My Conversion Story

SAVED BEFORE BEING BORN

Before I share my conversion story, let me begin with something extraordinary that happened even before I was born — something that, looking back now, I believe reveals the loving providence of God over my life long before I ever knew Him.

Years later, after I had become a born-again believer, my grandmother visited us and told me a story I had never heard before. What she shared touched me so deeply that I could hardly hold back my tears.

When my mother was pregnant with me, my parents were both teachers living in a small village in communist Poland. Life at that time was very difficult. Money was scarce, the future uncertain, and my parents already had three daughters to support. Some of their close friends — a married couple who were physicians — strongly encouraged them to terminate the pregnancy through abortion.

Little by little, under pressure and fear about the future, my parents finally agreed.

My mother went to the hospital and was taken into a room. Alone on the operating table, she waited for the doctor to come and perform the abortion.

Then something happened that changed everything.

While lying there completely alone, she suddenly heard a loud and unmistakably clear voice saying:

“Run away from here!”

She was startled and confused. She looked around, but no one was there. The room was empty. She began wondering whether she had imagined it.

But moments later she heard the same voice again, even more clearly:

“Run away from here!”

This time fear came over her because she knew with certainty that no one else was in the room.

Still uncertain and hesitating, she suddenly heard the voice for the third time:

“Run away from here!”

Now she became truly frightened. She immediately got up, left the hospital, and never returned to go through with the abortion.

In this way, before I had taken my first breath, before I had spoken my first word or prayed my first prayer, God had already intervened and mercifully preserved my life.

When my grandmother finished telling me this story, I was deeply moved. I went alone into my room, and with tears in my eyes I thanked the loving and merciful God who had saved my life before I was even born.

Looking back now, I cannot help seeing the hand of divine providence in all of it. The same God who protected my life in my mother’s womb was the God who many years later answered my desperate prayer in that empty cathedral, guided The Great Controversy into my hands, and led me to Jesus Christ as my Saviour.

LIFE BEFORE CONVERSION

I was born in Poland, and my conversion took place in the spring of 1983, during the time when Poland was still under communism.

The beginnings of my conversion go back to the time when I was studying at the Dental Technical College in Olsztyn. At that time my life revolved mainly around sports, parties, alcohol, smoking, and sex. I was careless, selfish, spiritually empty, and foolish. School meant little more to me than somehow passing the final exams, which, fortunately, I managed to do.

At that same school I met a girl who stayed with me for some time, but eventually she told me she had had enough. She said that I had always been selfish toward her and that she was afraid to continue the relationship because of my drinking and reckless lifestyle. Also my smoking bothered her because she had a very sensitive sense of smell.

Before that, I thought I did not really care that much about her. But when she left me, I suddenly realized how much she meant to me. I fell deeply in love with her and began to suffer terribly because of the separation.

So I decided to change my life.

I promised myself that I would stop drinking, stop smoking, and become a better person. But every attempt ended in failure. In fact, the more I tried to change, the worse things seemed to become. My willpower was simply pathetic. I remember drinking with various friends almost every day for nearly an entire week. One of them, after one of those drinking parties, was hit by a car and killed. I myself could easily have lost my life many times while returning home so drunk that I kept falling down, sometimes right in the middle of the street.

I became devastated and deeply discouraged. Yet the very depth into which I had fallen helped me understand something important: I was trying to accomplish something that had become impossible for me through my own strength. For the first time in my life, I realized that if I was ever going to change, I needed help from outside myself.

SEARCHING FOR HELP

At one point I even tried to participate in a spiritist séance, hoping perhaps to find some kind of supernatural help. Although religion had never played any meaningful role in my life, I eventually decided to travel with my best friend, Wojtek, to Częstochowa to search for hope there.

Wojtek and I were in almost exactly the same situation, because his girlfriend had also left him. I still remember how, during the train journey to Częstochowa, we smeared the train door handles with lard and laughed as people unknowingly touched them. Eventually even the conductor touched one of the greasy handles and immediately realized who was responsible because we could hardly stop laughing.

Finally we arrived at Jasna Góra monastery, hoping that perhaps something in our lives would finally change. There were huge crowds of people there because of a religious celebration. I remember being pushed forward by the crowd until I found myself standing only a few meters from the famous painting of the Black Madonna. With tears in my eyes I silently begged for help, for change, and for freedom from my addictions.

But after returning home nothing changed. In fact, things became even worse. I continued struggling, trying again and again to change myself, but every attempt ended in failure. Eventually I concluded that I had been searching for help in the wrong place, but at that time I had no idea where true help could be found.

Time passed, and I remained the same bitter, empty, and enslaved person. I was discouraged, depressed, and tired of life.

THE FIRST SINCERE, HEARTFELT PRAYER

Then one day, while walking through Olsztyn, I passed a large Catholic cathedral and felt impressed to go inside. The cathedral was completely empty. I sat down quietly in one of the pews and began thinking seriously about my life. For the first time, I asked myself whether Someone like God might actually exist — and if He did, what He was really like and whether He could possibly be interested in helping someone like me.

Up until that moment I knew practically nothing about God. My father was an atheist and a member of the communist party, and because of his influence religion had no real place in our home. My mother was probably Catholic, but living with an unbelieving husband she never really practiced religion and never spoke to me about God.

Only once did my grandmother force me to prepare for First Communion when I was already 18 years old. I remember the priest giving me a religious book which seemed impossible for me to understand, taking money from my grandmother, and then after a short preparation I received Communion. But obviously it couldn’t change my life, and afterward I continued to keep my distance from religion.

Now, however, sitting alone in that empty cathedral, deeply aware that my life was heading toward destruction if nothing changed, I thought to myself that I had nothing to lose by giving God a chance.

So I knelt down and prayed.

It was the first honest, heartfelt prayer in my life. Although I was not even sure that God existed, with tears in my eyes I confessed my sins and begged Him to help me, change me, and free me from my addictions.

I do not think I had ever been so deeply moved before in my life. Even now, when I write about it, emotion still comes to my eyes.

And then something happened that I can never forget.

While pouring out my heart during that first real prayer, I suddenly felt a strange peace come over me — a peace unlike anything I had ever experienced before. It felt as if Someone wanted to assure me that my prayer had been heard, that help was already on the way, and that my life would finally change.

At that time I did not fully understand what was happening, but deep inside I knew that something had already begun to change within me.

THE BOOK THAT CHANGED MY LIFE

I did not have to wait long for an answer to that prayer.

About a week later, Wojtek noticed a man standing outside a department store with religious books displayed on a table. He bought two copies of a book titled The Great Controversy by Ellen G. White — one for himself and one for me.

Poland is a predominantly Catholic country. At that time there were only about five thousand Seventh-day Adventists in the entire country, compared with millions of Catholics and hundreds of thousands of Evangelical Christians and Jehovah’s Witnesses. Yet after that first sincere and agonizing prayer, God did not place into my hands a book written by a Catholic author, a Jehovah’s Witness author, or an Evangelical preacher. Instead, He gave me a book written by an Adventist woman named Ellen White.

When Wojtek brought the book to our dormitory and handed it to me, I initially assumed it was some kind of novel because of its title. But soon I discovered that it dealt with religious and biblical themes.

Since I had never before read an entire book in my life and was not accustomed to reading anything besides sports newspapers, reading it went very slowly at first. The first half dealt mainly with the history of Christianity and the Protestant Reformation. Through that book I finally learned who men like Jan Hus and Martin Luther really were. Earlier I had associated Luther with something negative, but now I was deeply moved, especially while reading about Hus being burned at the stake.

Those first chapters interested me, but I still read them slowly, and it probably took me several months to get through them. But when I reached the later chapters dealing with the amazing fulfillment of Bible prophecies, the origin of evil, spiritism, the change of God’s commandments, Sabbath, the second coming of Christ, the gift of salvation, and the new life in heaven and earth, I became very excited. I became so fascinated that I read the rest of the book in a single night and finished in the morning.

I was overwhelmed by what I discovered. At the same time, I felt as though the Holy Spirit was inwardly assuring me that everything I was reading was true. I had never experienced anything like that before. I could not understand how it was possible that nobody had ever told me about these things.

When I discovered that the Bible, in the second chapter of Daniel, had foretold the rise and fall of world kingdoms and the future return of Christ; when I realized that human beings had dared to change God’s commandments; when I learned about the wonderful new life God offers to those who believe in His Son; and when I became convinced that God truly existed, loved me, and had answered my desperate prayer — I felt as though I had discovered an incredible treasure.

BORN AGAIN

Immediately I bought a Bible. I began studying it and praying every day, carefully checking whether the Bible really taught the things I had read in The Great Controversy. The more I studied, the more convinced I became that I had found the truth.

Through this experience, which led me to place my faith in Jesus Christ as my only Saviour, I was born again by the Spirit of God.

My desires changed completely. My goals changed. Suddenly life had meaning and purpose. As Leo Tolstoy once wrote, “I ceased desiring what I had previously desired, and began desiring what I had never desired before.” That perfectly describes what happened in my own life.

Soon afterward I stopped drinking and smoking completely. Surprisingly, smoking was even harder for me to overcome than alcohol. For about two weeks I kept dreaming that I was smoking Marlboro cigarettes again. Those dreams were so vivid that each time I woke up discouraged, convinced that I had really started smoking again.

But God gave me strength to overcome those powerful cravings and temptations. What I could never achieve through my own weak willpower, I was finally able to overcome through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit.

From that time until today I have never drunk alcohol or smoked cigarettes again — and, most importantly, I have never even desired to return to those habits.

I believe this happened because God caused me to be born again and, through the Holy Spirit, gave me victory that I could never have achieved through my own efforts.

DISCOVERING THE TRUTH

Immediately after returning home, I bought a Bible. I began studying it and praying every day, carefully checking whether the Bible really taught the things I had read in The Great Controversy. The more I studied, the more convinced I became that I had found the truth.

Through this experience, which led me to faith in Jesus Christ as my only Saviour, I was born again by the Spirit of God.

My desires changed completely. My goals changed. Life suddenly had meaning and purpose. As Leo Tolstoy once wrote: “I ceased desiring what I had previously desired, and began desiring what I had never desired before.” That perfectly describes what happened in my own life.

Soon afterward I stopped drinking alcohol and smoking cigarettes completely. Surprisingly, smoking was even more difficult for me to quit than drinking. For two weeks I dreamed almost every night about smoking Marlboro cigarettes, and each time I woke up discouraged because the dreams were so vivid that I was convinced I had started smoking again. But God gave me strength to overcome those powerful cravings and temptations. What I had never been able to achieve through my own willpower, I was able to overcome through the power of the Holy Spirit. From that time until today I have never returned to alcohol or cigarettes.

I also felt a strong desire to share what I had discovered with others, fully convinced that they would be just as excited as I was because the truth seemed so clear and wonderful. Wojtek was also reading the same book and felt the same excitement.

But I was shocked to discover that almost none of my friends were interested. My life changed so dramatically that even my family became worried about me. My own sister, who was a dentist, once begged me with tears in her eyes to go with her to a psychiatrist because she sincerely believed that something had gone wrong with my mind.

OPPOSITION, LOSS, AND GOD’S GUIDANCE

Wojtek and I both returned home to share our discoveries with our families. But instead of support, we experienced strong opposition and pressure from our relatives to abandon our new beliefs.

My family failed to change my mind. Sadly, however, Wojtek eventually gave in to pressure from his parents. From that time onward he no longer wanted to discuss the Bible or the truths we had discovered together.

Shortly afterward we were both drafted into the army. I was sent to Szczecin, while Wojtek was sent to Gołdap. Tragically, after only six months of military service, Wojtek took his own life. It was one of the most painful experiences of my life. For a long time afterward I dreamed about him at night, searching for him but never being able to find him.

As for me, I took my Bible with me into the army and never parted from it. After about a year in the army, through additional literature I discovered that Ellen G. White, the author of the book that had first awakened my interest in the Bible, was a member of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. I obtained the address of an Adventist church in Szczecin and began attending services there.

I loved that church so much that sometimes, unable to resist the desire to attend worship services, I secretly left the military unit without permission. Yet God always protected me. Although I worked in the headquarters office, where I could have been summoned back at any moment, somehow I was never caught.

SEMINARY AND A PAINFUL SACRIFICE

After leaving the army, I worked for about a year as a dental technician. During that time I strongly felt that the Lord was leading me to attend our Adventist seminary school, so I decided to go, even though it came at a painful cost. My late father disinherited me, and I was no longer allowed to return home.

After nearly two years at the seminary, Bill Dull, president of the Living Springs Retreat, visited Poland with his wife to share the Adventist health message. Since he knew I was already deeply interested in health and lifestyle ministry, he invited me and two other young Adventists to come to America for a one-year training program.

You can imagine how excited and grateful we were, especially since Poland was still under communist rule in 1989.

A LIFE-CHANGING ENCOUNTER WITH THE GOSPEL

During my Christian experience there was also a period when, without fully realizing it, I was trying to earn God’s favor through my own efforts and achievements.

But in 1990 I had the privilege of staying at Uchee Pines Institute, founded by Agatha Thrash and her husband Calvin Thrash. Every morning and evening I attended Bible seminars presented by Jack Sequeira. He shared the most beautiful and Christ-centered message on salvation by faith in Jesus Christ that I had ever heard. To be completely honest, it was the most blessed spiritual experience of my life.

Pastor Jack Sequeira

Although my English at that time was still limited and I could not understand every word perfectly, I had never before — nor since — felt such a powerful influence of the Holy Spirit. It was as if God Himself was saying to me: “This is the reason I have brought you here. Listen carefully, study this message, and take it back to your country.”

After the seminar I bought all the recorded sermons and Bible studies on audio cassette, a Greek interlinear Bible, and several commentaries on Romans, including the excellent commentary written by Anders Nygren, which Pastor Sequeira recommended to me.

I began studying this precious message carefully and prayerfully. As I gradually understood and accepted it with all my heart, I experienced a wonderful freedom from condemnation, fear, and the burden of trying to save myself through my own performance. Since that time, despite my imperfections and occasional failures, I have continued to rejoice in the assurance of salvation through Christ alone.

RETURNING TO POLAND

Of course, one of the hardest things for me was leaving America — the “land of milk and money,” as many people in communist Poland used to call it — and returning home. Some of my relatives living in America strongly encouraged me to stay there permanently. But, thank God, the Holy Spirit gave me enough strength to overcome the temptation, and I finally submitted to what I believed was God’s will for my life.

When I returned to Poland the following autumn, communism had already collapsed. Bill Dull hoped to establish a branch of Living Springs in Poland, but eventually those plans did not succeed. Instead, God opened the way for me to start my own health ministry through a herbal and health food shop.

Although I never returned to the seminary to complete my theological studies, I always had a deep desire to become a minister and preach the gospel. Yet God fulfilled that desire in another way. After some time, churches throughout Poland began inviting me to present health lectures, and almost everywhere I went I was also asked to preach sermons.

For approximately fifteen years I traveled throughout Poland — and occasionally abroad — speaking in nearly all Seventh-day Adventist Church churches in the country.

In my sermons I continually emphasized the truths I had learned through Pastor Sequeira’s ministry: the centrality of the cross, the wonderful “in Christ” message, the truth that Jesus gave Himself completely and eternally for humanity, and salvation by grace through faith alone.

Through those experiences I came to understand much more deeply what Ellen G. White meant when she wrote that the health message is the “right arm of the gospel.” Very often it was the health lectures that opened the doors and gave me the opportunity to share the gospel itself.

MOVING TO THE UNITED KINGDOM

In 2005, I decided to move to the United Kingdom. By God’s grace I have continued trying to do the same work here — sharing the wonderful truth of salvation in Christ — while also pursuing further education.

After many years as a Seventh-day Adventist Church Christian, I can honestly say that reading The Great Controversy and accepting the biblical truths I discovered in that book was one of the greatest blessings of my life. It led me to the Word of God, to prayer, to freedom from destructive habits, and to a deep inner peace that I had never known before.

ELLEN G. WHITE AND HER WRITINGS

Sadly, many evangelical Christians strongly condemn Ellen G. White and her writings. Yet very often they do so without ever having carefully read books such as The Great Controversy, The Desire of Ages, or Steps to Christ for themselves.

Thinking about such people, I can only repeat the prayer of our dying Lord: “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34).

The Desire of Ages is the most beautiful book ever written on the life of Christ. It has been highly praised by renowned Christian leaders and theologians across Protestant denominations for their devotional depth, spiritual insight, and vivid portrayals of Jesus.

Billy Graham recognized the profound spiritual value of Ellen G. White’s writings on the life of Christ, keeping her books in his personal library and utilizing their rich Christological insights. His legacy organization has publicly shared quotes from her work for devotional purposes. Though Graham belonged to the Southern Baptist Convention, he maintained a deep respect for Seventh-day Adventist authors and frequently spoke of Ellen White’s strong defense of orthodox Christian themes—such as the atoning sacrifice of Christ and salvation by grace.

The renowned Christian broadcaster and news commentator, Paul Harvey, occasionally quoted from Ellen White’s writings on his national radio show, expressing admiration for her practical wisdom.

Dr. T. M. Anderson, prominent 20th-century interdenominational revivalist and theologian (author of Prayer Availeth Much) frequently commended The Desire of Ages alongside classic holiness literature.

Dr. D. James Kennedy, the influential Presbyterian pastor and other influential Christian ministers and speakers regarded The Desire of Ages as a masterpiece of devotional literature, noting that out of thousands of books in the Library of Congress on the life of Jesus, it remains one of the most requested.

GOD’S GUIDANCE THROUGHOUT MY LIFE

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