Stories of Salvation

Wednesday night was our last night with Elena. At the end of the lesson, Eric had Elena draw a time line. (when she was born, when she started school, when she started her first job, etc.). He then asked her if there was ever trusted Jesus. She pointed back to when she went to a charismatic church. She said that she had repented of her sins and believed in Jesus Christ to save her. She quickly got side tracked, though, so Eric then clearly expounded the gospel unto her and asked her again if there was a time when she had gotten saved according to the Bible. She pointed once again to the time at the charismatic church. Her testimony seems sound and we believe that she is saved, she just has very little knowledge of the Bible because of all the different churches she has been in. Pray for her to grow and to continue to attend services even though we questioned her.

Thursday night started out hectic and we clearly felt Satan trying to hinder the lesson from getting started. It took forever to finally get everyone to sit down. Christina ran out to do dishes, Max was running back and forth, Lydia and Anna were a little fussy, but finally we got settled. As soon as we sat down, a young man walked in, very proud and scornfull. Eric told him we could give him a Bible and one of the lesson books if he was interested. He snickered and said no. We asked him if he would like to sit in for the lesson, he again snickered and said no. He stood there for a little while, then sat down by Christina (we later found out that he was trying to get her to go outside and smoke with him). He eventually left, but Christina sat away from the group until Eric asked her to move in closer. When the lesson was finished, Eric had Yuri leave so he could talk just to Christina. He asked her if she was saved. She said no. Eric then asked her if she would like to get saved. Christina said, of course, BUT I'm too bad a sinner. I can't get saved. No one in the village will talk to me and they call me crazy because of all that I've done. Eric then shared with her Romans 10:13 "For WHOSOEVER shall call upon the name of the Lord SHALL BE SAVED." "What did that say Christina," he said. "It said whosoever. We are not any better than you without Jesus. We are all sinners. Look at some of the men in the Bible who got saved. Moses was a murderer. David was a fornicator and a murder. Paul murdered Christians." He then had Lina share her testimony with Christina. At the end, Christina was ready and repented of her sins, trusting only in Jesus Christ to save her.

Christina then left the room and Yuri came in (I left the room also to go fellowship with our new sister in Christ). Eric had Yuri pull out his time line. He asked him if there was a time when he had trusted Jesus as his Saviour. Yuri pointed to a time when he was in prison. He heard music, then a "whoosh" came over him and he had a glowing around his head. "Is this BIBLICAL salvation, Yuri," Eric asked. Yuri said that it wasn't, but still tried to justify it. Eric then brought him to Acts 10 and talked to him about Cornelius. The Bible says that he was "A devout man, and one that feared God with all his house, which gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God alway." Eric explained that Cornelius believed in God but he wasn't saved until Peter shared the Gospel of Jesus Christ with Him, because it is only through Jesus that you can be saved. Eric finished sharing a few more scriptures with Yuri and then he asked him, "Yuri do you really have Biblical salvation." He said "No, but I want to be saved. And I want to be saved according to the Bible." Yuri then in prayer repented of his sins and trusted in Jesus as the only way to get to heaven.

As you can imagine, there were many tears and much rejoicing in that little house Thursday night! We did not get home until about 1 o'clock in the morning!

Please continue to pray for them as they have much growing to do. Yuri and Christina are not married, but are living together.