Vitali said that he came from the Republic of Moldova, (the country to the east of Romania, between us and the Ukraine, even poorer than Romania and still very stuck in its communist past). He described how in Moldova his mind had been in a turmoil - he wanted something, and didn't know what, so he tried to find it in all kinds of experimentation: drugs, sex, alcohol, thrills... and none of them worked. He decided to move to Romania, to see if he could find what he was searching for, and because he is a very clever student in computer studies, he won a scholarship to Oradea University. He shared a room with other young people who were all living incredibly dissolute lives, and found himself dragged further and further down, yet couldn't find satisfaction.

Vitali found that churches of all descriptions seemed to have something, but he wasn't really drawn to stay: in the Hungarian Roman Catholic church, he liked the peace and quiet, but couldn't understand a word they were saying. In the Orthodox church, he enjoyed the atmosphere, but the chanting made no sense to him.

One grey and cold Sunday morning last December, in despair he made up his mind to commit suicide, and headed for the river to drown himself. On the way, he had to pass Emmanuel Church, where he saw that the lights were on, and noticed for the first time that there was a big cross on the top, so realised it was a church. He went in, and stayed outside in the corridor, where there was a closed circuit TV monitor showing the preacher, Paul N., in the last minutes of his sermon, "The Danger of a Divided Mind". Instantly, he was drawn to the message, and when people came out, he asked how he could find the preacher. He was told that Paul worked at Emmanuel University, and the following Wednesday, unannounced, he arrived at the campus... just in time for our lunchtime chapel service, where Paul was preaching on the same subject.

After the service, he approached Paul and asked for a meeting. Paul saw that he was not one of our students, but said that his earliest possibility was the Saturday morning. Vitali duly arrived on the Saturday and told Paul: "I am the one you're talking about - the man with the divided mind." He explained his background, and his search for something, and said that he believed Paul had the answer for him. Paul then explained the gospel simply to him, and the Holy Spirit "opened his heart to respond to Paul's message." An Emmanuel student has been discipling him since then, and he just goes on growing, and this was his testimony.

Lilyan is in the habit of going into the halls of residence at the University of Oradea in order to bring the gospel to any Russian students he finds living there. He was standing in the hallway with a little Gideon New Testament & Psalms in Russian in his hand, making some notes about an appointment, when a group of four or five Romanian students who had been drinking heavily came in. They approached Lilyan and asked him what he was doing, writing in his little book. He bravely told them that he came to tell students about Jesus, and that it was a Bible in his hand. One of them pretended to be interested and leaned forward, and when Lilyan leaned forward to show him, he viciously head-butted Lilyan in the face. Lilyan fell to the floor, streaming blood, and the students then kicked him repeatedly, and walked off. Lilyan staggered up and went after them, catching them up in the next corridor.

The one who head-butted him asked him, "Are you a Baptist?" When Lilyan said he was, he told him, "This is how we deal with Baptists!" and they all attacked him again. This time Lilyan shouted for help, and the students ran off. The porter came and helped him to flag a taxi, which took him to hospital, where he was admitted and treated.

"I am Ioan, the one who head-butted Lilyan," he mumbled. He then described what had happened. Lilyan is married, and when he got to hospital, he sent word to his wife, a young Romanian. She came to the hospital at once, and heard the whole story. She went to the Hall of Residence and sought out the students who had attacked her husband.

Ioan was there in the group when she came to them. He described how she had asked which of them had been the most violent, and when he said that he was the one, she said: "I forgive you, and I am praying for you. And Lilyan who is in hospital has forgiven you, and he's praying for you, too."

Lilyan's wife came to the microphone; she, too, was fighting her tears as she explained what happened next. Ioan at first couldn't believe his ears; he thought maybe she'd wanted her husband out of the way. But as he looked at her and heard what she said, it was as if the Holy Spirit suddenly revealed the truth to him and overwhelmed him. He went to the hospital to see Lilyan and to say he was sorry; Lilyan explained the gospel to him and he put his faith in Christ. And now he wanted to learn and grow in his faith.