Olga has been teaching English on Monday nights for quite a while. And now Valerie is helping!

The young man is Kostya Protasov. He was a heroin addict who lived as a thief and extortionist before becoming a pagan who sacrificed to the gods of the forest; as a result of his drug use he contracted HIV and Hepatitis C. He ended up at a Christian rehab center but got sick of it. This is what happened as he fled the center, waiting for a train to go to the city:

As I waited, the pictures of my empty past and dreary future filled my mind, and I heard a voice in my heart saying: “Go back to the center lest you die!” Going back to the center was 8 kilometers through the forest and my bag that I had to carry [was heavy], but somehow I made a decision to go back.

I went through the forest and felt the presence of God! His mercy, His tremendous love overwhelmed me! I thought of many of my friends who in their “search of truth” and trying different things in life did not reach the most important – Jesus and His Word that really sets free.

One of the center workers told me: when a man takes one step towards God, God takes ten steps towards him! The hunger to know Jesus burnt in my heart, the desire to live in fellowship with Him. He met me in so many ways and the things that were impossible for me before became possible! I once was lost in sin, but Jesus took me in and set me free from the chains of addictions!”

You can read his full story here, (scroll down the page a little).