A quest for meaning ends in Jesus
n Denis Yemmelyanov: “There is a struggle for every soul.” Here, he gives a large-print Book of Psalms to a war veteran in a retirement home

KYZYL, Tuva Republic — Although Denis Yemmelyanov came from a well-respected communist family and received constant instruction in atheism through the Young Pioneers – the communist version of Boy Scouts – he had always secretly wondered about God.

  “I wanted to believe in something and understand the meaning of life,” he explains.

As he grew up, he searched for answers, but, although he knew about Christianity, he found religions like Hare Krishna, Hinduism and Buddhism “more interesting.”

“I couldn’t find any meaning in those things,” he admits. “There was still emptiness in my heart and I couldn’t find anything to fill it.”

Eventually, he listened to his Christian grandmother and agreed to visit a church. He prepared himself for the experience the only way he knew how.

“I didn’t know much about church but I had a copy of the Lord’s Prayer so I memorised it, thinking that if I went to church and could recite that prayer, then I would be accepted as a member,” he recalls.

Things did not work out quite as he expected, however. Responding to an invitation by the pastor, calling those who wanted to follow Christ to come to the front of the church, Denis carried out his plan and walked down the aisle, reciting the Lord’s Prayer.

Praying

“But I was able to just get out a few lines of the prayer, and then I just started praying over and over for forgiveness,” he says.

He became a Christian and was amazed at the love and support he found in the church.

“I felt a comfort and peace I had never felt before,” he recalls. “I had a broken relationship with my girlfriend, and my father died, so there was a lot going on in my life. But after that, I found peace in my heart. Since that time, I have been a different person.”

He also began to study the Bible.

“I had a Bible for 10 years before I became a Christian,” he says. “But it was in a drawer until I repented and came to Christ.”

Mr Yemmelyanov, who, as a trained concert pianist, organises concerts in schools and children’s clubs, has been a Christian for just more than a year but he has already been actively sharing his faith.

“I served six months as a missionary in a village close to Kyzyl, working with the Tuvin people,” he explains. “The shamans and mystics there were strong and few people responded to the Gospel, but those who did were very interested in learning about God.”

Struggle

He read the Bible to the villagers and held Bible studies. He also distributed Scriptures.

“There were too few Bibles for the many people who wanted them,” he laments, “so I could only give them to those who were the most interested. Working there I realised that there is a struggle for every soul.” (SR 28/18 - 2.02)