Unexplainable Voice

By Andrew Mcchesney, Adventist Mission

Pavlodar, a city of 300,000 people in northern Kazakhstan, isn’t particularly large. But Valentina Shlee couldn’t seem to find the time to make the trip across town to deliver a gift from Germany.

Image © Pacific Press

Valentina spent a lot of time caring for her three children. She also helped her husband make ends meet by selling homemade jam and pickles from a table on a city sidewalk. She felt badly that the gift, received in a package from her cousin Nelly, who had immigrated to Germany, was still in her house. Nelly had asked her to deliver the gift to a friend, Olga.

A month passed. One afternoon, Valentina was pausing to rest on a couch between house chores when she was startled to hear someone address her.

“Stand up, pick up the videotapes, and go to Olga,” the voice said.

The voice wasn’t audible. It spoke from within her.

Not sure what was happening, Valentina quickly put on street clothes, picked up the gift, and headed to Olga’s apartment building. As she opened the front entry door to the apartment building, she noticed that a woman entered behind her. The stranger followed her up the stairs to Olga’s apartment. When Olga opened her door, she welcomed both women into her home.

Valentina wondered what was going on.

“Rosa, this is Valentina. Valentina, this is Rosa,” Olga said, introducing the two women to each other. Then she turned to Rosa. “You need to talk to Valentina,” she said.

Rosa began to weep. Through tears, she explained that she was facing numerous difficulties at home and had contemplated suicide. She also was seeking God, but she didn’t understand what she was reading in the Bible.

“Valentina is a Christian,” Olga said. “She can help you.”

Valentina invited Rosa to attend Bible studies with her. Several months later, Rosa was baptized.

Valentina said the experience underscored the importance of abiding in Christ as described in John 15:7-8, where Jesus said, “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples” (NKJV).

“When you have an abiding relationship with God, He can tell you where to go and whom to talk with,” Valentina said. “You can know His will.”.

Part of a 2017 Thirteenth Sabbath Offering helped open of the first Seventh-day Adventist preschool in Valentina’s hometown, Pavlodar, Kazakhstan.

Produced by the General Conference Office of Adventist Mission.
Find more mission stories at adventistmission[dot]org

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