Inside Story for Friday 9th of October 2026

By Mission Editor

Matthew and Martin were Marek’s best friends. If a fight broke out at school, the same three teens were always to blame: Matthew, Martin, and Marek. Today, Matthew is dead; Martin spent seven years in prison; and Marek is a former drug dealer who serves as one of the leaders of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Poland. What happened?

Marek grew up in a Christian family in southern Poland. His life fell apart at the age of 18 when his girlfriend left him. He decided to pray: “God, I want her back.” Nothing happened. Then he prayed, “God, I don’t want to wake up anymore.” Still nothing happened.

Marek stopped praying and became an atheist. He started using drugs. Then his friend Martin decided to sell drugs and invited Marek to join him. Marek quickly became successful at selling and using drugs.

Two years passed, and Marek couldn’t find anyone to join him at a big party on New Year’s Eve. Disappointed, Marek decided to visit his grandmother.

That night, he found himself staring at a picture of Jesus in his grandmother’s home. He thought, Even if I don’t believe in God, Jesus was real. He remembered reading the Bible as a boy.

Several days later, Marek visited a woman who promised to reveal his future. She shuffled cards and warned about the end of the world. Astonished, Marek asked when the world would end. She said in exactly one year.

Marek started reading the book of Revelation, hoping to learn how the world would end, but understood nothing. Turning to the gospels, he was amazed to learn that Jesus had a kingdom where people would be happy and live forever.

One night, after a party, he was sitting in a car, eating takeout food with friends. Out the window he saw a bookstore called Signs of the Times.

The next day, he went to the bookstore and asked, “Do you have some books about Nostradamus?”

The woman behind the counter said, “No, but if you are interested in prophecy, we have The Great Controversy.”

Marek bought the thick book by Ellen White and was stunned as he read. He double-checked everything in the Bible and online. It all seemed to match.

One night, as he read The Great Controversy in bed, he asked himself, “Am I gaining light from reading this book?”

At that moment, the light bulb in the lamp above his head began to blink. That was unusual, and Marek grew nervous. Suddenly, he noticed a reflection of himself in a window. All he could see was his head and the light bulb right above it. The bulb stopped sputtering and shone brightly again.

The answer was clear. It was the first time in his life that he sensed God’s presence and love. He knelt and said, “God, if You are like this, I want to serve You.”

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