While walking pass some small garage buildings near the property of the church, the volunteer staff of the Transfiguration Center in Bryansk, Russia noticed many homeless adults congregating in order to keep warm. Oksana Leonova, a missionary of Slavic Missionary Service, realized that her team must begin to minister to these needy people. Their concentration has always been on children, but now that focus must expand to adults. Therefore, in November of 2011, the team started preparing meals to feed this homeless group of people. While distributing the food, the staff also shared the good news of salvation through the Word of God and Christian songs. Soon, without hesitation, Zhanna repented of her sins and trusted Jesus as her personal Savior. She attended a rehabilitation center to help her overcome her substance abuse and now is attending church services weekly. Here is her testimony in her own words.

“Your life will never be complete if it does not have Jesus Christ. This is my testimony of my salvation.I do not even want to remember my past life, before my encounter with Christ; because it waspathetic, senseless and empty. The joy was temporary and resembled a small island surrounded by waves of mistrust, betrayal, greed and lies.

By nature, I was a cheerful, open-minded, simple person, always striving for sincere relationships. But, all of these qualities did not fit in with this cruel, envious world, which is indifferent to anyone’s grief and built on deceit, depravity and a constant struggle for power. I realized that sincere love in this sinful world could not survive. For this reason, in my family life, I also got disappointed. Living in this godless world, I gradually became infected with its disgusting qualities. Living with a clear conscience just did not work for me anymore. I became more and more weak-minded, sinning in my thoughts and actions before people. In my soul I was unbearably lonely. My whole being was opposed to the life that I was living. And to get away from reality, I started drinking alcohol. All this led to the fact that my family disintegrated.My "faithful" friends fled. My life became meaningless and empty. I lost a prestigious job and an apartment in the center of the city. I felt unnecessary to everyone and lived in complete hopelessness on the street. So, having suffered about eight months, I decided to die.

One night, looking up at the sky, I sincerely turned to God with great regret for the years lived in emptiness. With tears in my eyes, I asked God to forgive me for all the bad that I had done in this earthly life. I asked Him to pardon me and take me to Himself in heaven! And God heard me! Literally, the next day, I was approached by believers in Jesus Christ. These people offered to help me go to a rehabilitation center. In my opinion my situation was hopeless, but when communicating with these believers, I somehow had a spark of hope for the best. And I agreed to go! Also, they showed me from the Bible that the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 6:23). And from this biblical knowledge, I had hope of salvation! I also learned that God gives man salvation from his sins, not by his own merits or by good works, but as a gift (Ephesians 2: 8-9). This great God loves me so much, and He gave me the opportunity to get rid of my sins!

Through the Bible, I learned that one day, instead of me, the punishment for my sins was already taken by His Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ (1 John 3: 5). He was crucified on the cross. He was buried in the grave; and on the third day, He was resurrected to justify and redeem those who would believe that He became a substitute for them to take away their sins. The truth of God opened and enlightened my heart. I sincerely believed that Jesus Christ is my only Savior! And that through faith in Him, I can come to the heavenly Father (John 14: 6).

I understood with all my heart how strong, sacrificial and unconditional is God’s love for me. Therefore, with joy and full confidence I received Jesus Christ into my heart. He is the Lord of my life. I reconciled with God and became his child. My life began to change to my surprise and great joy! The Lord began to set me free from all my bad habits. But most importantly, I began to change from the inside. I had a great desire to be like Jesus in everything. My heart began to warm, and I believed that I am not alone now. With me is my faithful helper, a wise teacher and mentor, the best comforter — Jesus Christ! Believing in Christ, instead of fear and hopelessness I gained confidence in the future. Instead of emptiness and dissatisfaction, I now have the meaning of life! Instead of a sense of rejection, I have God's protection and God's care!

Inside of me is perfect joy. I am God's child, saved from eternal perdition. Through faith in Jesus Christ, as my personal Savior, I have eternal life. I'm not afraid to approach the threshold of death, because I believe and know that I will be in the kingdom of heaven with the Lord for all eternity! The Lord is near! Turn to Him and He will hear you. Do not delay, my friend!”

Praise God for His great love and mercy! The interim director of SMS was able to visit with Zhanna in July, 2017 at the church where she works as a security guard. Playing the guitar, she shared an original Christian song and also gave him some original poetry to distribute to unbelievers.

Every Wednesday Zhanna, with Oksana Leonova and a few others from the Transfiguration Center, prepares soup and goes to the center of the city to witness about Jesus Christ to the homeless adults that are gathered there. (The garages near the church have been demolished, and now an apartment building stands in that place.) Her testimony is powerful, as she shares her own personal experience. Pray for this incredible outreach that God will show these homeless and hopeless individuals a better life through the testimonies of His “blood-bought” children.