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LVIV, UKRAINE — In the heart of Ukraine's war-torn landscape, men maneuver stealthily through the darkness on their way to work, careful to avoid security checkpoints where they would be detained and sent to the front lines of the ongoing war with Russia. Some of them do this to make their way to an office building where they’re part of a team working with U.S.-based non-profit RevelationMedia to achieve a monumental mission—animating the entire Biblical Narrative and making it available to translate into over 7,000 living languages.
"Our mission transcends the challenges we face," said ‘David,’ who is managing a team of translators and animators in Ukraine. This team has been working with RevelationMedia since 2022, before the war began.
Though thunderous reverberations of nearby bomb blasts have punctuated their workspace and shaken the foundations of their building, their faith and determination, David says, have not been shaken. A bold statement, given what happened recently to one of his team’s key members.
"Dmytro is our Chief Final Checker; he has a keen eye for all these languages. And he can catch the slightest mistake. So he's a very important person in the team. As he walked to work recently, he was assaulted by two military officers who physically beat him and threw him into a van and drove him to a conscription facility, where they tried to force him to sign papers to go to the war.”
Despite the challenges they’ve faced, much progress has been made. RevelationMedia revealed plans recently to unveil 42 episodes of iBIBLE: Genesis, the inaugural completed section of its groundbreaking iBIBLE initiative, on Easter. When complete, this will be the first-ever animated and interactive presentation of the entire Biblical Narrative, spanning from creation to the second coming of Christ. The ten-year, $25 million production will include approximately 280 episodes, totaling over 30 hours of world-class animation and referencing more than 20,000 Bible verses.
As it is released, iBIBLE is made available for free licensing, distribution, and translation into the 7,000+ living languages of the world, furthering the organization's commitment to accessibility and inclusivity in sharing the message of the Bible.
And commitment will be required, as all indications are that it won’t be getting any easier.
"We still get air raid sirens...sometimes we get three or four per day. It’s a lot of stress for people because they don't know what's flying. Is it the chemicals? A drone? Is it a rocket? Is the rocket going to land or the debris fall on our building? It is very uncertain,” said David.
“On January 2, all the windows were shattering, and the building was shaking. You know, it's like an earthquake. The rockets they are shelling us with are about 45 feet tall and 15 feet thick. It's like a double decker bus. And the shattered glass is like shrapnel, it can cut people and go through the body. It’s been a few times and is extremely loud. It is so loud, and the vibration is so bad that you can feel it going through your heart. Our neighbor’s cat was sitting on the window sleeping. And a rocket landed four miles away from us. The shockwaves went through the cat and the cat’s heart stopped. I do not wish you'd ever experience that.”
Psychologically, David says, people in Ukraine are struggling, including his team.
“People have become depressed because they don't see an end to the war. We are hiring a psychologist, you know, so they work with our staff, two or three times a week. We order pizza, we do barbecue at the office, I'm trying to cheer people up,” he said. “You know, just order food, you know, order pizza, have little chats, stay after work, get together, have some pizza. I'm trying to be supportive to them as much as I possibly can.”
The day Dmytro was detained, David spent an entire day with an attorney advocating for his release, which—because he didn’t sign any papers—was, thankfully, granted. Unbelievably, after he was released from custody, Dmytro came into the office to work.
“I was like, ‘you have to go home.’ He said ‘No, this is how I fight distress.’ It's just a terrible situation. And it is getting worse.”
David, Dmytro, and the rest of the team in Ukraine, however, are keeping their eyes on the prize.
“We feel like we are going make an impact in the world. And it feels like you're landing on the moon because it is something never done before. And you're doing it for the first time. And just the thought of having all these people studying and reading and growing, it really excites us. We’re working, giving our best. If people can know and pray for us. That will be great.”
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RevelationMedia representatives are available for interviews. Contact Marianna Gibson, marianna@jonesliterary.com.
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