Story Title
The (Literally) Life-Saving Power of God’s Word
“I am always looking for new ways to share the Gospel,” shares Olga, one of our ministry partners from Barnual, Russia. “One way I do this is by visiting the local train station once a week to leave a few copies of God’s Word around the station. “One week when I was in the process of setting out a few of the New Testaments that I had received from Mission Eurasia, I heard a voice behind me ask, ‘Are you the one who brings Scriptures here?’ I turned around to see a severe-looking elderly woman, dressed all in black. ‘Yes, I am,’ I replied. To my shock, she bowed to me. She told me that she had been visiting the train station every day for a month, hoping to meet me and share her remarkable story with me. She told me that normally she always carries a copy of the New…
Fearless Faith: Christian Leaders in Tajikistan
“Evangelical churches in our country are not very numerous, but we aspire to impact our society and we are grateful to School Without Walls for their help in this,” shared Arash (name changed), a national School Without Walls (SWW) coordinator for Tajikistan, speaking to 80 young Next Generation Christian leaders at a Next Generation Professional Leaders Initiative (NGPLI) conference last week. Tajikistan is over 90% Muslim, and Christians who openly share their faith risk persecution from their families, in the educational system, and from employers. Therefore, the goal of the conference was to pass on a vision of influential Christianity to these young Tajik Christians and to inspire and teach them how to be witnesses for Christ and transform their society through treating their workplace as a mission field. Bahram (name changed), a university student, shared how the conference’s message impacted him: “It’s not easy being a Christian in our…
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…
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….
Vlad’s Story: A Life Changed at Bible Camp
Vlad is a 14-year-old boy from Russia who was born into a military family that has lived in many different places, including the United Arab Emirates, Greece, and Turkey. Sadly, his father died from a heart attack at the age of 39, so his mother is raising Vlad and his younger brother, Ruslan, on her own. A few weeks ago, Vlad and Ruslan attended a summer Bible camp led by our School Without Walls (SWW) students and graduates in Ardon, Russia. During camp, the boys received their own copies of 101 Favorite Bible Stories for Children, which Vlad began reading whenever he had free time. The stories made him very interested in God, and he started asking the camp leaders insightful questions about Jesus and the Bible. Our SWW students had many significant conversations with Vlad, Ruslan, and even their mother about Jesus, and they plan to continue their friendship with…