Ivan and Raveta grew up in the traditional church in Macedonia. After their marriage, Raveta continued attending church occasionally, though Ivan didn’t.

Ivan and Raveta
Courtesy of GC Office of Adventist Mission

When the Bible became available in the Macedonian language, Raveta bought a copy. But she didn’t read it; she put it on a shelf and forgot it.

Years later Ivan, a lawyer, had a heart attack. While recovering, he asked Raveta for the Bible. I know the laws of our country, he said. Now I want to read God’s laws. Ivan found the Ten Commandments and told Raveta that they had been disobeying God’s laws all their lives. God says we must have no other gods before Him, but we have icons in the house and at the church, he said. It says that God is jealous. He wants us to worship Him, not saints. And here, God says that we must keep holy the seventh day, not the first day.

Raveta took the Bible from Ivan and began reading for herself. She read for hours a day. She threw away the icons and searched for a church that kept the Sabbath. But she couldn’t find one, so the couple worshipped in their home on Sabbath. Frustrated, Raveta cried, God, please show us Your church!

She turned on the TV and heard a pastor speak on the Second Coming—just what they had been studying. At the end of the program the name Seventh-day Adventist Church flashed across the screen. Raveta called the TV station and asked for the number of the Adventist church. She called the church and told the pastor that they wanted to talk with him. He offered to come to our home.

Ivan and Raveta peppered the pastor with questions on the Ten Commandments and other Bible texts that troubled them. The pastor chuckled and explained each subject in depth.

Ivan and Raveta were satisfied that they had found the true church and began worshipping there. They shared what they were learning with Ivan’s parents. They believed and joined the Adventist Church before Ivan, who struggled with tobacco. Finally he turned his habit over to God, and God gave him the victory. Ivan and Raveta were baptized together. We thank God for the television programs that led us to the church where God delights to dwell, Raveta says.

Your mission offerings help support the ministry of television and radio in the small country of Macedonia, where fewer than 500 members live today. Thank you.

Ivan and Raveta Stratrov live in Skopje, Macedonia.

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