip involved us going into schools to teach the Bible. We were in Zhytomyr, and it was a frigid, snowy day, and we were late getting to the school. To our surprise, even though we were very late, the teachers and children waited for us and rejoiced when we arrived.
We gathered in the gymnasium, and the electricity had gone out, so one of the teachers stood on a chair holding a single candle to light the room as the children sang. The children sang, and the candle continued to burn. As the candle grew shorter and shorter, the teacher kept adjusting how she held it. Eventually, she had nothing to hold, so using the melting wax, she stuck the candle on the tip of her finger to bring light into the darkness.
Our purpose for Ukraine was to bring light into their dark world. As it turned out, the innocent faces, sweet voices, and determined spirits of the Ukrainian people brought light into our hearts.
As the citizens of Ukraine fight for freedom, they continue to bring light into this dark world. Please light a candle pray that the darkness of oppression will not overcome the light, and be a light in the darkness.
The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. (John 1:15)
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