A day after I wrote this article, en was informed that Andrew Killick had died. This article has been amended accordingly. It is a great privilege to tell the story of his desire for Ukrainian soldiers to hear of God’s love. (Written by Lydia Houghton.)
What began as a quiet conversation over church coffee has ended with 1,000 Christian books being distributed to Ukrainian soldiers.
Andrew Killick was the author of A Beautiful Creation – a book of scenic photographs each accompanied by a Bible verse, taking the reader through the basics of the gospel message.
Andrew Killick
Several Ukrainian families are settled in the area of the north-east of the UK, in the Durham area, where he lived. One Sunday morning, Killick found himself sat next to a Ukrainian student. On the spur of the moment, Killick asked the student to translate his book into Ukrainian, and she agreed.
A second Ukrainian person checked the translation, agreed it was accurate, and it was sent off to the printers; soon, 250 copies of the Ukrainian edition of A Beautiful Creation were available.
One thing led to another, and a group responsible for running Christmas and other regular meals at Catterick Garrison in North Yorkshire – where Ukrainian soldiers visit on short training courses – contacted him. They asked: “How many copies of the book have you got left? ... We need 1,000.”
The Ukrainian version of 'A Beautiful Creation'
At this point, only ten copies were left; funding was therefore needed, and another speedy print run. Attention was turned to prayer. Karen Killick – Andrew’s wife – told en what happened next: “That afternoon, a friend [sent] a text saying: ‘Just thinking of you. We are on a whale-watching trip in Norway, and this photo reminds me of the cover of your book.’ We replied: ‘Funny that you should say that, as we are just contemplating another print run.’
“Within six hours they wrote back pledging £400 towards the cost of this new print run.
“[The] next day our church Mission Committee offered another £200; a friend slipped £80 into my pocket at a church meeting; and with other friends offering various sums, we had the necessary funding within about a week!
“The books were printed; they were taken over to the army camp by the party organisers; and so the books were made available for soldiers to take if they wished.”
And, as it turns out, the soldiers did wish to take copies of the book. “Several months later, we received a text saying that the last of those 1,000 books had been taken – and they had all been given to soldiers who might well be risking their lives on the battlefield as soon as they returned to Ukraine,” Karen continued. “What a privilege to be able to distribute the gospel story in such an attractive format to soldiers who very soon afterwards would be facing such dangers!”
