For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain

The day before I arrived to teach in the Bible School last December, Stas died of cancer at age 57. Stas was a good friend. He had come to Bible School from prison where he had spent half of his life. He had to overcome some physical problems as his whole system had been so malnourished from his last time "away". But he had found Jesus there, and a new purpose for life.


Stas met Zina in our school 7 years ago, and after graduating they married. Actually this was the only student wedding I have ever been able to attend, although we have had many such weddings in the past 12 years. Zina took good care of Stas, fed him well, and they had a wonderful ministry of hospitality and evangelism. Stas at one time worked as a street-car conductor, and many people bought their ticket and heard the Gospel between stops. He was also involved in Prison Ministry and particularly ministered to the families of prisoners.

A few days after my arrival we held a simple funeral service in the open between the church and the Bible School. Students and men from the rehab centre had cleared a patch in the snow. Stas was in an open coffin on trestles, and about 30 of us gathered around in warm coats and hats. We paid tribute to this trophy of Grace God had fashioned from the criminal world in a Russian prison.

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The guard pushed Stas into the small cell and slammed the door. Another prisoner was there, waiting out his final moments on Death Row. As Stas sat down, the other man knelt and began to speak to someone else. "What are you doing?" he asked.

"I'm praying" said the man. And in that cell he taught Stas that prayer is simply talking with Almighty God.
The next day the other man was taken from the cell and executed. Stas's first lesson on prayer was very short.

Stas had been in prison many times, already totaling 17 years. This time he had killed two of the four men who had attacked and raped his wife, and was now facing the death penalty. After a time, his lawyer was able to get his sentence reduced to 15 years. Stas moved into the regular section of the prison and worked his way up to become a yard supervisor of the other prisoners. Stas was a tough man, and people did what he said.

Then came Perestroika, and Stas's 15 years was reduced to 10. One day a group of Christians came to the prison, and having nothing to do, Stas decided to attend their meeting. He had often heard about Christianity before, but the way these people talked about the love of God and forgiveness of sins through Jesus Christ made him really think. He was a stubborn guy and wasn't going to give in to his emotions, but gradually something changed and he became aware of right and wrong. He prayed a simple prayer of repentance as he had learned from the man on Death Row, and asked Jesus into his life.

Stas became a new person. The other prisoners could hardly believe it. They would sometimes tease him for reading his Bible, and sometimes do worse things. Gradually Stas began growing in the Lord.

The small group of Christians in the prison had no place to meet and pray except in the cold, dark corridors. One time they found a empty room, and asked the Prison Governor if they might use it for prayer and Bible Study. He said no.

But Stas and the others were listening to God. One day an important Government Official was inspecting the prison. The Holy Spirit told the believers to go out in the court-yard and kneel in prayer in the snow. The Official noticed them, but the Governor said that they were trouble-makers. However, the official went over to the men in the snow, and bending down over Stas, he asked "What are you doing?"

"We are praying."

"What are you praying for?"

"We want a room inside the prison where we can pray and study the Bible" Stas said.

The Official turned to the Governor and demanded "Give them their room! And report to me that it is done."


So God answered their prayers, and Stas became the "Pastor" of the Christians in that prison for the next six years until his release in 1998. As he entered the outside world he was in awe of the many changes. He returned to his former home to find his wife and family gone. His neighbors were frightened, but then they began to see the change in him. He was no longer the violent person who had been responsible for the deaths of two men. At 50 year old, he is quiet and gentle-spirited. You can see in his face he has had a tough life but there is joy in his eyes and a love for the Lord in his heart.

Now Stas is a student in Faith In Action Bible School in Vladivostok, where the Lord is teaching him how to live as a free man. In prison all his material needs were met by the State, but now he needs to learn to trust the Lord for things like a pair of shoes or some toothpaste.


In December 1998 there was a meeting for people who are in prison ministry. Stas and Zhenya from FIA attended, and were encouraged at what God is doing in Prisons all around Far East Russia. There were 45 people at the conference, most of whom had met Jesus while in prison. If all their years behind bars were added together, the total would be over 300 years. For so long they served the devil, but now they serve the Lord, and have a great desire to share the love of Jesus with those who are still in the prisons.

In February when a new term starts at FIA there will be two or three more students who found their Savior in prison. As senior students Stas and Zhenya have an important role to help them learn to adjust to a new life without bars.

Noel Morris.