Changed Lives
Gena Vlasik

Gena [GEEH-nah] was 19 years old and serving in the Belarusian military when he learned that one of his high school friends was serving a prison sentence for murdering his father while high on drugs. So he was surprised to learn later that this boy had become a Christian.

When Gena returned home on leave, he met his friend, who had just been released from prison. Gena hardly recognized him. The last time he had seen him he looked wild and unkempt, but now he was dressed in a suit, and his hair was neatly combed. As the two friends talked, Gena could not help noticing that his friend's speech was no longer filled with profanities. Gena commented on the remarkable changes in his life and his appearance. His friend answered, "That is because I am not the same Sasha. I have become a Christian, a new person in Christ."

Sasha talked openly about his former life and the terrible things he had done. His new attitude made Gena even more curious about the power of God in a person's life. He decided to begin searching for God for himself.

The Search for God
Gena bought a Bible and began reading it when he returned to his military base. But he found that he could not understand much of what the Bible said. He would sit on his bunk in the army barracks and pray, "Lord, I don't know who You are, but I've seen the changes in Sasha's life. Reveal Yourself to me, too. Help me to understand You." For three months Gena prayed this prayer.

Thinking that there was something he must do in order to grow closer to God, Gena wrote letters to everyone he could think of whom he might have wronged, asking forgiveness. Still God did not seem to reveal Himself to Gena. He had been a smoker and drinker, but he decided he must put away these habits. When he committed his desire to God, he found it easy to quit smoking and drinking.

He wanted to find a church where he could meet God. He visited the Orthodox church, the only church he knew, but it was crowded and noisy with holiday worshipers, and Gena could not find God there. Where else could he look?

"Get Off the Bus"
As he rode the city bus back to the army base, he heard a distinct voice telling him to get off the bus. He obeyed, but he did not understand why. As he stood looking around, the voice told him to go to the nearby food store. He followed the directions and found the food store. Still he did not know why he was there. Then on the light pole he saw a poster inviting people to learn about God. It gave the address and time of some meetings. Gena copied down the information and went to the address given on the poster. He had no idea what church sponsored the meetings, but since the voice seemed to instruct him to the poster, he felt he must at least attend one meeting.

He found the meeting place and met the leader. As soon as he introduced himself, he told the leader, "I want to be baptized." The leader told him that he should attend the lectures and study the Bible to be sure that he was ready for baptism.

Gena was impressed with what he learned at the lecture and felt sure that the voice he had heard directing him to the meeting was the voice of God. When he returned to the base, he went straight to his commanding officer to ask for three nights off to attend these lectures. The commander was surprised at his request. "This is the army," he said. "How can I give you three evenings off?"

"I am not going out to get drunk or commit crime," Gena explained, knowing what the commander must be thinking. "I want to learn about God." Gena's commanding officer, a Christian man, agreed to give him the evenings off so he could attend all the meetings. Following the meetings, Gena was baptized.

Trouble
Because of his work assignment, Sabbath duty was not a problem for Gena. Then, six months after his baptism, the commander ordered all soldiers to report for duty on Saturday to move the army base. Gena went to see the commander. "Sir," he said, "it is against my beliefs to work on Saturday, for it is the Sabbath of God."

The commander, knowing Gena was a Christian, took his request to a superior officer. But the superior told him that he had no choice. "If it was wartime and you refused to work on Saturday, you would be shot. Since it is not wartime, you will face two to 10 years in prison for refusing this order. Think carefully about this. If you work this one day, you will avoid years of prison."

Gena responded, "Sir, moving the base is not a life-and-death matter. If we move the camp on a different day, I will be happy to do my part. I must obey my conscience." Gena was prepared, even for prison, because he knew that if it was God's will for him to be in prison, he would witness for God. Gena was dismissed from the commander's office. He returned to his barracks, praying the whole way that God would use his decision to honor Jesus Christ.

Later Gena received word that he was being transferred to another regiment before the day the base would be moved. He thanked God for answering his prayer for wisdom and protection.

Gena arrived at his new post on Friday. Quickly he stowed his gear and went to see the commander to ask for Sabbath off. He explained the Bible Sabbath and his reasons for asking for Sabbaths to worship God. The commanding officer agreed to give Gena Sabbaths free. In addition, he ordered the officers not to harass him and not to require him to work from Friday evening until Saturday night. Gena knew that this privilege was not routinely offered to soldiers and that it was a direct answer to prayer. Gena offered to take difficult or distasteful job assignments in exchange for having his Sabbaths off, and the commanders tested him on this point by giving him jobs no one else wanted to do.

One of the soldiers at the new base picked on Gena constantly. But instead of becoming angry at the soldier, Gena tried to answer him politely and thank him for giving him advice. One day the man surprised Gena by asking him to pray that he would be released from the military along with Gena. Gena promised to pray for him, and whenever the two men met, the soldier asked Gena, "Have you prayed?" Gena assured him that he was praying for the man.

The commanders were impressed at how Gena encouraged the other soldiers to improve their unit. He remained with this unit until his release from the military.

Free to make plans for the future, Gena felt God's call to the ministry. Currently he is studying at Zaoksky Seminary.

This story originally appeared in the adult edition of Mission, 3rd quarter 2001, edited by Charlotte Ishkanian. Used by permission.