Not only did God intervene in the Popov family that day with salvation, but He miraculously healed Arthur of a serious stuttering problem he'd had since the age of seven when he suffered a head injury.

"The stuttering had been so bad that my teachers in school would have to ask me questions in a specific way so I could answer either yes or no and not try to explain," Arthur said. "But, that day, when I received Christ, when I opened my mouth to pray, the stuttering was gone."

Arthur's dad, Alexander, said watching his son cry out in repentance, was indeed a wake-up call for him. His second.

Raised in a Christian family, Alexander had turned his back on God and lived for himself for many years. At 37, he had it all. He'd risen to great heights in the Soviet Union because of his skill as a violinist. He was director of the national orchestra, had money, traveled abroad, played before prestigious people and was miserable. During all that time, his own father, Arthur's grandfather, had prayed, had challenged his son to come back to Christ and had never lost hope. When his father died, that was wake-up call number one. Alexander knew his blessings had flowed from the old man's prayers.

Now, here was his son. Alexander had never shared Christ with his boys. He'd never repented. His son, he realized, knew more about the truth of life than he did. It was time he made things right with God.

To put their new faith to action, Arthur's parents began to minister to others using the gifts and skills God had already given them. His mother, a doctor, started a medical room at the church. And Alexander organized a Christian ensemble to play at the church. Since Arthur spoke English, a friend of his suggested he serve as an interpreter whenever the need arose. Arthur agreed.

In 1993, Sammy Tippit came to Kishinev, Moldova, to hold a pastors' and leaders' conference. Two of the people he brought with him were Dr. Gilbert Peterson, president of Lancaster Bible College, and Sanford Good, the college's missions director. It was to be a momentous conference for Arthur.

"God has used Sammy Tippit in my life in many ways," said Arthur. "This was one of them. It was providential that Sammy brought these two men with him. I was one of the interpreters for the conference. Dr. Peterson and Dr. Good invited me to study at Lancaster. I've had the opportunity for the last six years to study in the States, receiving my bachelor's degree at Lancaster in Pennsylvania and my master's degree at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in North Carolina."

Shortly after that conference and before heading to the States to study, Arthur joined Tippit and a ministry team as a translator on a mission trip to Komsomolsk, Siberia, close to the Japanese border.

"This was my first mission trip," he said. "I was definitely outside my comfort zone. I was alone with this American team. It was my first time outside the country and away from my parents. Things weren't smooth, There was hardship, but, I believe, this is where God began calling me into the ministry. I watched Sammy. I was powerfully impacted by this man of God. He doesn't just preach but walks the message, in the middle of difficulties. His presentations were all fresh and different, not the same message time after time in the 10 days. He breathed and lived the reality of the message. He wasn't just an inspiration or an encouragement; he became part of the call God was putting on my life. It was definitely a significant time for me.

When I returned home, my pastor asked me to speak to our 2000-member congregation," he continued. "I think that sealed it for me. I was to go into the ministry. A year later, I was in Lancaster Bible College."

God continued to cement the relationship between the Popov family and Sammy Tippit Ministries. While at Lancaster, Arthur had an interesting experience translating for Tippit at a missions conference there.

"Sammy was invited to speak, because he's very good at maintaining good relationships with the people he meets in his travels," Arthur shared. "The first time he spoke, he talked about Romania, Moldova, Brazil, the stadiums and the people. One of the students decided we should make the auditorium look like one of the stadiums where he was used to preaching. So we did. Everyone felt like they were at a crusade. They asked me to translate while Sammy preached, as if this were Moldova, even though he was speaking in English and they were all English-speaking. It was an incredible experience."

Over the years, when Tippit has traveled to Moldova to hold evangelistic meetings, he's often asked Alexander's instrumental group Patmos to be part of the program. This past August, Patmos once again played as part of the program at four evangelistic meetings in the Zaporozhye region of Ukraine.

"One of the things I admire about Sammy," Arthur said, "is that he keeps coming back. He develops relationships with local churches and people. We have many different ministries who come to Moldova once and they're never seen again. But Sammy is well known. He preaches now in the largest stadiums."

As for Arthur, he's back in Moldova where he'll soon be teaching at the Kishinev Bible College to help train pastors and spiritual leaders for his country. He's also involved with Moldova Ministries, an outreach started by a friend of Tippit's from Scotland, Peter McFarland, and in holding small evangelistic services in the churches.

Answers to his grandfather's prayers continue to come in ways Arthur can hardly imagine. Sammy Tippit Ministries praises God that by His design, we've been a part of those answers.