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From: scc@mgweed.UUCP (Steve Collins)
Newsgroups: net.religion
Subject: Re: A M.P. Courier's Dramatic Story of Soviet Arrest
Message-ID: <9119@mgweed.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 14-May-84 13:25:32 EDT
Article-I.D.: mgweed.9119
Posted: Mon May 14 13:25:32 1984
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			PART 2 of 4 PARTS

            A SOVIET OFFICER IS CONFRONTED WITH CHRIST

     One young soldier (officer) told me that what I did was totally
unnecessary, because "every believer in the USSR already has
a Bible!"
     I replied that couldn't possibly be true, because in my previous
trips to Moscow (one of the largest cities in the world), I had
never seen ONE Bible in ANY store! He glanced around the room and
replied, "You see, in the Soviet Union, we have complete separation
of Church and State. So, if there is a shortage of Bibles, that
is the Church's fault, not the State's!"
     I became angry at the way this young man had been so blinded, and
I declared, "How can you say there is separation of Church and State
when the Church isn't allowed to do a single thing without the State's
permission? They can't print or sell Bibles, hold evangelistic meetings,
baptize new converts, give religious instruction to children, elect a pastor,
or build a church without the State's 100% approval! How can you say
that the State is separated from the Church?!"
     He had no comment to this, and I changed the subject to ask why
the USSR has such a problem with alcoholism. He answered that the Soviet
State is only 65 years old, has lived through two world wars and a civil
war, and the State, along with individuals, can't solve all their problems
at once, so many become frustrated and turn to alcohol as an escape. I
then told him that many alcoholics in the USSR (and the rest of the world)
have found the real cure to their need in Jesus Christ. He didn't argue.
     He then asked me if I thought his heart was "black." In that instant 
of time, I wish I could have conveyed to him the answer to the heartcry
of billions, but all I could say with a voice choked with emotion was,
"You need Jesus in your life! He can give you the peace you're looking for!"
     At this, the young officer became very uncomfortable and quickly
left the room. I never saw him again.
     With my other interrogators, I had to put up with numerous threats
of prison. I had already long prepared myself for such a possibility
before starting the trip. I was still amazed at the strong love and strange
peace in my heart and told them repeatedly, "Well, come on then, let's go!
I'm ready to go if necessary." They said, "Are you really prepared to suffer
for what you believe in" Do you want to be a martyr?" They said that a 
Soviet prison is no pleasure resort. I knew they were trying to terrorize
me, and I said, "The love of Jesus in my heart is stronger than than
any fear you can put on me."

        A COMMUNIST YOUTH LEAGUE MEMBER PONDERS CHRISTIANITY

     They called for another break (as they usually would at times like
this). In the following moments, I was again able to witness to Misha, my
interpreter. He was a fine young man, extremely intelligent, and very open
to what I was saying. Whenever he translated what I said, he always said
it in the first person. For example, when I would say that I believe in
Jesus Christ, he wouldn't say, "he says that he believes in Jesus Christ,"
but rather he would say, "I believe ..." just as I would say it.
     It was also extremely difficult for him to translate their threats
to send me to "special investigators" and then to Siberia. I would
just wink and smile at his troubled face. He said he had never met
someone who was that dedicated to his beliefs before. I told him that
he would make a fine Christian himself. That gave him something to ponder!
     He finally said that he was a member of the Komsomol, the communist
Youth League, and therefore it would be impossible to convert to
Christianity and carry on with the Komsomol. I sensed that his entire life
revolved around this atheistic, militaristic organization. He never challenged
my reasons for believing in a personal, Almighty God.