Artyom went to Sunday school at the Evangelical Baptist Church (Gospel House) in Vitebsk, Belarus. He was taken there by his grandmother, who is a believer in the church. At the age of fourteen, he left the Sunday school and completely immersed himself in an ungodly life. The church has not seen him for about twelve years. For the last two years his grandmother has constantly asked the church to pray for him, and we prayed!

For twelve years Artyom was very far from God. He wanted material prosperity in life. He changed from one job to another, constantly begging his grandmother for money. He sank to the point that he made a deal with the devil to make money. In order to approve this deal, he had tattooed a satanic inverted star on his back.

But his conscience gave him no peace. God made it so that Artyom "accidentally" met a classmate, who goes to another church. This guy testified that the torture of Artyom's conscience was sent to him by God. He said that God is waiting for you to return. Artyom thought that God had rejected him because of his deal with the devil. This Christian friend planted hope in Artyom’s heart and prompted him to return to his home church.

And Artyom came back to church. The members accepted him with joy! He repented and began to walk constantly with the Lord. Once, he overslept but still came at the conclusion of the church service. He has already decided to take the next step of obedience in the Christian life: baptism. We are grateful to God, who is so wonderful with everything and answers prayer! How amazing that so many people participated in this process with Artyom — his grandmother, the Sunday school and the church praying, as well as his faithful classmate and you, our supporting friends. Praise God!

Victor Zaletilo
SMS Missionary
and Pastor