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Olesya’s Story: Finding God’s Light in a Dark World
In the midst of the spiritual emptiness spreading across Russia, Light Magazine–a beautiful evangelistic magazine containing the Gospel of John and designed and printed in partnership with ShareWord Global– is helping young people choose to follow Christ, rather than living for the world. These remarkable young people, like Olesya, are spreading God’s Light to their communities and families: Olesya is 15 years old and was born in South Ossetia, but her family moved to North Ossetia not long after her birth. There they started going to church, where Olesya’s brother and parents were baptized. After becoming a believer, Olesya’s father stopped drinking and swearing. “I was so happy that my family became Christians, because we finally got along,” she shared. However, after some time, Olesya’s father left the Church because he was angry that so many people claimed to be Christians but didn’t live in line with God’s teaching. Sadly, his disappointment led him…
Impacting Uzbekistan for Christ
Even though Christians in Uzbekistan often suffer religious persecution at the hands of local authorities, the School Without Walls (SWW) coordinator in the capital city of Tashkent, and a group of SWW graduates, organized a round table discussion on the Next Generation Professional Leaders Initiative (NGPLI) for 35 young professionals from four different churches. The lack of religious freedom in Uzbekistan makes NGPLI even more relevant in that context, as traditional means of sharing the Gospel are very risky. “I’m prepared to go out of my way to help my clients resolve problems with our product. I do my work well and respect my clients. They see this and value it,” shared Shahrat (name changed), a Christian businessman who spoke about the impact his faith has had in his professional context. “I never hide my faith, and my good relationship with my clients allows me to share the Gospel with…
Marat’s Story: Hearing God’s Calling Through School Without Walls
“I first heard about God through my uncle when I was ten,” shares Marat, a School Without Walls student who also studies engineering at a local university in Vladikavkaz, Russia. “He was in a coma for 40 days after being in a car accident that killed four of his friends. During this time his church prayed for and cared for him unceasingly, and my mother accepted Christ after seeing the love and care they showed him. I visited church with her for the first time around then. “A few years later, I participated in a SWW hiking camp and I was very impressed by the students’ kindness and support for one another. They also encouraged me to keep going when I felt like I couldn’t walk anymore. After this camp, I started actively attending church. My uncle had become a deacon and my family had all been baptized when I…
A New Family for Alexey
Alexey is 90 years old and lives in Kiev, Ukraine. After serving as a lieutenant in WWII, he worked several other jobs. When he finally retired, he was in very poor health. Alexey’s health has continued to decline in recent years, and his limited use of his legs makes it impossible for him to leave the house on his own. While receiving treatment at a Christian rehabilitation center, Alexey met a family from a local church: Alexander and Larissa and their two children, Angelina and Maxim. Alexander and Larissa had been forced to abandon their family home due to the ongoing war in eastern Ukraine, and they had been living for the past few months in a friend’s home. Alexander and Larissa took good care of Alexey at the rehabilitation center and formed a friendship with him. When it was time for Alexey to return home, he invited Alexander and Larissa…
Shaping the Culture: Christian Professionals in Kyrgyzstan
“When I first started working, I had to choose whether to be an accountant or a teacher, and I chose to be a teacher because I wanted to impact young people’s lives,” shares Nargiza (name changed), a math teacher from Kyrgyzstan who attended Mission Eurasia’s Next Generation Professional Leaders Initiative (NGPLI) Forum in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan in November. “My parents were also teachers, and my father was considered a master at his craft. From them, I learned the value of hard work, and from the Bible, I learned that my work should be glorifying to God. There is a great need for the gospel in the intellectual environment that I work in, and the best way to respond to this need is by talking with people. God has entrusted me with my students, and I believe He has called me to use my job for ministry, which is a great responsibility.”…
God’s Word in the War Zone: Yevgenia’s Story
Last summer, our School Without Walls (SWW) students hosted a youth Bible camp in the front-line cities of Andreyevka and Avdeyevka, Ukraine–in partnership with a local Mennonite church. Yevgenia, a 16-year-old girl from Andreyevka, was just one of the many young people who participated in this camp and had a life-changing experience with Jesus. Yevgenia, her mother, and their friends are going through a hard time, as war continues to rage in their hometown, and they hear the sound of gunfire almost every day. Sadly, even before the war broke out, Yevgenia had already experienced suffering. Her father abandoned her 16-year-old mother as soon as he found out that she was pregnant, so Yevgenia never met him. Her mother’s grandmother was also killed in a car accident when she was seven months pregnant, and the emotional and psychological stress caused Yevgenia’s mother to go into early labor, so Yevgenia…