A former gambler in Uzbekistan finds Jesus and transforms his life. He now cooks meals for the community and invites them to spend time together. He hopes to share joy with others.
Vladislav was deep into gambling in Uzbekistan. He organized poker tournaments and frequently got into trouble for not being able to pay his debts. He argued with his wife, Alonya, a lot. Sometimes Vladislav wouldn’t come home for three days at a time.
Additionally, their daughter had health problems. Doctors advised them to travel to South Korea for treatment. While they were there, Vladislav got himself into the same gambling problems.
Upon their return, their daughter's health had slightly improved, so they enrolled her into a local learning center. She loved coming to the learning center run by Adventists. The center is attached to an Adventist church building.
One day when picking up their daughter, Vladislav and Alonya met the pastor and his wife. They invited them over to share a meal. They did this a few times and the families developed a friendship. The pastor and his wife never pushed anything about religion on them.
Vladislav and Alonya increasingly grew curious about Adventists, so they started visiting the church. They began coming more and more often, until eventually they accepted Jesus into their hearts and were baptized.
Through God’s grace, Vladislav stopped gambling, and his relationship with his wife is better than ever!The couple wants others who may be struggling to know that there is hope.
Vladislav has found a unique way to connect with people within the community. Every week, he goes to the church and cooks for people to eat and socialize. Rice pilaf, known as plov in Uzbekistan, is a traditional and favorite food here. Vladislav makes it in huge batches to feed everyone.
These community gatherings started with just a few people but have grown to more than 150 people every Sunday. Friendships have developed and other social activities are often planned over a plate of rice pilaf.
“This is my dream with my wife, that more people come to church. It's our community. We want to share this blessing with people.”
“In our case, our life experience is the best preaching. Our testimony is better than any sermon.”
If it wasn’t for the learning center, Vladislav may have never developed this community that transformed his life. The learning center now has the opportunity to grow. This quarter a portion of your 13th Sabbath Offering will help expand the learning center into an elementary school. They will need new classrooms and materials to take on this next chapter.
The school will be located in Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan. More than two million people live in this city, making it a huge opportunity.
Please pray for this project so that others may find community and children will get a quality education. Thank you for supporting projects like this.
