A small group crossed the border into Ukraine on February 27. What we didn’t know at the time was that this would be the first trip of many.

When I came to help out in Hungary with refugees fleeing the war in Ukraine I thought I would be really helpful because I speak Russian. I didn’t expect to have such a close and personal experience.

Kevin and Debbie Nelson are long-term OMS missionaries based out of Kyiv, Ukraine. When the Russians launched a mass invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the Nelsons were in Budapest, as they had - like many other internationals - been evacuated a month beforehand.

If there is one thing I will remember from all of this, it is that these people are exactly like us.

As tears fell down my new friend’s cheeks, I stepped forward and hugged her. Her heart broke with grief over the war in Ukraine and its impact on her family and community.

When your vision is clear, your culture is strong, and your strategies are effective, alignment is the outcome.

Instead of listening to each other and trying to understand, we just talk about ourselves and what we think is right

As we begin 2023, our hearts and our bodies feel heavy and tired. And yet, many of us carry a great deal of hope for change ahead after a hard few years.

Like many others coming out of the lockdowns and restrictions of the Covid-19 pandemic at the beginning of the year, I felt like we were slowly digging out of the mire of two emotionally and physically draining years. Could our desperate times finally be over?

Well for me, the stripping away of all that it used to mean holds the opportunity to purposefully add in new traditions and new ways of seeing this most important Christian season of remembrance.

God took my small act of simply trying not to fall asleep at church and showed me a tiny glimpse into the incredible beauty of his global church.

Andrew & Mary Marshall discuss some of the ideas and habits around being a missionary couple, and how they make it work.