“God never gives complete clarity, revealing only certain details or directions to us,” says Sergey Vityukov, pastor, teacher, and founder of the Obnovlenie (Renewal) mission.
In May 2023, a couple of weeks after our arrival in Tajikistan, we joined foreign missionaries in fasting and praying for the Fergana Valley. Then God gave a sign—a strong wind that had been raging for several days only over our city moved to another city when we went there to pray. In that city, we prayed on the “holy mountain” despite strong gusts of abnormal wind. And then, during prayer, lines from the third book of Kings came to my heart:
“And [the Lord said to Elijah], ‘Go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord, and behold, the Lord will pass by, and a great and strong wind, tearing the mountains and breaking the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord is not in the wind; after the wind, an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; after the earthquake, fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; after the fire, a gentle breeze” — 3 Kings 19:11-12.
I accepted it as a fact: after the wind, there would be an earthquake. I even waited right there on the mountain, expecting the earth to shake at any moment. But in the evening we returned to our city, another day passed, then another week—and there was no earthquake. And I thought that this word about the earthquake was not from God, or that I did not understand what God wanted to say.
In June 2023, we started having problems with our car (a huge fine and extortion of bribes). At that time, I started reading the book of the prophet Amos (I love this book; before the war in Ukraine, God warned and encouraged me through the book of Amos, 8:3 and 3:6-7). While praying and reflecting on the widespread corruption in Tajikistan, I saw this verse in Scripture:
“For I know how numerous your crimes are and how grave your sins are: you are enemies of the righteous, you take bribes and pervert justice in court” — Amos 5:12
Of course, these lines touched my heart, as this was the issue that troubled me. But then I read further:
“Will not the earth tremble, and all who dwell in it mourn? It will rise and fall like the Nile River.
On that day, says the Lord God, I will make the sun set at noon and darken the earth in broad daylight” — Amos 8:8-9
After reading these lines, I remembered the phrase “after the wind comes the earthquake” — as if the Lord were telling me again that there would indeed soon be an earthquake on this earth.
I spent several days in prayer and reflection on this word, asking and re-asking God, asking Him to explain “more precisely” what He meant, if this was indeed a word from Him. And through various verses from Scripture, God gave me the understanding that the earthquake would be in the fall, specifically “before the end of the grape harvest,” which is around mid-October. I just knew it as a fact, and there was no reaction in my heart, no fear, no excitement, no joy — nothing.
In August 2023, during a joint missionary prayer meeting, I shared this knowledge and understanding with my brothers and sisters, and together we prayed for God’s mercy. During this meeting, God showed me and my heart: knowing about the coming disaster, I myself am not praying for mercy for the people of Tajikistan. God reminded me of two people: the prophet Jonah, who did not want the Ninevites to be saved, and Moses, who stood in the gap between God and His people when the Lord wanted to destroy them all. Unfortunately, my heart is more like Jonah’s…
From the first days of September 2023, I remembered the promised earthquake again. I started telling almost everyone I talked to about it, even my parents, even though they are not believers. And at some point, I had doubts: what if God changes His mind? Like Jonah—he walked all over the city, prophesying disaster to the whole people, but when the people repented, God had mercy on them. And I still don’t pray for the forgiveness of the Tajiks. If I loved this people, I would fast and pray for their repentance and for God’s mercy, but I’m just waiting for the earthquake…
The thought that God might change His mind revealed my heart to me once again: I would not rejoice over the lives that were saved; moreover, I would feel ashamed before the people to whom I had told about the earthquake. What a corrupt heart…
I began to pray about this issue, asking God: what should I do, how should I react, how should I understand this, and in general, how do You view me and all this today, Lord? Maybe it really is better to change Your mind and have mercy? Let me remain “ashamed,” but at least people will live in peace. I won’t say that I love all of Tajikistan very much, but I have come to love the people You have sent to me over these five months. I don’t want them to suffer…
And God gave a short answer to these prayers and questions:
“I AM FAITHFUL”
Footnote: That day, God prompted me to remind my husband to take a bottle of water in the car, even though I never interfere in car matters. Late that evening, we were returning from the game club, and our car overheated. By God’s grace, everything turned out fine because there was water in the trunk. Praise our God for always remaining faithful.
On September 7, confirming that I correctly understand God’s revelations through Scripture, He gave me another sign:
“For thus says the Lord of hosts: Once more, and it shall be soon, I will shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land” — the book of the prophet Haggai, 2:6
The next day, September 8, an earthquake measuring 6.8 on the Richter scale struck Morocco (on the Atlantic coast), killing more than 2,500 people and injuring thousands more. God is faithful, no doubt, but still, I have many questions…
Early October 2023. I packed an “emergency backpack” for myself and my son (although I had just unpacked it at the beginning of the summer, and now I packed it again). Just in case, I read the memo “first actions during an earthquake,” although in my heart I have a clear understanding that God will protect us wherever we are.
This is an interesting time of waiting for me, similar to what happened in Georgia: God said that I would receive my documents before spring, and I waited and waited and waited… I received them on February 28. But if in Georgia I was just waiting, now I am interested in observing what is happening in my heart: doubts (what if I am wrong?), the desire to prove something to someone (“you’ll see!”), and even fear (what if I become proud?). I see all this in my heart and I am saddened, but one thing comforts me:
“Even if we are unfaithful, God remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself” (2 Timothy 2:13).
On October 7, 9, and 11, 2023. A series of earthquakes with a magnitude of up to 6.4 occurred in western… Afghanistan. According to various sources, more than 2,000 people were killed, about 10,000 were injured, and 1,329 houses were destroyed…
Once in Switzerland, God spoke to my heart: “Wherever you are, your whole life is about Afghanistan”