Inside Story: Special Mission: Rehab

Inside Story for Friday 15th of August 2025

By Andrew McChesney

After surgery to remove three benign tumors, Dmitry Bagal, a Russian missionary living in Germany, was sent for rehabilitation to a vacation resort in Lower Bavaria. There, he found a new mission field where God was working on the hearts of secular and post-Christian people.

Image © Pacific Press

One afternoon, Dmitry walked over to a group of people at a Greek restaurant. They called out that the restaurant was closed, and Dmitry responded with a question. “Do you like to read books?” he asked.

Only one man replied. Speaking with a thick Italian accent, he said he preferred to watch movies and had read only one book, the Bible, in his life. Dmitry gave him The Great Controversy and explained that it offered a unique perspective on history, especially on the struggle between good and evil. The man read the back cover. “I really want to read this book!” he exclaimed. But he didn’t want the book for free. He gave Dmitry a donation.

Another day, Dmitry paused during a walk to sit beside a stranger on a bench. The two men struck up a conversation. The man said he was a farmer who had no free time, but his threshing machine had broken, and he was waiting for it to be repaired. “Do you like to read books?” Dmitry asked.

The man conceded that he didn’t like to read but said his wife did. Dmitry gave him a Great Controversy for his wife. The man read the back cover and declared that he had changed his mind. He wanted to read the book.

Resuming his walk, Dmitry passed a car with a bumper sticker that read, “God does miracles in Germany.” Wanting to meet the car’s owner, he rang the doorbell of the house in front of the car. On the door, he saw a sign that read, “Honey from our own beehives.” When a woman opened the door, he asked about the honey. The two talked about honey for a few minutes and then about faith. The woman said Jesus had miraculously healed her of an illness. Dmitry bought a jar of honey and offered her the choice of a book as a gift: The Desire of Ages or The Great Controversy. She chose The Desire of Ages. Thanking Dmitry, she gave him a second jar of honey as a gift. Dmitry thanked her by giving her the other book, The Great Controversy. Both were incredibly happy with their meeting.

During his month in rehab, Dmitry distributed nearly 50 copies of The Great Controversy and changed the focus of his mission work in Germany. “Because I enjoy sharing books so much, I’m preparing to become a literature evangelist,” he said.

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.