(Photo courtesy Mission Eurasia)
Central Asia (Mission Eurasia/MNN) — Who you spend time with has an impact on who you become. This could have either a positive or negative outcome. Fortunately, for one boy who attended Mission Eurasia’s School Without Walls program, it was an incredible transformation.
Growing up, Marat’s family members were moderate Muslims from a region in Central Asia where radical Islam has been rapidly growing.
However, his family never sat still. He said, “My mother does not have a permanent job, but frequently travels to Russia to earn money. My father does car repairs and also occasionally travels to Russia to work, so I grew up not seeing my parents very often.”
Since the constant moving took over much of his life, Marat had to drop out of school after the 7th grade. “Now I work odd jobs and help my father with car repairs, which I enjoy a lot,” he said.
About a year ago, his quiet life flipped upside down. “I started hanging out with a friend who’s a Christian. He invited me one day to hang out with the youth from his church in a park. I reluctantly agreed, and I was pleasantly surprised to find that they accepted me into their group as if they had known me for a long time.”
After spending more time with these newfound friends, they began to tell Marat more about the Gospel and Jesus. Eventually, Marat believed in Christ, and his life took another unexpected turn.
They invited him to the Mission Eurasia School Without Walls program. This program helps to educate and train people, while also teaching the Gospel. It has helped over 2,500 people in 13 countries.
Marat said, “One of the first sessions I attended was on spiritual gifts, and I discovered that my spiritual gift is evangelism.”
Since then, he has been digging deeper into the Word of God, sharing the truth with other friends, and helping children’s and youth ministry. He hopes to continue his education, learn guitar, and discovery how he can further serve God using his gifts.
School Without Walls introduces kids like Marat to the transforming power of the Gospel everyday, and they could use your help to do it. Click here to help!
