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‘My first Bible came from the sea’
UKRAINE — “I don’t know what we would do without the Ukrainian Bible Society and its regional office here in Kherson,” says Pastor Timofey Gladkov (48), who leads the town’s largest Adventist church (see previous article). “All the Adventist churches in this region use the Bible Society’s services as much as possible!” Pastor Timofey is a keen participant in the meetings of Church leaders that take place regularly at the Bible Society’s Southern Region office (see World Report 404/3). He is also a strong supporter of Bible Day. “It has been a great blessing to us to know that we now have one day each year when the Bible is given special attention,” he explains. “I always go to the Bible Society to collect Bible Day materials to be distributed to all the local Adventist churches. All the leaders and pastors gather together for a prayer meeting and we decide what we will do to celebrate. Bible Day is one of the most important days of the year for us! We sing hymns, read from the Bible and display information about Bible work in Ukraine and other countries. Then we invite people to donate to that particular year’s project.” Pastor Timofey is a fourth-generation Adventist. His love for the Bible stretches back to his childhood, when it was a forbidden book. “During those times, you could be imprisoned for many years for sharing the Bible with others,” he recalls. “But still people managed to get Bibles somehow. My father used to type out Bible texts, making six or seven copies at a time. When I was 16, I starting doing this work, too. It was always done in secret, with the curtains closed and the doors locked. I was involved for many years. When I got married, my wife and I sat typing together. We knew that it was dangerous, but we simply had to have the Word of God. “Now the Bible is no longer a forbidden book and we even have a Bible Society. Thank God for this miracle!” Until he was 16, Pastor Timofey had to share his father’s Bible. But then he obtained his own copy in a very unusual way. “I really wanted my own Bible. I finally got one as a result of the courage of my grandfather, who made a very dangerous journey. He had heard rumours among Christians that it was possible to get Bibles in Latvia. Apparently, Christians in the West had thrown lots of Russian Bibles into the Baltic Sea. The Bibles were wrapped up well so that they would float and not get wet. Small packages of Bibles were washed up on the beaches in Latvia, where Christians picked them up. “My grandfather travelled to Latvia, where he was able to get hold of 30 Bibles. He brought them back to Ukraine by train, hidden under his coat. He was stopped several times by the police. They asked to see his identity card, but they never questioned him further! “So my first Bible came from the sea, and it proved to be a great blessing for me. I used it during my theological studies and during my first years of service as a pastor. I got a new Bible in 1987 and gave my first one to my cousin. He’s an atheist. I don’t think he’s ever opened it, but maybe he will one day and learn that God cares for him. As the prophet Isaiah says, the Word of God never returns empty!” [Isaiah 55:11.] This report refers to projects UKRFR1, 88508 and 88509. (WR 405/16 -09/10.06) [1 photo] |
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