EDUARD's Story

Eduard's Story

My story starts in Siberia, in Novokuznetsk. Life wasn't easy. No dad around, my mom and brother lived apart, so my grandparents raised me. They taught me about God, so I knew He was real, but my everyday life was far from Him.

I basically grew up on the streets. That's where I learned everything: how to make friends, fight, and find trouble. I was a tough kid, known for being rude and getting into fights. And getting in with the wrong company just made it worse. Part of me knew this wasn't the right path, but I didn't know how to stop.

Things started to shift when I became friends with a girl from school who went to Young Life. She was different and hanging out with her changed me. I became calmer, started doing better in school, and finally felt like I belonged somewhere. One day, feeling really lonely, I texted her. She was on her way to Young Life and said, ‘Just come with me’. I was nervous, but I went. And I was amazed. People actually talked to me, asked about my life and cared about the answers. In one day, I felt more seen and loved than in all my years at school.

Later these people invited me to summer camp. I thought about it a lot and finally said yes, choosing it over a family trip. It was all new to me. But the biggest shock was hearing people talk about God in a way that felt so real and personal, like it was meant just for me. The Gospel touched something deep within me.

Then, at camp, I had a bad accident and hit my head hard. My vision blurred, a raging fever set in, and I fell into a deep, disoriented sleep. The only thing I remember from these night is three leaders coming in, saying everyone was worried, and asking if they could pray for me. I was scared but said yes. They prayed for me, I felt an intense pain in my head and fell asleep again. When I woke up hours later, I was totally fine. No pain, no fever, nothing at all. When I shared this with a leader, he told me ‘That was God. He healed you’.

That was it for me. I decided right then that I want to follow Jesus and want to become like those leaders, who had shown me such love. Since then, I've served in all sorts of ways: with Capernaum, led the high school club, and now I run a sports ministry where we use volleyball to reach kids.

I see now God was with me the whole time, even when I was far from Him, working on my heart until I was finally ready to feel His touch.