“And from that day on, my life changed completely.”  SGA Storyteller Diana has gathered the story below from a man (former orphan) named Sasha. His life changed completely after serving those in need alongside of Diana and her husband. Others are often observing our words and actions in every moment. Sasha saw something different in this couple. He saw compassion, love, and hospitality.  Most importantly, he saw their love for our Father in Heaven. God opened Sasha’s eyes to Himself through the example of two faithful servants. 

Often times through humble service, your witness before others can be beyond measurable. Diana writes, “I have nothing to add to this story. Sasha wrote his testimony himself when he learned that we wanted to share his story. Of course, some moments make us feel awkward. Because everything our family does is not done with the goal of glorifying ourselves. But on the contrary, to exalt God, to realize our helplessness. But Sasha asked us not to take anything away from his personal testimony, spoken in his words.” 

Please pray for Diana and her family as they continue to serve and impact those in their community. Also pray for the many SGA-supported Orphans Reborn and Compassion Ministry outreach teams who also humbly serve throughout the countries where SGA ministers. Sasha is now one of the humble ones who are impacting many lives as well.

 A story about how when you humbly serve others, God changes you completely from the inside out.

 Sasha was born in Russia. He never knew his father. His mother was an alcoholic, and Sasha was often left on the street, forgotten by his mother.

Sasha lived in Siberia, and when his mother left home drunk in the winter, he would go looking for her. Often, he wore only shorts, a jacket and thin slippers. He often got frostbite on his extremities and now he still has problems with his legs because of this. At the age of four, he stayed overnight in the stable and went to the horse to warm up, but the horse kicked him. He flew to the side and lost consciousness. The farmer saw this and urgently called an ambulance. Sasha was taken to the hospital; he underwent a serious operation. The doctors had no hope in saving him because his spleen was ruptured. But the boy survived. His mother was deprived of parental rights. The boy was sent to an orphanage. 

While he was still in the hospital one of the doctors thought Sasha’s last name sounded very familiar. She remembered that her classmate had the same last name. She once lived in Russia and moved to Kazakhstan. The doctor started writing to all the helplines and also to people search services to tell this woman that her grandson had gotten into such a situation. And lo and behold, she was found! 

Sasha’s grandmother immediately bought a ticket from Kazakhstan to Russia and took him from the orphanage. Sasha did not stay in the orphanage for long, about a year. His mother continued to lead a dissolute lifestyle and drink heavily. Sasha never communicated with her again. When Sasha turned 16, after some time he learned that his mother had died. One night she went out drunk on the road, and a truck did not see her in the light of its night headlights. The truck hit her and killed her. 

It was difficult for the grandmother to raise her grandson alone. He grew up surrounded by boys who were constantly fighting. His character was brought up in a criminal environment. He played a lot of sports and therefore always remained unharmed in the next street fight. His grandmother was a religious person. She always prayed for her grandson and invited him to church. 

Sasha says: “I was a master of hypocrisy. In church, I was an angel, and everyone loved me. On the street, I was the devil, and everyone hated me. For many years, I could change masks.” 

After some time, Sasha married a girl from the church. They had two children. 

As Sasha says: “Anger and aggression have always been my true friends. I went to church and sang in the choir. But the next day I could beat up a person and not feel condemned. Anger began to grow inside me. My wife and children began to be afraid of me. 

“One evening I was alone with myself. I realized that this was terrible. How did I turn into such a person? A friend invited me to go on a missionary trip to the villages to help the poor and share the Gospel. I thought, how can I do this? I am in a terrible state myself. I had heard many times from a friend about Alexander and Diana and their ministry in the villages. I went. And from that day on, my life changed completely. I can’t explain exactly what happened to me. But while I was visiting the poor in their homes with a team of dedicated people, God visited me. The whole way back home, which was five or six hours, I cried and could not stop. God poured out His grace on me. When I entered the house, my wife did not recognize me. She said that even my eyes had changed.

“The following Sunday, my wife and I immediately went to church in the local community. Alexander and Diana invited us to their home. We were very impressed with their hospitality. We could never imagine that a pastor’s house could be so open to everyone. As it turns out, they invite everyone to their home for lunch every Sunday. And there is a wonderful atmosphere there. They communicate, laugh, discuss various biblical and everyday topics, sing, and pray together. We felt like part of this family. For a few more months, we came as guests and participated in the evangelistic ministry for the villages. Finally, we asked to be accepted as members of the church. Alexander, as a wise pastor, asked me to get a blessing from my church pastor to move to the new church. It was very easy, since my first pastor and the whole church saw what changes God had made in my life. Now I am part of this ministry team. I lead a home group in one of the villages. I also continue to go to the villages. I serve as a sermon on Sundays. I help in camps and sports ministry. The devil held me for so long. Now I want to do so much for God!”

I have nothing to add, Sasha wrote his testimony himself when he learned that we wanted to share his story. Of course, some moments make us feel awkward. Because everything our family does is not done with the goal of glorifying ourselves. But on the contrary, to exalt God, to realize our helplessness. But Sasha asked not to take anything away from his personal testimony, spoken in his words.

All we want to add to what was said above is that whoever we are and wherever we are, God finds each of us to heal and free us from the shackles of evil. One of the tools, as it happened in Sasha’s case. He went to help others, and God helped him. May His Name be glorified in all worship!