Four years ago, I was on my way to the Zaporozhye Bible College on a snowy day to teach an English class.  As my van passed through the town of Vasilievka, I noticed several people waiting by the roadside trying to hitch a ride to the city.  Hitchhiking is a common means of transportation here in Ukraine, and we often pick up travelers if we have room, and sometimes the Lord even opens up an opportunity to witness and share about Christ.  Since my van was empty, I stopped and let them in.  

  One of hitchhikers was a young man who introduced himself as Zhenya.  He was very talkative and quite interested in the fact that he had been picked up by an American.  We talked and visited together all the way to the city, where I dropped him and the others off.  He had asked for my telephone number, and I did hear from him a time or two during the following weeks, and then no more.  

   Then, a few weeks ago, there was a knock on our door.  I opened it to find a young man that I didn’t recognize until he reminded me, “Hey, Scott!  It’s me, Zhenya!  You picked me up a couple of years back, remember?”  

  He was now living with his aunt on the next street over from ours.  He told his aunt, “I met an American a few years back and I think he lives in this village.”  She pointed out the window and said, “That’s his house right over there!”  

  After enjoying a meal with our family, Zhenya and I visited together, and he told me about the many twists and turns his life had taken.  He told me that he was hungering for deeper purpose in his life.  He had gone to a Ukrainian Orthodox priest and was told, “Come to confession and make some changes in your lifestyle.”  But that still left him feeling empty.

  He looked at me and asked, “What would you tell me, Scott? How can I truly change and have meaning in life?”  

  Zhenya listened attentively as, for the first time in his life, he heard the true gospel of Jesus Christ, the message that only the grace of God can make a person “a new creation,” and that this is accomplished by repenting and putting one’s complete faith in Jesus Christ alone for salvation and eternal life.  

  Last week, Zhenya attended an evangelical church service for the first time and told me, “This is amazing!  I’ve never experienced anything like this!  Can I go to the evening service with you?”  

  God is working in his heart.  We pray that he makes a decision to give his heart to Christ, and we rejoice in the chance to share the gospel with someone who had never heard it before.  

  This morning, I woke up sick and had to stay home from church.  But I received a phone call.  “Scott, it’s Zhenya!  Are we going to church today?”  I sadly let him know about our circumstances, then added, “But if you go, I know they’ll be happy to see you, Zhenya.”  

  His answer brought a smile to my face and rejoicing to my heart.

  “Oh, I’m going all right!”