Ukraine Appeal — Vasiliy's Story
The Outreach Foundation recently visited our friends serving sacrificially and at great risk in the eastern part of Ukraine. Dr. Ivan Rusyn and his wife Luda were terrific hosts and we met many of Christ’s faithful followers whose stories have yet to be told. These are the quiet heroes who daily risk their lives out of love for God, and affection for their country, and who are trying to be faithful to Christ’s call to witness about His glory in times like this. One of these heroes is Vasiliy, a 23-year young graduate of the Ukraine Evangelical Theological Seminary who serves as Coordinator of Relief Ministry for the seminary. Today we are sharing his story.
Vasiliy, please share with us just a bit about your family and your background
I come from the western part of Ukraine from a small, but picturesque town. My immediate family is small, but my father has many brothers and sisters so when we get together it is like a festival. I come from a family filled with pastors in small evangelical churches. They have been through many difficult times including prison and deportation to Siberia.
Let’s pause there because what Vasiliy just said needs some unpacking. The evangelical church is another word for “Protestant” in that context. The religious context is 80% Orthodox and during Soviet times, it was the only Christian tradition permitted. To be evangelical was illegal and the pastors were either imprisoned or sent to Siberia to work camps. Most never returned and many were executed. They were dangers to the State. This is Vasiliy’s heritage.
I didn’t really want to be a pastor or go to seminary. I wasn’t a good student in high school and after graduation, I was training to be a professional soccer player. But I had a bad accident and while I was in the hospital I promised God that if He saved my life, I would go to seminary. Well, God did save me but I still didn’t want to go to seminary so I tried to get into university in International Relations. I didn’t pass my exam by one point! So, I figured God was holding me to my promise and I went to UETS.
Vasiliy learned to love reading books, studying theology, and the Bible, and learning leadership from the faculty. He graduated in 2020 and served in Dr. Rusyn’s church plant as the administrator and media director and is a deacon. Then, in 2021, Russia launched its full-scale war in Ukraine.
What impact has the war had on your ministry?
I stopped being so inwardly focused, you know—on the people already in the church. God led my vision and heart outward to people who don’t know the Lord personally. I am inspired by people like Jonah who God told to go to those who need to hear the good news, repent, and turn their lives to God. I’m inspired by Jesus washing the feet of Judas. Through this war, Jesus has led me to move beyond keeping up appearances, following church tradition, and familiar theological talk. The people I’m serving don’t care for these things. They need authenticity and it is important for me to have answers that matter in this reality of war. More than anything it means being present with people who don’t know Jesus, showing them God’s love, and being in a place to tell them the gospel.
This was how we met Vasiliy, fully immersed among pastors providing food and shelter, in neighborhoods befriending women and children left at home by husbands serving in the war, and soldiers fighting on the front line or wearied from battle and training away from the front. He took us to see several of these people during our visit and see the ministries of the church. We delivered medicines, a blood centrifuge machine, and 800 triage kits for soldiers. I was curious about how our visit was received.
What did it mean for us to show up?
During this war, I have learned how important it is to be present among people. This is where Jesus wants us. Not distant, but like Dr. Rusyn teaches, “Integrity means looking like those whom we serve.” Yet, you have no reason to be here. You could easily have sent supplies or money. You could have met with us by Zoom. But you came. This meant you have integrity in our eyes. Let me share two stories.
One of our visits was to three soldiers at an outpost. They were exhausted and our visit took them by surprise. Victor Petrenko is a retired general of the U.S. Army, Airborne, and a Ranger. He commanded in active battlefields for over five years. He loves being among the troops. This visit was special for him, but we had no idea what this meant to these three soldiers.
I went back to those soldiers and we had a good discussion about the visit. Two of the soldiers admitted that after the visit they wept, a lot. They had never had a general listen to them and shake their hands as Vic did. They were shocked he prayed for them. So they wanted to know why did he do that? Why did they come? I was able to share that these Americans are Christians and want you to know you are not alone and that God loves you. Because of your visit, I was able to share the gospel with them and now we are talking more about that.
Another of our visits was to Lucija, her children, and some of their neighbors. They live in a destroyed part of Irpin and knew the war had begun when they saw Russian soldiers in the streets and helicopters attacking the airport less than a mile away.
A week after your visit I went to see Lucija and she asked me about it. She said you all had a light in you. Others have come and brought supplies but mainly wanted pictures showing what they were doing. The American team was different somehow. So, I said maybe it was that they smiled a lot. Lucija insisted it wasn’t the smiles. “There is a light in them but I can’t explain it,” she said. So, I was able to share that the light is Jesus, and what she saw was real faith. Lucija is not a follower of Christ yet, but she is starting to see who Jesus is and your visit opened a door for me to share the gospel with her.
The takeaway
At The Outreach Foundation, we often talk about the importance of showing up. Yes, we do this to remind people they are not alone, to show that we serve an incarnate Lord who has always been present among His creation. I’m so grateful to Vasiliy for helping us see that showing up when it doesn’t make sense to do so creates an opportunity for people like him to share the gospel among his people well after we leave.
Praise be to the Lord that His glory is shining in Ukraine through Vasiliy!
THE OPPORTUNITY
First, please lift Vasiliy in your prayers. Weekly he goes to very dangerous areas to provide humanitarian relief, spend time with soldiers, and facilitate the ministry of small church pastors in their neighborhoods.
Second, the war in Ukraine is far from over and The Outreach Foundation is directing all donations to the relief effort of the church there. So far people have given over 1.8 million dollars. Your donations are making a big difference. Please continue to give generously to The Outreach Foundation’s Ukraine War Relief Appeal. You may make a gift HERE or by sending a check to our office.