“Write to Anton!”

● A teenage Witness of Jehovah named Anton lived in the remote village of Schelkan in Stavropol’ Kray, Russia. In childhood he had been diagnosed with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, an incurable disease that rapidly wastes the muscles and usually leads to death before age 20. By the time Anton was nine, he could no longer walk or lift himself up.

When on a visit to a congregation of Witnesses, Yevgeny, accompanied by his wife, Diana, met Anton. “Anton was incredibly fragile physically,” Diana explained, “but was strong spiritually. Since his older brother died of the same disease at 19, Anton knew he didn’t have much time left. Still, he was happy and optimistic.”

Both Diana and her husband encouraged Anton to expand his ministry by writing letters to people in other isolated villages. In 2005, he wrote about 500 letters and sent them to addresses in nearby villages. However, to his disappointment, he did not receive a single reply. Although he felt discouraged, Anton continued to write letters, and he prayed earnestly for direction as to how he could be a productive minister despite his circumstances.

When reading a newspaper one day, Anton came across a letter from a sick woman who was in need of comfort. Anton wrote a letter to her, and part of it was printed in the same newspaper: “Although my disease is incurable, reading the Bible helps me to look at the future with confidence,” he wrote. “I love to receive letters and always wait for them.”

Deeply moved, the woman wrote a letter to the same newspaper. It was printed in a column entitled “Write to Anton!” The woman expressed appreciation for the spiritual thoughts expressed in Anton’s letter and added: “Let’s help Anton! Respond and write to him. The young man is in such need of kind words!” Anton’s address was provided.

Letters to Anton began arriving at the small post office in his village​—up to 30 a day! They came from all over Russia, as well as the Baltics, Germany, and even France. He received hundreds of letters from the newspaper’s readers. “Anton was just ecstatic!” remembers Diana. “Now he had hundreds of people he could write to and share his Bible-based beliefs with.”

Anton spent over a year corresponding with those who had written to him, and he shared Bible truths with them. Gradually, as his hands weakened, he began to dictate his letters. In September 2008, Anton died at 20 years of age. Although he was extremely fragile physically, Anton’s faith and love for the ministry opened up opportunities for him to touch hundreds of lives.