Inside Story: Special Mission: Hospital

Inside Story for Friday 8th of August 2025

By Andrew McChesney

Dmitry Bagal, a Russian missionary living in Germany, found a hospital to be an unexpected mission field while receiving cancer treatment for what turned out to be three benign tumors. He saw people from all walks of life—especially secular and post-Christian people, and people from non-Christian world religions—struggling over tough questions about God.

Image © Pacific Press

One patient received six rounds of chemotherapy and underwent an operation at the Munich hospital. But when his cancer returned after six weeks, the doctor saw no point in removing it again. The man couldn’t think clearly and barely recognized his wife. Her only desire, meanwhile, was to stay with her husband during his last days in the palliative-care unit. At an opportune moment, Dmitry gave the wife a booklet about God and suffering, and he prayed with the couple. The prayer moved the wife to tears.

Later that day, Dmitry gave the woman copies of The Great Controversy and The Desire of Ages, saying the books have provided great comfort to him and many others. The woman wanted the books—but not for free. She gave him 14 euros (U.S.$15), all the change in her purse. Dmitry believes that the two will meet again, if not on this Earth, then on the new earth.

Dmitry also met a young man hospitalized with an unknown illness. The man, who was from Iran, had given up his studies in Britain and flown to Germany for treatment. Doctors, however, couldn’t diagnose his illness. He couldn’t walk, so Dmitry pushed him around the hospital grounds in a wheelchair nearly every day. Even though he hadn’t been raised Christian, he allowed Dmitry to pray to Jesus on his behalf. As Dmitry prayed day after day, the young man began to recover. Before long, he could stand and walk with assistance. The two conversed in German, but because the young man had studied in Britain, Dmitry gave him an English copy of The Great Controversy. Months later, Dmitry was still praying for him, treasuring the words, “But remember that you do not know and cannot measure the result of faithful effort” (Ellen G. White, Colporteur Ministry, p. 114).

During two weeks in the hospital, Dmitry gave away 20 copies of The Great Controversy as well as other books; distributed many business cards with QR codes to download the book; and stocked about 10 of the hospital’s public bookshelves with books.

“Many seeds have been sown, and I pray that they will bear fruit,” he said. “We work under God’s guidance and leave the results to Him.”

This Inside Story illustrates Mission Objective No. 2 of the Seventh-day Adventist Church’s “I Will Go” strategic plan: “To strengthen and diversify Adventist outreach … among unreached and under-reached people groups, and to non-Christian religions.” Read more at IWillGo.org.