Can You Imagine?
Imagine a history in which the heroes of your childhood are the very uncles and father you see each day. Imagine a land in which toilet paper is a luxury item. Imagine the irony of having a pocket full of money but nothing to buy. Imagine having the tenacity to be the best student in your class, and yet barely making it into university because "politically misguided" is permanently stamped on your internal passport.
Nikolai was a misguided young man of 24 with a dark heritage and a scandalous past. He was anti-patriotic and rebellious, albeit intelligent. He came from a line of criminals who were beaten, imprisoned, and tortured yet still persevered. Seemingly nothing could stop them. Rumor had it that Nikolai's family was holding clandestine meetings with other equally unsavory individuals. They had subversive plans and their philosophy birthed all manner of social evil. The father could not be deterred, the uncles would not be silenced, and the movement they spearheaded gained momentum each day. Perhaps, authorities felt, it was not too late to break the wave of one generation by redirecting the tide of another.
On several occasions, Nikolai was summoned to the office of the university's dean to be met by KGB (Soviet security agency) officials. They began with persuasive, friendly "chats" that ultimately led to threats difficult for western minds to imagine. From what depth of character does a university student draw the courage to look his accusers in the eye and simply reply, "You have threatened, beaten, and imprisoned the Christians of my family. Some you have even killed. You won't change their minds and I won't help you. Do what you will."
Nikolai tells the story in a soft-toned bass with a characteristic lopsided grin.
"I really believe," he says, "that God does work out everything for our good."
What happened to the illegal Christian rally planned by Nikolai's family that the agents were so eager to destroy? What happened to Nikolai for refusing to help them?
"Can you imagine?" Nikolai's eyes grow wide, "I got sick soon after that and had to leave university for an entire year and the KGB left me alone. Gorbachev was newly in power in Russia and, as a result, the atmosphere in Bulgaria was changing." The rally happened and many young Bulgarians found the Lord.
Today, after studying to be a mechanical and civil engineer, Nikolai is a bivocational pastor of a growing Nazarene church in Razgrad, Bulgaria. From this mother church, eight thriving church plants have been started in nearby villages.
The wave of truth that swept over one generation is sweeping across this generation as well. Can you imagine?
John Wesley is quoted as saying, "Give me one hundred men who love only God with all their heart and hate only sin with all their heart and we will shake the gates of hell and bring in the kingdom of God in one generation." Nikolai and his family are examples of Wesley's truth.
Teanna Sunberg is a mom, missionary, and author. Teanna, Jay, and their four daughters, Lexi, Sophia, Lydia, and Jenna, serve as missionaries for the Church of the Nazarene in Bulgaria.
Holiness Today, January/February 2006
Please note: This article was originally published in 2006. All facts, figures, and titles were accurate to the best of our knowledge at that time but may have since changed.
