Pavel Borodenko, team leader from Smolensk Holy Trinity Church recently witnessed how God has changed the destiny of a young man in answer to prayer. His mother simply shared her heart pain with the Lord. Pavel said that once he was with the team in a village in Smolensk region. They walked through the village from one house to another. Near one house, they saw a woman who was working in her garden. Team members stopped to speak to her and shared the Good News, telling of God's love and redemptive sacrifice of Christ.

The woman began to cry, she explained that her son suffered from severe alcohol addiction. For several years, she pleaded to God, as she could, for help. Team members shared with her that the Lord transformed their lives and talked about opportunities for her son to go to a rehabilitation center for drug and alcohol addicts. The woman was very thankful for such an answer to her prayer. Without hesitation, she prayed the sinner’s prayer. The missionaries gave her the New Testament and an address of the nearest Christian church.

Two months later, Pavel Borodenko visited a church in the Smolensk region. There he talked about the One Year for Jesus Project and shared testimonies of people who were reached. After the service a young man came up to him and introduced himself as Yuri Prohorenkov. He was the son of that mother, who missionaries met. They prayed for Yuri without even knowing him. Their visit to that village has completely changed the direction of this young man’s life. What his mother prayed for (even when she really didn’t know how to pray), has happened, and her son got a new life.

Sometimes we do not realize that God sends us to answer people’s prayers. We, on our part, just need to be obedient to the will of God.

Photos: Smolensk Team

Yuri Prohorenkov