November 21, 2024

168. A Gift of Hope in the Midst of Fear: Peter Martin from Hope Lebedyn

15 minutes

Hope Lebedyn is a nonprofit organization in Ukraine providing aid and hope during a time of war, chaos, fear, and uncertainty. Co-founder Peter Martin shares the realities of what Ukrainian families are currently facing, and how God's love has shown up as a lifeline.

Quotes

"My family hasn't been asked to leave their home because a bomb might come through their roof. I haven't had to abandon all my things. So I see love in the blessing of God, in the things that I have around me, which so often I take for granted." - Peter Martin

"About twenty-five years ago, I went over to the outskirts of Moscow to hear 650 pastors from the underground church in the Soviet era share stories and how they wanted to see the church grow in the future. I was absolutely mesmerized by what was happening. The power of these stories that came across—they were just mind blowing, to be quite frank, and what people would do for the sake of the Christian cause. And I thought, Well, how can I help?" - Peter Martin

"We give out aid. We go to orphanages. We've helped loads of refugees and particularly children. We planted the church there. We've even planted other satellite churches from there. We've built a brand new activity center which runs a bakery and it has had an amazing impact in these recent years." - Peter Martin

"We make sure that every child that comes to our center has a copy of the Jesus Storybook Bible. Since the start of the war, we have distributed around 2,500 to 3,000 and given them away for free. They've had a huge impact." - Peter Martin

"With everything we do, we share the love of Jesus and the Father with Bibles and scripture, through services, and through activities. We're seeing lots of young people hungry to study God's Word, which is incredible." - Peter Martin

"God, through His Son Jesus, will meet us in our time of need and He'll come into our hearts. I believe that's the same for us and these people that are struggling in the war [in Ukraine]. God will come back to them and restore them in due time." - Peter Martin

Guest's Links Hope Lebedyn's website

Hope Lebedyn's Facebook

Resources Mentioned in This Episode

Swan Lake by Pyotr Illyich Tchaikovsky

"How Great Thou Art" by Stuart Hine

Seasonal Products

Free Jesus Storybook Bible Advent Reading Plan & Bonus Printables

The Jesus Storybook Bible: A Christmas Collection

The Jesus Storybook Bible Advent Activity Book

Song of the Stars: A Christmas Story

Little One, We Knew You'd Come

My Little Library of God's Great Love