One of the great privileges of my role is meeting heroes of the faith. In my humble opinion, we are still surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses—men and women in the 21st century who could have easily been named in the great hall of faith in Hebrews 11, had it been written today.
I recently had the joy of meeting one such man and his family: Vitali “Victor” Petrenko. Victor’s story began behind the Iron Curtain during the Cold War, where he witnessed firsthand the cruel grip of communism as it sought to crush the Church in Russia and Eastern Europe. The regime wielded its full power—and its hatred of God—against the people of faith.
We shared a few precious hours together over a meal on a perfect God given afternoon. As we talked and fellowshipped, I quickly realized that his stories belong in a novel. Though I can’t do them justice here, I want to share just a few reflections that deeply moved me.
Victor spoke of faith and perseverance, but also of joy and hope—yes, joy! The joy of the Petrenko family radiated like a vibrant light. It was unmistakable, even after enduring one of the harshest persecutions in modern history. Through it all, God’s faithfulness was unmistakably written into their lives.
Their faithfulness has borne fruit. Just recently, the Latvian Biblical Centre, which Victor and his wife Ester have lead for 17 years. The school is located in Riga, and they celebrated their 33rd graduating class this spring. Even more remarkable is that the building they purchased for the school was, unbeknownst to them at the time, once the home of William Fetler’s Bible and Missionary School in 1920s, and had been shut down by the Soviets decades earlier – in 1940. I can only imagine the prayers whispered in that building during its darkest days for the perseverance of the saints and the gospel – prayers which may have gone unanswered at the time but have now been faithfully answered generations later. But this should not surprise us. This is what our God does. He resurrects!
Perhaps the thing that especially struck me was hearing about a seminar the school offers: a theology of suffering. For our brothers and sisters across much of the world, it’s seen as essential as many of them serve in areas of hardship.
Our time together was full of laughter and fellowship—but there were also stories of true sadness woven throughout. The suffering Victor and his family endured has left real scars. And yet, joy remains.
I wish each of you could have joined us and been encouraged the way I was. The good news is, you can hear Victor’s story in an interview he gave here.
Whether you are a financial partner of SWH, a faithful prayer warrior, or simply someone who finds strength through stories like this—thank you. Your faithfulness is making stories like these possible.
“Be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.”
1 Corinthians 15:58
