What an Ordinary Hero Looks Like

“We were near the front lines in Kherson, Ukraine. A massive explosion went off next door. Windows shattered, and debris landed all around us. In shock, I jumped up and ran to the house that was hit. Thank God no one was inside.”

Luke Maddox is a neighbor of ours who flew to Ukraine to help. He’s been there for two years. I asked him about his journey.

“Well, I’m just an ordinary young man who realized that God was giving me a chance to make a difference. And I took it.”

It made me realize afresh that a lot of us are this way. We may not seem like anyone special, but we become someone’s hero when we decide to prioritize their needs more than our own. Luke tells the story of how that happened for him.

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“I struggled trying to understand my purpose in life in high school. I felt confused. I would only turn to God at times when I was really low and I kept making the same mistakes I had already made.

Eventually I moved out to Colorado. I got a job on the slopes and skied every day for two years. I started to study other religions and lots of opinions.

Over time I was opening my heart to Jesus more and more. But I was still in and out of trouble. Eventually I was ready to listen to God and began to let the Spirit guide me.

One day a friend talked to me about a mission to Ukraine. I heard his story of helping needy people. I knew Jesus was calling me to help. So I got some training and then jumped on a plane and was dropped off in north Romania.

I worked my way into a church in Odessa, Ukraine. I was supposed to only stay for one week. But I saw all the amazing work they were doing taking food to families who were stuck near the front lines. I could see they needed me there.

I began to drive with the youth pastor to the front lines a lot. He risks his life going into villages to help bring people back to safety and feed those who want to stay. I asked him why he did it, and his answer stuck with me: “We are all refugees in this world just trying to find our home with God.”

Our first trip was a 10-hour drive. We passed through numerous checkpoints. As we approached the village, a soldier waved us through urgently, signaling us to keep going fast. We dodged electrical wires and missile craters until we approached our drop-off point.

Suddenly, there was a loud machine gun fire and an explosion nearby! We kept going, parking the van in some bushes less than a kilometer from the Russians. As soon as we got out, we were surrounded by at least 50 people begging for food. We gave them packets as fast as we could.

That was my first time seeing the desperate need and thankfulness on everyone’s faces.  It changed my perspective and motivated me to help more. It was such a thrill to do as the Bible says and bring food to “widows and orphans in their distress.”

I started a little team that would take food and supplies to the front lines. We kept taking more and more food. Now we take 22 tons of canned meat and other food plus supplies every month!

We organize it into packages and make sure it gets to those people in the most need. We also raise money for the soccer club that we started to reach out to the refugee kids whose towns have been destroyed by the war. We develop relationships and show them how Christ can help them.  And now we are breaking ground to build a new turf field behind the church.

Sirens go off as the new normal every day. But I feel most at peace when I’m helping people with food and providing a word of encouragement to give them hope in the midst of a world suffering through the pain of war.”

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Luke is just a young man down the street who said “yes” to God.

God is not looking for superheroes. He’s looking for ordinary people who care. I believe that there are many of you reading Luke’s story who need to consider the possibility that you too could become an ordinary hero.

Luke’s website is lukemaddox.com