When Jesus taught about sowing seeds and fertile soil, he said, “As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty,” Matthew 13:23 (ESV). We see this so clearly in the life of Iryna.

Iryna graduated from the Foundations program in 2010. After her graduation, Global Action staff continued to invest in her as a leader, and she eventually became a Foundations coordinator in her region. As a key contact among networks in her area, she was able to bring the Foundations course to her region of Dnipro in Ukraine.

As she was further equipped with theological education and practical ministry tools, she began to serve incarcerated women and young people, impacting hundreds of women and youth in prisons.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 drastically changed the landscape of the church. Equipping church leaders became more urgent as the nation faced the devastation of war. Iryna has continued her fruitful ministry, pivoting to take care of God’s people by equipping other leaders to provide trauma-informed care in the midst of crisis.

As a Christian psychologist and qualified trauma training teacher, she is applying her Biblical knowledge in her context with expertise. To date, she has equipped 100 Ukrainian leaders to provide trauma-informed care.

Current events also have brought the opportunity to serve the population of people displaced by the conflict. Iryna has served 200 refugees in her region, restoring purpose and hope by giving them trauma training. The adversity they face is real, and God is using their testimony and experience of endurance to bring about his light in the midst of darkness.

We celebrate labourers like Iryna, who continue bearing a “hundredfold” fruit even a decade after having graduated from our programme. They are changing the world!