I am often asked how I became a believer: how did he come to God as he appeared in the Church of the Adventists on the seventh day? The origins of my faith need to be sought in childhood.
I am grateful to God for the strength of character!
Alexey Shelkovsky
My grandparents lived in the city of Tiraspol, in Transnistria. Once they walked along the street and heard unusually beautiful singing that came from the yard. As they later learned, there was a wedding. They went to the yard to listen to the song that liked it and ... you can say, they stayed there forever. The people with whom they met on that day were Adventists. Every year I came to my grandparents and went with them to serve. Therefore, five years old, probably, I was already acquainted with the truth. I knew and understood a lot, but I did not have a conscious relationship with God. I did not even look for them. I lived in Kiev with my parents. Like many of my friends, the world has learned through trial and error.
Once, after the accident at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, humanitarian assistance came to my school from Germany. In the parcel there was a postcard from the boy. We could not read it because they did not know the German language. But despite this, they decided to translate the Russian content of the leaflets and thank the child and his family for the help we provided.
My parents began asking neighbors: maybe some of them know German? And such people were found: this was the Yakovenko family, who lived in our porch and, as it turned out, attended the church of the ASD. Sometime, on Friday evening, they invited us to the Divine Services. That's how our family got to know the Adventist Church. I became active in its visitor, distributed literature, served equipment and at the age of 16, in the park, the Friendship of Peoples, was baptized. I will not say that everything after me was good and smooth. I fell, got up, but always stayed with God.
After baptism, I met my future wife, Mary. For three years we have been friends, met, and in 19 years we decided to create a family. There is a difficult period in life. Our parents did not approve of marriage at such an early age. Besides, just before the wedding (it turned out), I quit. Maria's salary was 300 hryvnia. Parents took, in my opinion, the right position and did not give us any help: they decided to be adults - be! Therefore, we relied only on our strength. But, in spite of everything, the wedding was chic! We were in beautiful outfits: dress, costume ... Many guests came to welcome us. They were waiting for a rich table. Everything was great! I do not even know how it all happened. But I understand: everything is possible with God! Of course, we prayed and everything went great.
Even before the painting and wedding we realized that we would need to live somewhere. One brother from the church said that he had a friend who had an apartment empty. It is a pity that at that time there were no such phones as now, to photograph this apartment, and we did not have a camera at that time. It was a hospitality, in which for many years was a riot of drug addicts. The walls of the room were hung with satanist paintings, all around lay a layer of dirt in two centimeters. But since we did not have a choice, and there was nothing to pay for housing, we agreed that in order to pay, we will bring the room in proper condition. For a month and a half before the wedding, I scrubbed each day, cleaned, washed this apartment. Overwrote the wallpaper that was needed - repainted ... When the mistress came, she did not recognize her dwelling. Friends shared the furniture: who gave the chairs, who the table, who is the sofa. At the wedding, we were given $ 200, 100 of which immediately went to the armored door.
So we started our own independent life. Sometimes we figured out (in the literal sense of the word) a penny to the salary, but it was the happiest and most blessed time. We were helped to survive prayer and trust in God. At age 21 I became my dad - we had a son. At that time I already worked. When the baby was a year old, he was seriously ill, it turned out that even in the hospital in his body infected infection. I was at work when my son became ill. The wife was frightened, confused, called "fast". The boy did an operation, but failed, he continued to be ill. But we did not go on a repeat operation, with fasting and prayer began to seek God's will, and He showed us how to do and what to do. Now the son is absolutely healthy.
I experienced a very difficult period on the eve of the birth of a daughter, but God was then with me and helped not only to save the family, but also to start a business, and subsequently become the head of the company.
Shortly after marriage, I settled in a pharmaceutical company. On Saturday I did not work, I did not take part in corporate parties. In addition, I was an employee who did not have higher education, that is, sufficient knowledge, and therefore, I think, that does not constitute a special value for the team. But I tried, suffered all the hardships. The first half of the day worked in the office, the second - in the warehouse of medicines: loaded the wagons, took up for any unworthy work, as wanted to gain the necessary experience. Worked, we can say, on the demolition. It turned out that from fatigue more than once lost consciousness in transport.
There were many experiences of God's guidance and support, but since I was called by a friend, he opened his own company for the manufacture of medical products, I, nevertheless, decided to leave. He came to him as a manager, and after a while he became the director of a production enterprise. There was a lot of temptation, because commercial activity implies a lot of things that are contrary to God's law. But God, glory to Him, and here led me in safe ways.
However, sadly to say, in the world tend to lurk at every turn lies and deception, and when business owners have made me unfairly, just fooled me, I could no longer remain with them as a team. I realized that I had to change my life: to change my job and myself to try to achieve something. So I decided to retire and open my own company. Nobody (from friends, acquaintances) did not support me, nobody believed in my strength and abilities. Even in the church, I was persuaded that there would be nothing good from my will. But on my side was a wife and it meant a lot to me.
Again - endless prayers, doubts and experiences ... My former colleagues from my past colleagues learned about my intentions and the first independent steps, began to threaten me, both morally and physically, bribed the checking structures, etc. But I knew: if God is with me, then who is against me? When I approached me with direct threats, I told business rivals that I have a very reliable Companion, which is strong for me to protect from them. And I saw that some (and I understood that - God!) Their power stopped, they turned around and went. It was just that difficult time, about which I already mentioned: we were expecting a second child, threats came to my address, and I took a big loan and opened a production company. I fully trusted God: to Him were my prayers, questions and requests. And the Lord gave me the necessary wisdom.
Хто знає, що таке виробництво, той зрозуміє, через що довелося пройти. За півтора місяці ми (команда з трьох чоловік) налагодили поставки сировини, закупили обладнання, знайшли і навчили людей. Зробили ремонт приміщення: перший офіс був на сходовому майданчику. Закрили всі юридичні питання і з усіма перевіряючими органами (а в сфері медицини їх чимало). Організували склад, доставку, створили упаковку і промо-матеріали.
With my wife Maria
It seemed that I was working around the clock around the clock. Now I do not even understand how all this could have been done to three people in a month and a half. I am sure: only the Lord gave knowledge and strength in organizing the whole process. The experience was different, but God was very bright with the right people. So, for example, we could not find a technologist for knitting production for a long time, and once we found the phone number of a woman, a wonderful specialist, so necessary to us. She called her, and she, as it turned out, in a couple of hours had to fly abroad. I insisted on meeting before the departure, talked, she promised that she would come back and be with us. Still working.
During the first year of independent work, I traveled all over Ukraine, crossed the train from the train, rarely visited the house: did presentations of the company, set up relations, searched for sales markets. And this lesson gave me this time: while keeping Sabbaths, everything went well. Those who laughed at, threatened us, made poor-quality products, then the warehouse will burn, then some kind of trouble will happen, but we have everything well. But at some point, due to the turbulence in work, the tension, lost contact with God, violated Saturday's tranquility. And immediately there were difficulties in work, in the family. On the one hand, it was necessary to be a source of material goods, but on the other - accumulated problems. The wife was very tactful: she prayed for me. And when I returned to God, to abide by the law of God, everything was normalized and the blessings resumed.
To have a business in our difficult time is a complicated matter. We had serious tests. And only God helped us to stand. Every time in such a situation, I talked about my Defender, explained that such is the truth, where is true, but where violations of the Laws - both God and the law.
мOnce we got large containers with materials for the production of goods, cleared the cargo, paid all taxes and duties and, as always, left the wagon in the customs area in order to pick up in the morning. At night, without any permission, unknown to us people burst into a parking lot, without a warrant opened a van and began to throw a snow-white cargo from the container to the ground - into the dirt and puddles, explaining their behavior as a check. We were forced to alternate all night, covering the territory of parking lanterns, only so that these "checking" did not throw us anything forbidden to be arrested. Half of the product had to be thrown out as a result of its unsuitability...
When I opened the firm, nobody believed that I would get something. Thankful to God that He gave me the firmness of character in order not only to start my business, but to survive in difficult times, to raise production and expand the company. Today on 4 production lines (some of them are unique in their kind) we have 270 people. Except when I opened the firm, nobody believed that I would get something. Thankful to God that He gave me the firmness of character in order not only to start my business, but to survive in difficult times, to raise production and expand the company. Today on 4 production lines (some of them are unique in their kind) we have 270 people. In addition, we opened our own retail and medical diagnostic centers of the foot.
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In order to successfully develop my business, I had to study - I graduated from the Department of Economics of the UIA in absentia. Acquired knowledge was immediately tested by practice. In preparation for the defense of the diploma, I did not write a written work, but brought to the attention of the commission that I will orally will report on the economy in our country. And for two and a half hours she told me how things are going and what to do to make the economy work. I practically went through what even a lot of teachers knew only from the theory.
Work takes me a lot of time and effort. But my safe back, where I am relaxing and pulling strength, is my family.
I told them that at first my parents did not approve of my early marriage. But then they began to help us: a year after the wedding, they, having seen, as we live, bought us a one-room small apartment. We were happy! After some time, I already bought my other, bigger for my money, earned money. Now we live in our house.
Children grow up very quickly: son of Danilo is a school graduate. He has already received baptism, which is very pleasing to me. Darina's daughter is still a schoolgirl, she is still 14 years old. I still love my wife and I value her, her attention and care. And if there is the least free time, I try to hold it with my family.
Thanks to the support of the family, my firm is constantly evolving. I am also today - in search of new forms and methods of work.
When our high-tech product manufacturing company was just starting to work, I set the task before everyone: "We have to produce very high-quality products!" Everyone understood that our attitude to the cause, even our appearance, lifestyle, we bring people the truth about God and a health reform message. That is why my friend has thrown a smoke, engaged in himself, lost weight by 30 kg. When we sell our goods, we tell not only about their purpose and quality, but also about how to maintain health in order not to lose it.
In plans - to make children's orthopedic shoes, to expand our borders abroad. But the biggest dream is, for the sake of which, as I understand, the Lord has led me all these years - to open a sanatorium at the highest rehabilitation level, where highly qualified medical professionals will work. We already see what he will be, we know that we need to do this, and we believe that God will certainly help us to make the plan.
With my wife and children
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