God’s Word active on the remote steppes of Siberia

n Against the dramatic background of the Siberian steppes, Ulya Mongush (right), a volunteer with the Baptist Church in Kyzyl, and Arkadei Sagdi discuss the Scripture needs of the isolated village of Erzin

ERZIN, Tuva Republic — Perhaps the little Pentecostal church near the village of Erzin is not really at the end of the earth but, situated on the seemingly endless steppes near the Mongolian border, it certainly seems like it.

Across these plains swept the hordes of Genghis Khan, as did the Tibetan Buddhism that became the region’s predominant religion. Now there is a new wind sweeping across Tuva, and Arkadei Sagdi, pastor of this isolated village in one of the Russian Federation’s most remote republics, is helping to share God’s Word among the Tuvin people.

“There are about 2,000 people in this area, and four years ago there was not a single Christian among them,” Mr Sagdi notes. “Now there about 70 Tuvin believers here.”

The problem is, he explains, that almost all of them speak only Tuvin, and they do not have any Tuvin Bibles. So, during church services and meetings, he reads from the Russian Bible and translates as he goes. The Bible is central to the faith and ministry of this former cattle herder, but his struggle to find God started long before he ever found the Scriptures.

“I had feelings about a mixture of religions, including Buddhism, when I was younger, but I always felt a special feeling when I was in an Orthodox Christian church,” he says.

One day, he went to explore the railway car in which some Russian construction workers had been living while building a road near his house. There, he found an icon.

“That was when I started my own, private worship,” he says. “I knelt before the icon and talked to God. I may have been doing it the wrong way but I felt comfort in my heart.”

n 10-year-old Alexei Sagdi wants to be a pastor like his father

After meeting a Pentecostal pastor he decided to attend a Pentecostal church. He was later asked to become a pastor. His personal outreach style is low-key.

“Every day I try to reach at least one person with information about Christ,” he says. “Little by little, I am reaching some people but when a person loses interest, I stop the discussion.”

Today, his little congregation has grown to about 15 men, women, and children. “Sometimes we have preaching, sometimes just a fellowship,” he says, “but the Bible is primary in both.”

Despite its growth, church members find it difficult to be Christians among the non-Christian Tuvins.

“The non-Christians do not like God’s people,” he says. “Some people have threatened us. My brother’s windows were broken three times in a month. Alcoholism is also a tremendous problem in this area.”

“The only reason we have access to Bibles here is thanks to the Bible Society, and we are so grateful for them!”

One of his joys, however, is the fact that the Bible Society can provide Scriptures to his remote church. “The only reason we have access to Bibles here is thanks to the Bible Society,” he declares, “and we are so grateful for them!”

But the pastor, showing his well-worn and well-marked Bible, does have a few requests: “It is hard to get commentaries and other books here that would help us to understand the Bible better,” Mr Sagdi laments. “We have some Bible dictionaries but I would love to receive other helps.”

As a father of three children, he would especially like to see some children’s materials in Tuvin. “My 10-year-old son Alexei wants to be a pastor,” he smiles. “He doesn’t read Russian, but if he had a Tuvin Children’s Bible he would love to read that!”

With the publication of the Tuvin Children’s Bible by the Institute for Bible Translation late last year (see related feature), young Alexei’s wish will soon come true. (SR 28/22 - 2.02) [PHOTOS]