Russia - Timofei the prodigal son

Timofei was born into a Christian family, Timofei rejected the teachings of his Christian parents and chose a life that was not pleasing to them – or to God. “I resented that they pushed me to go to church. I wanted to live in the world and to do my own thing. I did not want to live by ‘religious restrictions.’”

As a teenager, Timofei became chained to a life of alcohol and drugs. Throughout Russia, alcohol is introduced early and subtly takes control of lives and families.

“My friends were not believers and I followed them into drinking, drugs, foul language and aggressive behaviour. My attitude was very bad and I started fights regularly – both verbally and physically. I needed money, so I began stealing and cheating people. When I was 16, I was sent to prison for two years.”

Timofei left the prison a bitter and angry young man. He had even grown to resent God for the way his life was going. “I did not seek God or want His forgiveness,” remembers Timofei.

When Timofei was 19, he married and had a son. When his little boy was only five months old, Timofei was again sent to prison – this time for two years.

“I felt no remorse. In prison people were told to avoid me. I was described as cruel and dangerous.”

Before he was incarcerated, Timofei had been abusive to his wife. While he was in prison, she divorced him.

Timofei lost everything – everything but praying parents and a God who continued to love him. Timofei married again and had another child. He tried to cut back on his drinking but he was not successful. After a night of drinking and drugs, his wife convinced him that they needed to move to another city, to make a new start.

"One day I went to visit my parents whom I had not seen for seven years,” remembers Timofei. “My father gave me a Bible. While I accepted his gift, I determined that I would never read it.”

Timofei’s next few months were spent under harsh conviction from the Holy Spirit. He occasionally visited a local church. He even opened his father’s Bible. As he read the Bible, he slowly began to understand the unfailing love of his parents.

"Over the next seven months, I often thought of repenting. But my addictions were so strong. I felt too weak to even ask for forgiveness.”

This changed when Timofei visited a Project Philip Bible study group.

“The weight of my sinful life became so heavy that I couldn’t be still any longer. I fell on my knees and cried out to God to forgive me. Jesus came into my life; I was no longer a prisoner of my sin. God the righteous judge had forgiven me. I became a free man because of what Jesus did on the cross. My hostility was washed from me, along with my anger.”

Through the Bible study, Timofei grew in his new faith. One year after he came to Christ Timofei’s wife also decided to become a Christian. Timofei now leads a Project Philip Bible study where 15 people come every week to learn more about Jesus and His Word.

God's Word softens hard-hearts like rain on sun-baked soil

Timofei is also involved with youth who are, like he was, bound by alcohol and drugs.

“With a pervading sense of hopelessness and with no employment, young people see drugs as their answer. When I tell them the story of God’s work in my life, it has a powerful impact. I find much joy when a troubled young person attends the Bible study and accepts Christ.”

“I have found that I can spend weeks or months trying to bring a person to a place of repentance. Often, it does not happen. But when I use a Bible and ask the person to read the Gospel of John, their heart is often softened. From my own experience, I had a hard heart. The reading of the Bible softened it like rain on sun-baked soil.”