“If You Can, Believe In God.”
The story of Penka Ivanova from Bulgaria

T
he following is the testimony of Penka Ivanova from a town called Zàvet in the country of Bulgaria.
“I was 8 years old and in the second grade at school. The year was 1947 on the 5th of March at 9:55am. I was writing down math problems, which I was copying from the blackboard in the classroom, when suddenly, I completely lost my sight and started crying. The teacher came to me and asked me why I was crying. I didn’t tell her, as I thought the other students would start laughing at me. She sent everybody but me out of the classroom, then went and called the principal and the other teachers. When they came they asked me why I was crying. Then, being very distressed, I told them that I couldn’t see anything. The principal was confounded by what I had said and exclaimed, “How can this be? You haven’t been sick… you don’t even have a fever. You haven’t had any complaints prior to this!”
Then they brought me to my parents. My father immediately took me to the hospital. The doctors did a thorough medical exam, but they couldn’t find the cause of my condition nor could they heal me.
On the 20th of April, 1947 I also lost my hearing. Again, I went to the doctors for a check up and again they couldn’t heal me. After this, on January 5th, 1948, I lost my ability to speak as well. In the course of one year I became blind, deaf and mute. Nothing mattered anymore. It was as though I was buried alive.
The doctors in Bulgaria could not help me, because of which my parents took me to West Germany for medical treatment, and from there to the USSR. The result was the same. The answer they kept giving us: “the illness is unknown and incurable”.
I lived in that condition for 9 years and 9 months.
Now, there were people in our little town who believed in God. And in 1957, God revealed it to a sister in the Lord, by the name of Ruska Delcheva Uzunova, by telling her, “If Penka would believe in God, He would both heal and bless her.” However, she kept this revelation to herself without telling anyone. God, then, told her a second time the same thing. Once again she told no one. Then God revealed it to her for the third time, that He wanted to heal me and He told her, “Whether you tell her or not I will heal her regardless, however, I will cause you to become ill and confined to bed, and then, though you might cry to Me for help, I will not answer.”
Upon hearing this, she started repenting and asking God to forgive her. Then she asked God, “How should I tell her this, since she cannot see, cannot hear, and cannot speak?” Then God answered her, “Penka’s father is out in the field today, working. On his way home, I will cause him to go by your house, even though he is accustomed to taking a different route.”
And truly, on his way back, my father passed by Ruska’s house. She called him to stop by for a minute. Then she told him, “Come, Angel (that’s his name). I have something to tell you. You might not receive it, but I am obligated to tell it to you. God has revealed it to me three times, that if Penka would believe in God, He would both heal and bless her.” My father answered, “There is no way I can tell her that. I could speak to her, but she is deaf. I could write it to her, but she is blind.” Then God spoke once again through sister Ruska saying, “When you go home now, you will find your daughter seeing.”
And truly, at that same hour, at 12pm on August 25th, 1957, I received my sight again.
I looked through the window and I saw the land, the sky, people and birds. It was as though I had just come to life. I walked out to the yard. Everything looked different – the house, the yard. Right then a man entered the gate and came to me. After verifying that I could see, he brought a pencil and a piece of paper and wrote something. Then he handed it to me and I read the following: “Penka, I am your father. The Lord spoke to Ruska Delcheva, that if you would believe in God, He would both heal and bless you. If you can, believe in God.”
This was August 25th, 1957. On the 28th of February, 1958, both my hearing and my speech were restored.
During the time of my affliction, my hair had become white, as the hair of an eighty year old grandma. This I saw after God opened my eyes. However, after I was healed, my hair was restored to its original color as well.
My joy, upon receiving my sight, could not be expressed with a human tongue. When my hearing and my speech were restored to me, my joy was indescribable. And now I rejoice always. I feel happy and I always give glory to God.
Let the name of the Lord be blessed for His wondrous works, for His endless mercy and love, shown both today and everyday even through such miracles, in such difficult moments, toward each and everyone who would believe in God sincerely and wholeheartedly.
The Gospel, God’s manual for man, describes two paths in which humanity walks. The wise walk in the good path of faith in God and eternal life. And the foolish walk in the bad path of unbelief, immorality, death, eternal perdition. The Gospel advises us on how to live; on what we can do and what we should not do; on whether we should live in sin or not. One can commit a sin unknowingly. But if one knowingly lies or steals, then he will be punished. There is God. And there is eternal life. God’s judgement and His wrath come after death, so run for your life.
He says, “He who seeks Me will find Me, and the one who comes to Me I certainly will not cast out. Seek Me in your adversity, in your inner room, on your knees with humility, with faith, with pure heart, without doubting, saying: “Lord, if You exist, reveal Yourself to me that I may know You; that You may forgive my sins and make me into a new creation; that I may hate evil and love that which is good; that I may keep Your commandments, Your counsel; that I may live and not come under judgement when You come again, but that I may be pardoned.””
Seek the Lord Jesus Christ while He can be found. There will come a day when, though you may wish to find Him, you will not be able to. Amen.”
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“If You Can, Believe In God.”
The story of Penka Ivanova from Bulgaria.

T
he following is the testimony of Penka Ivanova from a town called Zàvet in the country of Bulgaria.
“I was 8 years old and in the second grade at school. The year was 1947 on the 5th of March at 9:55am. I was writing down math problems, which I was copying from the blackboard in the classroom, when suddenly, I completely lost my sight and started crying. The teacher came to me and asked me why I was crying. I didn’t tell her, as I thought the other students would start laughing at me. She sent everybody but me out of the classroom, then went and called the principal and the other teachers. When they came they asked me why I was crying. Then, being very distressed, I told them that I couldn’t see anything. The principal was confounded by what I had said and exclaimed, “How can this be? You haven’t been sick… you don’t even have a fever. You haven’t had any complaints prior to this!”
Then they brought me to my parents. My father immediately took me to the hospital. The doctors did a thorough medical exam, but they couldn’t find the cause of my condition nor could they heal me.
On the 20th of April, 1947 I also lost my hearing. Again, I went to the doctors for a check up and again they couldn’t heal me. After this, on January 5th, 1948, I lost my ability to speak as well. In the course of one year I became blind, deaf and mute. Nothing mattered anymore. It was as though I was buried alive.
The doctors in Bulgaria could not help me, because of which my parents took me to West Germany for medical treatment, and from there to the USSR. The result was the same. The answer they kept giving us: “the illness is unknown and incurable”.
I lived in that condition for 9 years and 9 months.
Now, there were people in our little town who believed in God. And in 1957, God revealed it to a sister in the Lord, by the name of Ruska Delcheva Uzunova, by telling her, “If Penka would believe in God, He would both heal and bless her.” However, she kept this revelation to herself without telling anyone. God, then, told her a second time the same thing. Once again she told no one. Then God revealed it to her for the third time, that He wanted to heal me and He told her, “Whether you tell her or not I will heal her regardless, however, I will cause you to become ill and confined to bed, and then, though you might cry to Me for help, I will not answer.”
Upon hearing this, she started repenting and asking God to forgive her. Then she asked God, “How should I tell her this, since she cannot see, cannot hear, and cannot speak?” Then God answered her, “Penka’s father is out in the field today, working. On his way home, I will cause him to go by your house, even though he is accustomed to taking a different route.”
And truly, on his way back, my father passed by Ruska’s house. She called him to stop by for a minute. Then she told him, “Come, Angel (that’s his name). I have something to tell you. You might not receive it, but I am obligated to tell it to you. God has revealed it to me three times, that if Penka would believe in God, He would both heal and bless her.” My father answered, “There is no way I can tell her that. I could speak to her, but she is deaf. I could write it to her, but she is blind.” Then God spoke once again through sister Ruska saying, “When you go home now, you will find your daughter seeing.”
And truly, at that same hour, at 12pm on August 25th, 1957, I received my sight again.
I looked through the window and I saw the land, the sky, people and birds. It was as though I had just come to life. I walked out to the yard. Everything looked different – the house, the yard. Right then a man entered the gate and came to me. After verifying that I could see, he brought a pencil and a piece of paper and wrote something. Then he handed it to me and I read the following: “Penka, I am your father. The Lord spoke to Ruska Delcheva, that if you would believe in God, He would both heal and bless you. If you can, believe in God.”
This was August 25th, 1957. On the 28th of February, 1958, both my hearing and my speech were restored.
During the time of my affliction, my hair had become white, as the hair of an eighty year old grandma. This I saw after God opened my eyes. However, after I was healed, my hair was restored to its original color as well.
My joy, upon receiving my sight, could not be expressed with a human tongue. When my hearing and my speech were restored to me, my joy was indescribable. And now I rejoice always. I feel happy and I always give glory to God.
Let the name of the Lord be blessed for His wondrous works, for His endless mercy and love, shown both today and everyday even through such miracles, in such difficult moments, toward each and everyone who would believe in God sincerely and wholeheartedly.
The Gospel, God’s manual for man, describes two paths in which humanity walks. The wise walk in the good path of faith in God and eternal life. And the foolish walk in the bad path of unbelief, immorality, death, eternal perdition. The Gospel advises us on how to live; on what we can do and what we should not do; on whether we should live in sin or not. One can commit a sin unknowingly. But if one knowingly lies or steals, then he will be punished. There is God. And there is eternal life. God’s judgement and His wrath come after death, so run for your life.
He says, “He who seeks Me will find Me, and the one who comes to Me I certainly will not cast out. Seek Me in your adversity, in your inner room, on your knees with humility, with faith, with pure heart, without doubting, saying: “Lord, if You exist, reveal Yourself to me that I may know You; that You may forgive my sins and make me into a new creation; that I may hate evil and love that which is good; that I may keep Your commandments, Your counsel; that I may live and not come under judgement when You come again, but that I may be pardoned.””
Seek the Lord Jesus Christ while He can be found. There will come a day when, though you may wish to find Him, you will not be able to. Amen.”