CEE Story From The Mission Field
Hard Times Are the Best
May 14, 2003
Pastor in Moscow, Russia.
In the late 1970’s I got drafted into the Marines and was assigned to the far east of Russia. When I went to the Draft Dept., the enlistment officer growled, “I see you are not Komsomol (Communist Youth Organization). Why?”
"I am a believer,” I said.
"If you are a believer, then you are crazy. If you are crazy why are you not in the mental hospital?” I handed him the document that certified my sanity.
He sneered, “Well, you look sane, but your own words prove that you are not.”
So I was not sent to the Marines but to a building crew made up of criminals. Every week men were murdered in this unit. The men were young and strong and arrogant about their crimes.
I knew that the only way to gain the respect of these thugs was to be honest about what I believed. They knew from their own persecution of believers, that if anyone admitted he was a believer, then he was willing to suffer and even die. Though they might not respect my faith, I thought they might respect my courage if I was honest. This decision directed my life for the next two years, as I got to witness to 1,300 people.
I remember one night a drunk woke me up and demanded that I tell him about Christ. I prayed, “Lord, how can I tell him? He cannot think. but, OK, his mind is in your hands. “ I thought that I was wasting my time, but ten years later when I was preaching at Central Baptist Church in Moscow a note was passed to me before the sermon. It said that a “brother” wanted to meet me after the service.
When I got to the exit, the stranger hugged me and said, “I am a Christian, too. I am a pastor now.” Then I recognized him as the drunk from the barracks.
Another time there was a foul up with the hot water tanks in the sewer tunnel. Someone had to go down and fix it. It was 100 C down there and unbearable. Every man in our unit was sent down to turn off the water, but no one could stay down there long enough to do it. We did not have the right equipment, you understand—it was an impossible effort. Then came my turn.
I prayed for safety and even though I was one of the smallest guys in the unit—I turned off the water. The commander said, “Pavel you had to have God with you to do that miracle.” He did not believe in God himself, but like those who saw the three men in the furnace, he recognized when God did a miracle.
Little by little the men changed. When the guys would repent, they would begin to act more human-like. After awhile the authorities even let us form an orchestra. Do you know what I noticed? When a believer is like a light in a dark place, even unbelievers are glad.
A few months later I was released and sent to a sanatorium to finish up my service. I told the authorities that something was wrong with the orders because I wasn’t sick. They told me to shut up and be glad I got to leave early.
At the sanatorium, life was easy. We had good food, movies, disco and no work, but my own soul longed for the hard days in the work crew. Here in this comfortable place, no one needed me. They had no desire to hear about God. I think we are the closest to God’s activity in hard times. When we are needy and know that we cannot take care of ourselves, then we call on God. For example, when our authorities took away our Bibles, we had nothing left. Prayer had a new meaning. The Bible became precious. That is why I say, Do not fear hard times. Fear more that you will neglect the opportunities you have. Fear that you will forget to be thankful for the easy things that other brothers and sisters have had to suffer for.