Russia
Artem’s dream: How faith, SWW gave teen new purpose
Artem, 18, recalled the dream that led him to turn from sin and give his life to Christ. “One night I had a dream about a man dressed in white, and a bright light emanated from him,” Artem said. “He told me that if I didn’t change my ways, then I would face great suffering. When I woke up, I was afraid and I knew that I needed to fix my life.” Artem, who grew up in a Christian home in Russia but had fallen away from his faith, decided to turn his life over to Christ. He soon became involved in Mission Eurasia’s School Without Walls (SWW) Christian leadership training program. “God spoke to me through young Christians, who helped me understand why it is important to obey the Lord,” he said. “Thanks to their kindness, I realized that I didn’t want to live without God anymore, and He became the most important thing in my life. “As soon as I…
Alex’s Testimony: A Miraculous Transformation
Alex is one of our School Without Walls students and Bible camp leaders from Russia. His testimony is one of miraculous transformation that began when God saved his life after repeated suicide attempts. Today, Alex is a thriving leader who is serving the church, ministering to hurting people, and reaching his community for Christ. Alex’s testimony: “You could say that I came to know God through many challenges. When I was younger, my heart was filled with emptiness, loneliness, pain, and resentment toward many people who had betrayed me. In order to stifle the pain, I started doing martial arts. But that wasn’t enough to heal me, so I tried committing suicide twice. The first time I tried to kill myself, my mother was able to stop me in time. I think this first attempt was a cry for attention, because I wanted people to know the inner pain I was…
Creatively Sharing the Gospel in the Workplace
Our School Without Walls (SWW) students are trained and equipped to use creative ways of living out the gospel in their workplaces, even if they are not allowed to share their faith openly. Many SWW students and graduates–like Alina, a young school teacher in Russia–use their vocations as a form of ministry to their colleagues, employers, students, and those around them–they truly see the workplace as a mission field. Alina shared how God is using her as a minister of the gospel in the school where she teaches: “I have been a 1st-4th grade teacher for two years. I really like my job, and I can’t imagine working anywhere else. The director of my school knows I am a Christian, and after I was hired, he told me that he and his family are also believers. There are 28 children in my class, and they are all very different. Whenever I experience…
Elza’s Testimony: The Truth Will Set You Free
Elza is one of our first School Without Walls graduates from Russia. She and her husband planted a church several years ago in the capital city of Kalmykia, Russia and they feel called to minister to the native Kalmyk people there. Elza has an incredible faith story about how God touched her heart and convicted her to renounce Satanic influence in her life. The Truth of Christ has truly set her free! Elza and her husband considered themselves good Kalmyks – they zealously followed Kalmyk traditions, and their tribe could trace its ancestry back to Genghis Khan. They were very proud of their identity and history, studying Kalmyk culture, music, folklore, and making frequent trips to Mongolia. In keeping with Kalmyk tradition they married early, and by the age of 16 Elza was already expecting her first baby. Elza’s husband was a third generation healer – he had inherited an…
A New Family in School Without Walls
After suffering from divorce and a tragic car accident, Fatima felt hopeless and bitter. But God intervened in her life in a miraculous way, just when all seemed lost. Fatima shared her testimony of faith with us and communicated the transformative impact that the witness and love of our School Without Walls teachers and graduates had on her life: “I used to be very arrogant and proud. I didn’t believe in God, and I refused to acknowledge His existence. Since religion in Ossetia is a mixture of paganism and Christianity, many people are very devout, but they also worship false gods and build temples and altars to perform senseless rituals. My family would often reproach me for refusing to take part in their pagan rituals, but I argued that, if there was no God, then it didn’t make sense to do these rituals, and if He did exist, then He…
A Family Transformed by Gift of Hope
“My decision to serve Marina, her husband Sergey, and their five children rose out of my desire to be a doer and not just a listener,” shared Maria, one of our School Without Walls (SWW) students in Russia. “After realizing that there is a great need for evangelism in my community, I started praying that God would provide opportunities for me to share the gospel. And one evening, He moved me to start serving a family in my area. “The next day, I shared this revelation with my fiancé, Rustam, and together we visited the village of Sosnovo, where I had met Marina and her family while distributing Gifts of Hope during the Christmas season. Marina told us that her family was facing very difficult conditions, as they had been living without electricity for two weeks. They had fallen behind on their payments, so their electricity was shut off, and even after…