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| PUC's Double Agent
By Landon Bennett
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Dmitry Lossov calls himself a double agent. Oh, it’s true,
he’s from Russia, and he currently lives in the United States.
But, whom does he serve – Russia, America or both? Actually,
neither. With an incessant smile and sense of humor, Dmitry serves
God wherever he is. In America, this Russian student witnesses to
his fellow students and professors. And as a PUC student missionary,
he witnesses to the people in Thailand, in Ghana and in the Philippines.
He’s hooked.
Although PUC sent out 34 long-term student missionaries last year
to 20 countries, plus many more short-term missionaries, Dmitry’s
challenge in Ghana was one of the greatest: preaching in English
(not his native language) through a translator, to a people who
did not understand English. It almost sounds reminiscent of speaking
in tongues – but with God all things are possible. As a result
of these sermons, 65 people gave their lives to Jesus and were baptized
into the Adventist church.
The people in Breman, Ghana, obviously loved this cheerful fellow
with the thick Russian accent, so much that a year after he left
they renamed their local school the Dmitry Adventist Preparatory
School. What an honor for a Russian serving as an American student
missionary! But, as Dmitry sees it, the honor involves “having
the privilege to raise money here in the United States for the elementary
school and to represent Ghanaian Adventist education to Americans.”
Dmitry enthusiastically continues PUC’s student missionary
heritage, which goes back 40 years when the first student missionary
ventured overseas to set up a science lab and teach science in West
Pakistan. That pioneering student missionary later impressed his
fellow students at PUC with the great need for workers in the field.
That need has been addressed by the nearly 1,200 student missionaries
who have been sent out from PUC over the ensuing years, covering
most parts of the globe. They go as teachers, evangelists, well
diggers, builders, farmers, orphanage workers, technology experts
– you name the need and student missionaries help meet it.
Dmitry also did his share to meet those needs. During his two years
in Thailand, not only did he help plant a church among the unreached
Mien Hill tribe, but he also taught English at the village school
and helped at the local porch-clinic. And he did all that under
trying conditions: the local people did not trust him, since he
was a Russian with a Communist background. “The Cold War still
existed in their minds,” Dmitry recalls.
Like so many student missionaries, once it gets into your blood,
you’re hooked and you just want to go back again and again.
Perhaps Jon Thornton, former PUC student missionary to Chuuk in
Micronesia, expressed it best when he said, “Missions is something
that grabs you and won’t let you go.” Indeed, Dmitry
has already been grabbed three times, and it won’t let him
go. Being a senior public relations/journalism major, Dmitry’s
ambition is to become a Christian journalist, involved in cross-cultural
mission activities – he’s still bent on being that double
agent.
When asked what he gained from all his mission experiences, his
reply included a multitude of blessings, the greatest of which was
a heightened personal relationship with God. And, as Dmitry so colorfully
says, “I was able to leave my comfort zone and develop a passion
to serve others.”
Although Dmitry has a hard time relating to the “crazy pace
of life in America where you check in/check out, rush here/rush
there, buy this/buy that,” he does appreciate being able to
travel, since it was forbidden to travel abroad where he grew up.
He also enjoys the religious freedom prevalent in America with the
accompanying privilege of being able to witness Bible truths to
others.
Today, in addition to being a full-time student and part-time worker,
Dmitry volunteers in activities such as Young Adult Sabbath School
and Bridge Ministries at PUC. He also participates in overseas,
short-term evangelistic campaigns. And in his spare time he is busy
raising money to help in the upkeep of a school in Ghana.
A truly remarkable double agent.
Photo Caption: Local Ashanti children from Ghana,
West Africa, surround Dmitry Lossev, PUC student from Russia. Dmitry
made such an impact with the people in Breman, that they renamed
their school the Dmitry Adventist Preparatory School.
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