February 2017
In Ukraine, Belarus, and the Czech Republic, church libraries are like spiritual pharmacies. Church librarians are trained to be spiritual pharmacists, and the shelves of church libraries are stocked with Christian literature and media resources or spiritual medicine.
Larisa, from the Cherkassy Region in central Ukraine, wrote about what happened in her life when she went to one of these READ-assisted spiritual pharmacies in her small town:
I am 38, divorced, mother of 2 teenage daughters. There was a time when I was at a very low point in my life. My marriage had just ended. I felt that nobody cared and I was a failure. I blamed my former husband in all my problems. I was very depressed.
One day I met a Christian lady. She was very caring. She gave me a book about marriage and the family. Reading that book, I found answers to many of my questions, such as: “Why am I living?” “What is real happiness?” “How can I have a real Christian family?”
I can’t imagine what my family would look like today, if I didn’t find help in such books as “Exhaustive Answers, “How to Deal with Anger of a Child,” “Face to Face,” “How to Become a Hero to Your Children,” and “Five Ways to A Child’s Heart.”
My wages are very low, so I just cannot afford such wonderful books. I am so grateful to the Baptist Church for allowing me to read the books from their library. Folks, I am so grateful to you. If at least one book helps to lead a lost sheep out of darkness, it’s worthwhile doing!
Your donation to READ will help stock the shelves with Christian literature resources in 18 new church libraries/spiritual pharmacies being established this year in Ukraine and the Czech Republic. One book costs approximately $5.00 and our goal is to stock the shelves in each of these spiritual pharmacies with 300 books.
A spiritual pharmacy can provide a wealth of spiritual resources to share with hungry seekers like Larisa. As Larisa said, “If at least one book helps to lead a lost sheep out of darkness, it’s worthwhile doing!”
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