FREE INDEED! NDEED!

M O L D O V A
F REE INDEED!
February 2 | Told to Mission by Valentin Bogatii and Serghei Bejan
“If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:36, NIV).
ADVENTIST MISSION Euro-Asia Division
V
12
alentin [VAL-en-teen] knew enough
about God to pray when he needed
help. But he did not understand that
God wanted more than an urgent prayer;
He wanted to live in his life.
Then while working in Siberia,
Valentin met an escaped convict. When
their friendship turned bad, Valentin
killed him. Valentin escaped capture
and returned home to Moldova, but he
could not escape the guilt he felt over the
murder he had committed. He prayed for
forgiveness, but his sins haunted him.
Then one night the police came and
arrested him for a robbery. Valentin knew
he was guilty and did not resist.
In prison, Valentin met a guard who
was a Christian. He shared his faith with
Valentin, but when he explained the
Sabbath to Valentin, it confused him.
The guard gave Valentin a Bible and
gently asked Valentin to show him where
the Bible says to honor Sunday. Valentin
began searching for the Sabbath-Sunday
connection, but he did not find it.
Valentin joined other prisoners
who worshipped God. He realized that
salvation is God’s gift, and nothing we do
can earn it. He accepted God’s salvation
and felt free at last. Jesus had paid the
price for his salvation. Six months later
he was baptized.
Valentin’s Confession
Valentin had six more years to serve
on his prison sentence when God pricked
his conscience about the murder he
had committed. Valentin confessed the
murder to authorities and was sentenced
to life in prison. He was moved to a
maximum security facility with even less
personal freedom, but he was at peace.
In spite of the prison walls, Valentin felt
truly free for the first time in his life.
God led Valentin to men who yearned
for God’s love and is bringing these lost
sheep into the fold. Today seven men
in that maximum security prison are
Adventist Christians because of Valentin’s
witness. One of them is Sergei [SEHR-gay].
Sergei
Sergei was 20 when he returned from
military service with great plans for his
future. But treachery changed his plans,
and one night the police came to his
home and arrested him. Only later did
he learn the crime he was accused of
No Time for God
Sergei saw changes in his life. His anger
was disappearing, and he felt hope. As
he forgave those who had sent him to
prison, he began to feel free—really free.
Sergei wanted to share his new life with
his mother. He wanted her to experience
God’s love as he had. But would she? He
prayed a lot in the days before her visit.
When Sergei’s mother arrived at the
prison, he talked about his new faith and
how much it meant to him. She listened
and nodded, but when he asked her to
join him in his spiritual journey, she
shook her head. “I have no time,” she said
quietly.
Sergei’s heart ached as the guards
said their time was up. With tears in his
eyes, he said, “Mother, if you don’t want
to follow God, then I won’t either.” To
Sergei’s surprise, his mother agreed to let
an Adventist woman visit and talk to her
about his new faith.
Sergei was overjoyed when his mother
MOLDOVA
began attending the Adventist church
and planned to be baptized. Sergei
too was baptized—in a portable water
reservoir placed in the exercise yard of the
maximum security prison. He was 21 years
old and a babe in Christ.
Sergei has a whole new outlook on life
now. He found salvation and freedom in
Christ in a maximum security prison.
“Maybe prison is the only place where
I could find God,” Sergei said. “I pray
that God will use my life to help others
discover Jesus’ love. I am living proof that
‘if the Son sets you free, you will be free
indeed’” (John 8:36, NIV).
Our mission offerings help reach men
and women in prisons at home and around
the world. Thank you for sharing. ¸
Valentin Bogatii and Serghei Bejan are serving life sentences
in prisons in Moldova.
FAST FACTS
ÿ Almost half the people in
Moldova are Orthodox Christians.
Almost 12,000 Adventists live in
Moldova; that’s one Adventist for
every 383 people.
ÿ Adventists have an active prison
ministry in several prisons in
Moldova, bringing food, clothes,
and personal hygiene kits to those
behind bars, including infants who
were born to incarcerated mothers
and live inside the prison. When
opportunities come, they distribute
Bibles and religious literature.
OPPORTUNITY
ÿ Part of this quarter’s Thirteenth
Sabbath Offering will help to build a
new church in Chişinău, capital city
of Moldova.
www.AdventistMission.org
committing. Sergei was innocent, but he
was sentenced to life in prison.
Anger welled up within him. Where
was truth? Where was justice? The only
one who believed him was his mother.
She never doubted his innocence, and her
visits helped him survive the cruelties of
prison life.
A fellow prisoner gave Sergei a Bible
and invited him to a religious meeting
in the prison. Sergei wasn’t sure he
wanted to go, but with plenty of time on
his hands he started reading the Bible.
He found it compelling and carried
the Bible everywhere. He attended the
worship services and listened as other
prisoners shared how God had brought
meaning to their lives. Their words
made sense to Sergei, and he continued
attending the worships.
13