“We pray for yet another miracle.”

The prayer of a university in Ukraine, the country suffering the heaviest ravages of war in history, has been answered in just one day at Sahmyook University, South Korea.

Andrii Shevchuck, the President of the Ukrainian Institute of Arts and Sciences, attended the International Conference of the International Society of Academic Advancement (ICISAA) 2023 at Sahmyook University, South Korea, which was held for three days from August 8 to 10. On the Sabbath (Aug. 12) following the conference, he took the podium at the Sabbath School of the Sahmyook University Church.

At the lectern, Shevchuck touched the congregation by testifying about the seven miracles his university saw amidst the ongoing war between Ukraine and Russia.

First, upon the warning for the immediate evacuation of the campus due to the outbreak of the war, all the faculty and students moved out safe and sound, despite the lack of means of transportation. Second, the campus was bombed seven times, yet, not a single building was damaged. Third, the university has accommodated as many as over 200 refugees at a time without a single incidence of injury or accident. What is more, among those refugees, the majority of whom were non-Adventists, some converted and became Adventists.

Fourth, on March 10, when the Russian troops occupied the campus, everyone fled safely. Fifth, the Russian force wrecked the campus facilities and equipment, including computers; however, the buildings and major materials and data remained undamaged. Six, the university managed to swiftly repair damages, including broken electricity and water supplies and cooking facilities. Finally, all students who had evacuated due to the outbreak of the war returned safely and unharmed. Amidst the wartime conditions, 186 students graduated, and over 1,000 students, including 200 freshmen, registered for their courses of study.

“Although we have fixed a lot of damaged facilities, we are still in desperate need of 30,000 dollars to purchase computers for the soon-beginning new semester,” President Shevchuck appealed. He added, “We pray for yet another miracle. We believe God will grant us the computers.” Listening to the testimony, Elder Eui-don Hwang (Associate, Team Focus Korea) from the International Church of Sahmyook University was the first to make a generous contribution of 2,000 dollars. Soon after, when the story of the Ukrainian Adventist university spread rapidly via Kakao Talk, one of the most popular text-messaging and chatting apps in Korea, a number of professors from Sahmyook University and Adventist church members joined in extending help, raising the fund of 40,000 dollars, well over the target amount of 30,000. And all this happened in just one day.

On August 14, when receiving the donation at the office of Dr. Il-mok Kom, President of Sahmyook University, Shevchuck expressed his gratitude. “We were certain that God would answer our prayer, but we never knew it would happen this fast.” He went on, “We are truly thankful to God, Sahmyook University, and our fellow Adventists in Korea for bringing our university the eighth miracle.”

Meanwhile, Sahmyook University held a morning devotional at Sahmyook University Church on Aug. 10, during the ICISAA 2023, to pray for bringing an end to the war between Ukraine and Russia. The special prayer meeting was joined by President Shevchuck, Stanislave Nosov, President of the Ukrainian Union Conference, Boris Protasevich, President of the Zaoksky Adventist University, Russia, and over 50 people, among whom the majority were participants of the international conference, including presidents of other Adventist universities, and education and administration leaders from several Adventist institutions across the globe.