We went to live with Anatolie and his family these past 2 nights and 3 days. They are such an amazing family. He tells us that he use to be a “hooligan” or “bandit” and he went to prison twice and he heard sermons while he was in prison. After he got out of prison for the second time, he decided to go to church, embraced Christ into his life in 2002, and immediately began to teach at a Sunday School for children. He became a deacon in 2008.
He now runs a rehabilitation center with his own income and through donations for those that have ABSOLUTELY no place to stay- for those that have come out of prison themselves or for individuals that he finds on the street. He has found people that have almost died from freezing to death in the winter. He provides free housing with beds, clothing, and food for them. They can stay for as long as they need to until they get their lives back into shape. Each individual living there contributes by helping out at the farm. If one of them finds a job to work part time, he will put his income to purchase bread for those living in that home. Anatolie operates under the principles that they are all equal and that each one of them including himself will work hard to make sure that they can all provide for one another’s needs. I can tell you that he isn’t rich, but yet he is uncommon- not in his financial circumstances, but in his selflessness. He also holds a regular Bible study for those living at the center, but will serve them regardless of whether they share the same faith or not.
Anatolie is a head turner. He has lived in the same place all his life. (In these communities in Ukraine, people live in the same place from cradle to grave. This is very much different from many of the big cities in the U.S. where people are so transient and move every year or two years.) His peers and friends remember how he use to beat up people to force them to drink and smoke with him. He use to be feared in his neighborhood he tells us. People are looking at his life now and some have chosen to follow Christ because of his transformation.
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