It had all started with a prayer request.
For more than a month, the entire church prayed fervently for 18-year-old Nadia’s recovery. Her appendix had burst, landing her in the hospital with severe complications, and she’d been placed in a medically induced coma. Brothers and sisters from the community donated their blood for her. The congregation prayed for her during their Sunday services and remembered her during their Fridays of prayer and fasting. They prayed that Nadia would be healed, and they prayed that she and her whole family would be saved.
“We had never met this girl or her family, but they became close to us because of our constant prayers,” says the Russian church’s pastor (and TMAI graduate), Alexey.
And, just as Easter was approaching, it looked like all their prayers were about to be answered. A friend of the family reported that the Lord seemed to be doing His amazing work in the hearts of Nadia’s relatives. Her father and mother had started to read the Bible and were pursuing friendship with believers. Then, two weeks before Easter, Nadia regained consciousness. Though very weak, she heard the gospel and was prayed with. “Surely,” everyone thought, “this is just what we’ve been praying for.” It seemed certain that Nadia would recover soon.
But the next day, she lost consciousness again and fell into a coma. She died a few days later.
Faith unshaken, the church wept along with them. Some believing brothers and sisters attended Nadia’s funeral and supported the family—not just with words of hope and comfort from Scripture—but also with a financial gift from the church. Various members had willingly responded with gifts, wanting to help bear the burdens of this family.
Her family was devastated. All those prayers for Nadia’s recovery—had they really fallen on deaf ears? Grief-stricken, Nadia’s grandmother railed at the girl’s parents, “Where is your God? You have been praying to Him, but He didn’t answer. He is not real.”
Faith unshaken, the church wept along with them. Some believing brothers and sisters attended Nadia’s funeral and supported the family—not just with words of hope and comfort from Scripture—but also with a financial gift from the church. Various members had willingly responded with gifts, wanting to help bear the burdens of this family.
On Easter Sunday, her grief still fresh, Nadia’s mother came to the church’s worship service. Afterwards, Pastor Alexey and members of the congregation were able to minister to her with gospel truth. Even though Nadia’s mother had lots of questions, she still spoke respectfully about God without anger. She understood that the Lord was working in her heart through this situation, even if she couldn’t yet see how He might use it for good.
That’s the kind of faith William Cowper expressed in his 1774 hymn “God Moves in a Mysterious Way.”
[God’s] purposes will ripen fast,
Unfolding every hour;
The bud may have a bitter taste,
But sweet will be the flow’r.
Why are we telling you this story about Nadia and her family when we usually give you updates about our students? Well, while it’s true that your support goes directly to equipping church leaders for biblical ministry, we want you to remember that—by God’s grace—the impact doesn’t end with our students. Graduates like Alexey shepherd entire congregations towards a mature faith, so that the whole body of believers might be equipped to walk in the good works that God has prepared for them. And that has eternal consequences for people like Nadia and her family.
To those of you who support TMAI with your prayers and gifts, thank you for being part of this kind of ministry in Russia and around the world. Only heaven will reveal the full extent of what the Lord is accomplishing through your sacrifice. In the meantime, please join this faithful church in praying for Nadia’s family: That they would know the God of all comfort, the One who draws near to the brokenhearted and who saves those who are crushed in spirit. The One who “moves in a mysterious way,” and who is the Resurrection and the Life.
