For Nurlan*, trouble started the day he was born. Abandoned at the maternity hospital in Kazakhstan, he remained in foster care for two years until he was adopted. Sadly, the people who adopted him did so only to receive benefits. “They were constantly yelling and beating me,” Nurlan remembers. One day, they forced him to stand outside in the cold against their building. As he shivered, an elderly neighbor brought him a blanket, wrapped it around him, and said,

“You may think that no one cares about you, but God does. He loves you!”

It was the first time Nurlan had ever known kindness, and her words stayed with him. But life remained difficult. Kazakhstan, formerly under communist rule as a republic of the Soviet Union, was in crisis. Nurlan’s adoptive parents never received the promised benefits, so they sent him to an orphanage.

At 12 years old, Nurlan was given a children’s Bible, provided by friends of the Bible Society like you. He began reading it immediately. “I couldn’t stop reading this book,” he shared. That foundation helped him survive when, at 18, Nurlan was falsely accused of a crime, imprisoned, and tortured. He prayed for help through the night, realizing his only hope was in God.

Miraculously, the charges against him were dropped the very next day, and he was released. Not long after, Nurlan had the opportunity to watch the JESUS Film. He was gripped by the fact that Jesus would endure so much pain and suffering “because He loves us.” The following year, Nurlan heard a preacher read the words of Isaiah. Nurlan says, “He was wounded and crushed because of our sins . . . I started crying. I came forward, knelt, and accepted Christ into my heart.”

We are so thankful for our partners for helping provide Scripture to every person possible — so that all may have their lives and eternities transformed by Jesus!

*Names changed for privacy