"I want to be baptized!" These are the words of Biserka, who is meeting for the first time with the new pastor of the church in the city of Targovishte, Bulgaria. She does not attend church services regularly, as her job requires to work shifts, including on Sabbath. A few months earlier, she had visited the church for the first time to purchase a Bible. From reading it, she became convinced that Saturday, not Sunday, is God’s holy day. So, when the new pastor, Georgi Kertikov, arrived, she shared her conviction and expressed her desire to become part of the church.
Pastor Kertikov was puzzled when he realized that Biserka did not attend church services regularly. He invited her to meet with the church board, where they encouraged her to solve the issue with the Sabbath. She was offered the opportunity to enroll in a Bible course, and she chose to take the course through the AWR Bible School platform, as it fitted better with her schedule.
Due to his many responsibilities with different churches and groups, Pastor Kertikov even forgot that the woman taking the Bible course through the platform was Biserka, the same person who had asked him about baptism. More than a year and a half passed. By this time, Biserka had completed the course, studied the lessons carefully, and become fully convinced of the Bible’s truths, including the Seventh-day Adventists’teaching on keeping the Sabbath day holy.
She returned to the church and informed Pastor Kertikov that she had decided to leave her job in order to keep the Sabbath and that she wanted to be baptized. The pastor still did not realize that one of his digital students was, in fact, Biserka. He explained that a Bible course usually lasts about six months, but she quickly informed him that she had already completed the course with him. After talking with her further, he understood that she was well-acquainted with and deeply convinced of Bible truth.
At the same time, and quite independently of Biserka, her son, Stanimir, living in another city across Bulgaria, had also become interested in Bible teachings. He watched various sermons online, visited different churches, and eventually became convinced that the Seventh-day Adventist Church was the true Biblical church.
The two shared their newfound knowledge with each other, both deeply convinced that God was leading them to Himself. They were also invited to join an online prayer and Bible study group organized by adventists, which further strengthened their faith.
On the day of their baptism, members from three happy communities gathered: Biserka’s church, her son’s church, and the adventist prayer group they had both been participating in. Of course, we should not forget the fourth community that rejoiced and glorified God for these two children of His – our heavenly family.
*Borislav Yordanov is AWR Director in the Bulgarian Union
