God Saved Me From Army Hazing in Moldova
An Adventist’s story of pork, Mark Finley, and divine protection.
Just after my mother was baptized, she urged me to be baptized, too.
I was 18 and had no interest in being baptized.
But my mother kept talking to me. “God loves you, and He wants you to believe in Him,” she said.
I threw up my hands. “Why me and not the other teenagers in town?” I said. “Let God find someone else.”
We lived in a town near Tiraspol, capital of Moldova’s breakaway region of Transnistria in the former Soviet Union.
Then I was called into military service. I told my mother that I would make my commitment to God after I returned home from the military. She insisted that I get baptized first. I did love God, so I asked to be baptized.
But I was scared. Hazing was common in the military, and I worried about being singled out because of my faith. Two days before reporting for duty, I prayed, “If You protect me in the army and no one beats me up or laughs at me for being a Christian, I will serve You for the rest of my life.”
I arrived at the barracks at lunchtime. In the mess hall, I was given a bowl of borsht containing cured pig fat and a plate of barley with chunks of pork. The other soldiers expressed shock when I refused to eat.
“What’s wrong with you?” said one.
“Give it to us,” said another. “We’ll eat it.”
I said, “Hey guys, I am a Christian, and I believe that some things should not be eaten. What should I do? I honestly don’t know.”
By the end of lunch, the news had spread throughout the barracks that the military had drafted a Christian.
The commanding officer summoned me to his office and asked whether I really was a Christian. Now I really was scared. I could say I had been joking, or I could tell the truth. I told the truth.
The commanding officer called for another soldier, a Baptist who worked in the military hospital, and asked him to verify that I was a Christian. The soldier asked me several simple questions that I answered easily.
My fellow soldiers accepted that I was a Christian, and soon they began to ply me with difficult questions. Fortunately, I had a copy of a Bible reference book, “Studying Together,” by Mark Finley. The book helped me to answer the solders’ questions.
But I remained afraid that the older soldiers would harass me — not just because I was a newcomer, but because I was a Christian. Two weeks passed. Then one day, the new soldiers were in the bathroom block when a shout rang out, “The special forces are coming!”
A large group of older soldiers rushed into the room and began beating the conscripts. Many young soldiers tried to fight back, but I went to a corner of the room and covered my head with my hands. I wasn’t going to fight back. A tall soldier saw me and ran over and struck me. Someone yelled, “The Christian is under attack!” Several soldiers rushed over and pulled away the attacker.
Two weeks later, the attacker fell in the bathroom and was sent to the military hospital. He sent a message to me saying that he feared that God was punishing him for hitting me and asked me to pray for him.
The other soldiers whispered to one another, “The accident happened because he hit a Christian.”
No one tried to harm me during the rest of my 1 ½ years in the military. The soldiers nicknamed me “Father Valery” and asked me to pray for their mothers, girlfriends, and personal needs.
When the commanders saw my honesty, they decided to release me one month early. I was the first soldier to be granted early release.
Today I am 33 years old and work as a web designer and beekeeper. God has given me a wife and two children, and I serve as a church elder.
I thank my mother that she encouraged me to be baptized before I entered the military. I tell her, “Remember when I asked you, ‘Why me?’ Now I understand that God gave me this military experience so I can encourage others.”
I am keeping my promise to God. He kept me from harm in the military, and I will serve Him for the rest of my life.
Part of the Thirteenth Sabbath Offering in fourth quarter 2017 will help turn a Soviet-era health resort into a Pathfinder camp and conference center in Moldova.