Pictured above, Andrzej Lewek, Bohus Zivcak, and Ralph Martin stood in line for two hours before boarding the train that took them to Ukraine for a recent mission. Andrzej, from Poland, shares his testimony below.
I was born into a Catholic family with strong religious traditions. I experienced my First Communion with a surprising level of spiritual maturity. I grew up in an environment deeply rooted in faith but struggled to handle peer conflicts. I desired to prove my worth. Unfortunately, I frequently failed in these attempts, leading me to pretend to be better than I was and hiding the truth about my own sins.
In high school, I drifted away from God, searching for my own path to faith. In college, some friends invited me to go on a trip to the mountains. When I realized that no one intended to go hiking, I decided to go alone. I underestimated the winter conditions and rapidly falling darkness. I found myself alone in the mountains, surrounded by snowy, untracked paths and engulfed in darkness. Amid fear and uncertainty, I began to pray. I experienced an extraordinary sense that God was guiding me through this difficult journey. I found my way out to where I needed to be. This was a powerful, mystical experience for me, confirming that I was not alone. God was walking with me, comforting my disheartened soul.
Moved by this experience, I attended evangelization retreats the following week, where I dedicated my life to Jesus. A few weeks later, I enrolled in a faith renewal seminar. As I prepared for the baptism in the Holy Spirit, I expected external signs and manifestations of the Spirit’s work, but nothing of the sort happened. I returned home disappointed but realized the next day that something had changed. God took away my belief that I knew everything about Him. He began speaking to me in a new, deeper way, revealing to me who He truly is.
Over the next eight years, I was involved in building the Academic School of Evangelization. After completing my studies, I met Renewal Ministries’ Country Coordinator Don Turbitt. Together, we started building Men of St. Joseph International.
Another important aspect of my life is my connection to Ukraine. During the communist era, while hiking with friends, we often trekked toward the Uzhok Pass, which borders Ukraine. I would gaze across the border, into the then-inaccessible Soviet Union, wondering what life was like there. A few years later, in 1995, after the Soviet Union had collapsed, I had the opportunity to travel to Ukraine as part of the School of Evangelization. It left me with a deep sensitivity and affection for the people of Ukraine.
In 2010, I returned to Ukraine with my wife, for a more tourist-oriented visit. I established contacts that I later utilized in missions with Donald Turbitt for Renewal Ministries. I assisted as a translator and driver, witnessing how God was opening new doors for me.
When Don retired, he asked me to continue the missionary work in Ukraine and Belarus. I gladly said yes, even though war loomed on the horizon. In 2020 and 2021, I traveled there twice, once with my wife, to build and deepen relationships with the people living there. Through collaboration with a network of communities, we established truly strong connections. God’s grace allowed these relationships to flourish.
When war broke out, I organized a trip to Lviv with leaders from Poland and Hungary to pray for peace with Ukrainian leaders. This led to invitations to leadership schools. Seeing the hunger for faith in Ukraine, I believe that the time will come when missionaries from Ukraine preach Jesus in the West. Today, however, our primary task is to support Ukrainians during this difficult time of war and help satisfy their hunger for faith and knowledge of God. A significant step in this direction was the retreats I led with Ralph Martin and Bohus Zivcak. This was a crucial experience—not only in terms of sharing faith and the Catholic charismatic experience but also, perhaps most importantly, in being present with people during the difficult times of war, despite potential danger and the need to take risks. Our presence there spoke much more than words could ever convey. May God bless and open new paths for sharing the Gospel in the territory of the former Soviet Union.
Read more about Renewal Ministries’ recent mission to Ukraine here.
This article originally appeared in Renewal Ministries’ November 2024 newsletter.
Andrzej Lewek lives in Poland. He serves as a country coordinator for Renewal Ministries and is the coordinator of the Men of St. Joseph. He also works as an IT specialist. He has a wife and three children.
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Andrej, thank you. I know that when any one of us speaks, telling our testimony of coming into life in Jesus, we speak Jesus into that place and into the heart of the persons present. You have spoken Jesus anew into my heart tonight as I read and you speak Jesus into the hearts and minds of people you encounter in the leadership positions that you have been entrusted with. Each of us is greatly honored, loved, and privileged by God in being called His Own. Keep on telling of him as long as you have breath in you. Your Brother in Jesus, Bill Organ