Stepan Prokopuk
I was to meet with my friend in the subway. I had to wait for long and I prayed asking God to send me the person I could say about God.
When I entered the subway I saw a woman. It was hard for her to walk since she was drunk. It was always difficult for me to talk to these people since I strained at doing it. I think it's because my parents died because they often hit the bottle. The pain filled my heart. Suddenly the woman came to me and asked me for money. I felt desperate. What could I do? Forbid her to drink, change her? I saw my mother in her. I took her hands in mine and asked: " Do you want to get rid of drinking?" She nodded her head. I said that there was the One who could release her from all that. Hope appeared in her eyes. She asked: "Who is it?" "It's Christ" - I said to her. I offered her to pray. Tears coursed down her chicks when she prayed. I felt love to her as if she was my mother. I remembered of Christ. I thought that He loved all people no matter who they were- rich or poor, dirty or clean, holly or sinful.
Praise God for His mercy to us!
Vladimir Hotyanovich
In the morning I went to the classes. After college I went back to the dormitory. There was no one in the room. I felt uneasy but I didn't understand what was wrong with me. I kneeled and prayed to God. He heard my prayer, I felt relieved. I decided to go outside. There is a park near us and I went there for a walk. In about two hours when I was on my way home I saw a woman. She carried large bags. I offered her my help. She was glad to receive my help since the bags were very heavy. We crossed the road and went to the bus stop. While we were waiting for the bus I asked her if she believed in God. She said that when young she had been an atheist but now she was going to the Orthodox Church. She asked me about where I went. I said I was a Baptist. She asked me different questions: "Why don't you have icons and why don't you put candles?" I said that people made icons and we didn't have candles because God sees and knows everything anyway. He is the living God. I told her of "4 spiritual laws". By the end of our conversation I gave her a booklet. We thanked each other. The bus came; I helped her to put the bags on the bus. She thanked me again, got on the bus and left. I walked to the dormitory thanking God for the evening.
Svyatoslav Guzovsky
I met a guy of 25 years old. His name was Ivan. We talked about life and problems while standing at the platform and waiting for the train. The train came. We got on and continued our conversation. There were few people on the train and nobody disturbed us. I asked him to answer the questionnaire I had. He did. It was obvious based on the answers that the person lived in sin without knowing God. I could also see that he was seeking the meaning of life and the way of salvation. I offered him to read "4 spiritual laws". Ivan agreed. When we came to two circles symbolizing two types of life he pointed to the first circle and then to the second one saying he would like to have that kind of life. I offered him to repent and he agreed. In prayer he asked Jesus Christ to forgive his sins and come into his life. We read "4 spiritual laws" through the end. Ivan thanked Christ for the new life in his prayer. I explained to him what he needed to do. We exchanged phone numbers. I gave him the church address and invited him to the service.
Yevgeniy Lasuk
It happened on Monday. I went to get my passport. When I came to the stop I saw a man carrying a heavy bag. I offered him my help since the bag was really heavy. A man agreed. While we were walking I was struggling in my heart. Shall I talk with this person about God or not. I talked with people about God a lot anyway. It seemed better to keep silent. But in a while I realized that an evil one prompted me those thoughts preventing me from sharing the Good News. I decided to respond to the call of God and tell that person about salvation from sin. I prayed ad began our conversation. I told him about my life and how I came to God and that God could give salvation to those who believe in Him. Then I asked him if he had heard about God before. He said he had. His sister was an orthodox Christian and told him much about God, Christ our Savior and Virgin Mary. I asked him a lot of questions and he answered them. I learned that he had spent many years in prison. His life was broken and his past experience was a burden to him. I invited him to the church "Bethlehem". To my surprise he had already been there. I thought he didn't like it there, but he said he had liked the church. When pastor had called people for repentance he wanted to come forward but hadn't found courage to do it, he was shy. And he prayed the prayer of repentance with me, right in the street.
Yulia Ahramenya
It was Monday. I was on the subway train. A woman sat next to me. I asked if I could share "4 spiritual laws" with her. She agreed. When I came to the 4th circle she asked me about my confession. I said I was a Baptist. Then she asked me about the difference between Baptists and orthodox. In my opinion the main difference is that there are no people with bad habits like drinking or smoking among Baptists. I also explained to the woman the difference in baptism. I added the difference in relationship between people in our church and in the orthodox one. I described her our Sunday service. She liked it! After that I told her about prayer. She said that she often prayed without icons. I asked her to tell me at least one of her prayers she had addressed to God. She did. To my mind it wasn't a prayer, it was just a memorized text. Then I explained to her that to pray means talking with the living God. She was amazed at my words since she hadn't known that. She said she would try to pray to God that way. I added that if there was no repentance or peace in her heart the prayer would be just a formality. She had to take off.
This is how unexpectedly and at the same time amazingly our meetings with people occur if God Himself arranges them. I gave her the booklet of "4 spiritual laws" and offered to read it again to learn more about repentance. Her eyes were shining. She smiled to me and left the train.
Yevgeni Lasuk
Las week on Tuesday we gave out invitations to the film. I saw one woman and invited her to the church. I gave her the invitation. She asked where the film would be shown. I explained and she began crying. It was very unusual reaction. I asked her to tell me what had happened. She said that her husband had brought home another woman. It was hard for her and she shouted at her husband and then slapped him across the face. Her husband grabbed a knife and tried to strike her. Finally he turned her from the house. The woman had been wandering around the city for the whole week thinking about committing suicide. She showed me the rope she had prepared for herself. It was difficult to say anything in response. I assured her that God loved her and could help her. She looked at me helplessly. I read a question in her eyes: "How can God help me?" I just prayed for her. Weeping she joined me in the prayer to the invisible God. She asked about forgiveness of her sins right at the bus stop and accepted Christ in her heart. A man wants to get according to his or her desire but God gives us what we really need!
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