Astonishing Grace: Eight Stories of God’s Faithfulness

By Ana Marija Franc Weinhardt

Astonishing Grace: Eight Stories of God’s Faithfulness has study questions that could be used for the small group. 

This is a collection of eight amazing stories of people who went through both common and extraordinary circumstances. Step into accounts of everyday hardships interwoven with miraculous endings, as well as stories of God’s light piercing through deep darkness and delivering people from unbearably heavy situations:

A young boy from Yugoslavia, persecuted because of his German background, seeing his mother suffer cruelly, being abused by his step-father, and living in a graveyard for years as a teenager.

A young soldier, surviving a serious accident in the war in Afghanistan, left without any hope and on the brink of suicide.

A life full of fleeting pleasures – drinking, girlfriends, pornography – all leaving a young man empty and unsatisfied.

Young parents going through the unimaginable as they watch their firstborn five-year-old daughter battle an aggressive brain tumor.

“These true life stories shake, question, and invite us all into the embrace of the One who calls us all to his yoke and his rest.”

—arko orevi, Professor of Theology at the Faculty of Theology in Novi Sad; Bible Translator (New Serbian Translation); editor of this book in original Serbian language

Each of these true stories – collected by the author from people she knows personally – showcases the astonishing grace of God. Each is a powerful testimony that will not leave you indifferent, but will inspire you towards a deeper walk with Christ, who is the main character throughout this book and the source of all hope and perseverance. Be ready for this book to captivate you from the first page to the last.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Mar 11, 2024
• ISBN: 9798385012183

Ana Marija Franc Weinhardt

Ana Marija Franc Weinhardt was born in former Yugoslavia, and for many years has had a passion for hearing and sharing life stories that highlight the grace of God. During her 32 years in Serbia, she earned a master’s degree in harp performance (University of Belgrade) and has performed throughout Europe, North America, and Israel, touching hearts with the peaceable melodies of the harp and the transformative power of the gospel. She and her husband currently live in Northeast Ohio with their one son, and are actively involved in their local church.

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Copyright © 2024 Ana Marija Franc Weinhardt.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This book is a work of non-fiction. Unless otherwise noted, the author and the publisher make no explicit guarantees as to the accuracy of the information contained in this book and in some cases, names of people and places have been altered to protect their privacy.

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Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are

models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Interior Image Credit: Dusan Vojnov, Nancy Pauline Photography, Nikita P.

ISBN: 979-8-3850-1219-0 (sc)

ISBN: 979-8-3850-1220-6 (hc)

ISBN: 979-8-3850-1218-3 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2023921552

WestBow Press rev. date: 4/9/2024

Unless otherwise indicated, scripture quotations are taken from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked ESV are from the ESV Bible® (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

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Scripture quotations marked KJV are taken from the Holy Bible, King James Version.

Scripture quotations marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Contents

Gratitude

Introduction

Chapter 1 Anita and Tibor Namenyi: Strength in Loss

Chapter 2 Sandra Vučković: Everything’s Fallen into Place

Chapter 3 Miodrag Mihajlović: A God I Wasn’t Expecting

Chapter 4 Nancy: Prayer Heard

Chapter 5 David: A New Life through Repentance

Chapter 6 Adam Kusicki: In Jesus I Found My True Identity

Chapter 7 Lydia Vandjelovic: God’s Power of Healing and Renewal in My Life

Chapter 8 Viktor T.: True Love Triumphs over Injustice

Epilogue

Share This Book

About the Author

Comments about Serbian Book

I have to thank you endlessly for your book that you gave me. You brought so much peace into my life. And it is true that it is no coincidence that we met that day in the park. I have been experiencing great pain for a very long time. Your book really calmed me down a lot. Thank you endlessly! And yes, I would like to buy a Bible. I wanted to ask you where to buy it. You are gold, and a gift. I am very happy to know you.

—Ivana M., flute professor

I really liked the book, the life stories you presented to me are very edifying and interesting, because they talk about different situations, some of which could happen to me. For me, the most moving story is the one about the girl Kira, I cried while reading it, because it really hit me that such a young and uncorrupted being did not stay with us. The life story of Mr. Viktor T. was also very interesting to me because it testifies about the past time and some system that made his already difficult life even more difficult. Other stories that talk about the problems that young people face today made me think about some of my actions and try not to look at things so superficially. Not to elaborate now … Basically, thank you once again for writing such a wonderful book, I believe that it took a lot of effort and I’m sorry that you felt bad for a certain period, but the effort paid off and I hope that many more people will read it and understand the message.

— Jovana V., student of psychology

I just read your book yesterday from the beginning to end in one breath, it’s beautiful, and it means a lot to me in this period of my life.

—Tamara D., music teacher

The book is wonderful. I rejoice that God is working so wonderfully in your life and in your family. I expect more great things from you in the future for God’s Kingdom! Every life story is powerful and unique, but Viktor’s left the biggest impression on me. I would be very interested to meet that man. It’s a pity that you didn’t print at least 1000 books. Greetings and may God protect you!

—Nebojsa S., pastor of the Banovo Brdo Evangelical Church in Belgrade (Serbia), marriage counselor, president of the Marriage and Family Association

I read the book in four hours in one day, I didn’t take a single break as I was engrossed and just wanted to read. I was so interested in how the stories would end that I didn’t want to stop. In such a simple, and in such a beautiful and strong way every story is described, so inspiring. I listened to the CD on a couple of occasions during reading, so with harp music, the experience was even better. This is really just to sit down and think about life in general after all these stories. When I read Victor’s story, I forgot for a moment that it was a true story. Like in a movie when they invent drama, but this actually happened to someone, that man had such a turbulent life. Ana Marija just chose fantastic topics and parts of life to tell and share. Every sentence that she came up with fits nicely and does not repeat itself. It’s simply written to interest and intrigue you into thinking of: ‘That’s actually how it is.’ It’s a book that makes you cry while reading it.

—Sanja C., student of Faculty of Philology and Arts

To my beloved family.

To my mother, Marija, who has always been strong in life’s battles.

To my father, Srdjan, who has deeply encountered

God’s virtues of grace and forgiveness.

To my brother David, whose character is constant and

unwavering.

To my brother Edvard, who is a calm and selfless lover of peace.

To my sister Margareta, who is persistent in

her quiet but pure and powerful faith.

To my youngest brother, Aleksandar, who is

a gentle but bold warrior of God.

My deep desire is that we never forget the grace of God in this

earthly life, nor the eternal home with Jesus where we belong.

Gratitude

I want to first express my gratitude to God for giving me a talent and love for writing, as well as the patience and strength needed to work on this book. I thank Jesus Christ for redeeming me daily from my sins through his sacrifice on the cross and for giving me eternal life. And I thank the Holy Spirit, who leads me each day through life on earth.

They say that the family is the place where we grow the most, where we learn to forgive, to be patient, to love. I want to thank you, dear Mom and Dad, and my brothers and sister for being who you are. In our life together, there have been ups and downs, love and fear, arguments and unity, laughter and tears, joys and troubles, successes and failures, hopes and discouragements, healings and hurts. You are one of my greatest blessings from God! I have learned that true, faithful love comes through the kind of self-sacrifice I have seen in each of you in different ways, that you yourselves are not fully aware of. Mom and Dad, it may seem small, but it was under your roof and at your table that God sustained and provided for my needs as I wrote the first edition; I do not take that for granted. I pray that God’s grace and protection will be over you all in each step of your lives, and my desire is for us all to be together one day in the kingdom of heaven. Until then, let us all serve humankind faithfully as Jesus did and through the talents and gifts God has given us, all for his glory and never ours.

I am grateful to Kyra’s family for the harp they leant me, and the Apostolic Christian Church (Nazarean) in San Diego for the use of their facilities and sound equipment, with which I recorded all of the songs that can be listened to as this book is read.¹ In doing so, you helped my talent to develop and allowed others to be blessed by the sounds of the harp.

I have been blessed by the people from these stories, whose life paths God has crossed with mine. Without you, I would not have been able to write this book that is full of the riches of God’s grace. Thank you for allowing me to open the doors to your hearts, so full of treasures. Many times, I felt awkward about asking you many of the personal questions, but your openness humbled me. Your stories are like a tree that has experienced many seasons and storms, yet has remained alive and fruitful. My prayer is that the Lord will bless you for your love, through which you have willingly served others by sharing your story. May God continue to glorify himself through you. May he be your refuge and strength until the day when we are all together in God’s kingdom for eternity.

I am thankful for Žarko Đorđević, Sandra Vučković, and Jelena Hristov for their editorial assistance with the original Serbian version of this book. Your encouragement and the advice you gave me in my various dilemmas helped me to grow as a writer. Thank you so much for the generous time you set aside and for your patience until we all saw the finished work of this book.

Thank you, Dušan Vojnov, for the time you set aside to make a beautiful and meaningful book cover design and the illustrations at the beginning of each chapter. Thank you for your generous work. God has given you a real creative talent.

Thanks to Vlatko Moravek and his publishing house, MBM-plas. You poured countless hours into the printing of the original Serbian edition, inserting the beautifully colored pages by hand, and all for a very discounted rate. If it was not for your generosity and craftsmanship, the first edition would not have been nearly so beautiful, nor would it have reached nearly as many people.

Thanks to my beloved husband, Judah, who helped make the typesetting inside the first edition of this book look much better than I had imagined. As we worked together via the internet, with many miles between us during our engagement, I came to see even more clearly how you devote yourself sincerely and wholeheartedly to everything you do. Your attention to detail and your creativity have blessed me. Thank you for all the ways you have supported me in seeing this book translated into English and published, and for giving your wise and important editorial input into this second edition.

I am grateful to Nancy, my dear sister-in-law, for her lovely photographs. Most of the photos in this book are hers. God has given you a wonderful talent and career as a photographer, and an eye for detail and moments in time that are often and easily overlooked but that are precious treasures when captured and kept as memories. Thank you, sister.

I am grateful to Mark Daniels for masterfully translating the first edition of this book from Serbian into English. Thank you for your sincere dedication, your detailed questions, and the explanations you gave so that the ideas I expressed in my mother language within the first edition would be communicated in English as clearly as possible.

And to the many other friends who read sections of the book and offered their encouragement along the way, your enthusiasm and support in this journey helped carry me through. Thank you.

To the many above who offered their support and services freely, and to those who financially supported the publishing process from the beginning of the first edition until now, thank you. Special mention must be given to Upward Bound Youth,² which financially supported the final editorial stages of this English edition and other services that WestBow Press offered. Thank you for seeing the unique but simple value of sharing the Gospel message through these life stories centered around Christ. God sees what you have cheerfully given, and he will continue to be your provider and reward in every way.

As I was writing my original book in Serbian, somehow I bumped into WestBow Press self-publishing house on internet. I registered for their website, and a few years later, when my book was published in Serbian, I had a sudden and unexpected call from WestBow Press, asking if I was interested in publishing my book in English through their company. Your call in summer 2020 was a perfect moment right after my book was published in Serbian that same year in early spring (beginning of March). Thank you for your patience while I was working on translating and doing some extra editing and additions to the original Serbian edition. Your honest, kind, and supporting words were a special blessing for me, as publishing my book in America, an English-speaking country, was a new thing for me. You guided me by explaining so well the information I needed to know during the process, until I saw my book printed in hand in English.

As I read this sentence about prayer by Oswald Chambers, Prayer does not fit us for the greater work; prayer is the greater work, I am reminded of the importance of prayer beside actual work on this book. Thank you for all who prayed for me so that I would be led by the Spirit during the writing and for a finished book to touch the lives of all who read it. Prayer was sometimes the only tool that guided me, especially when I wasn’t motivated to write or read it all over again to make sure everything I wrote was how it should be. I remember moments when I sat down to write and the short, honest prayer that I would tell to my God, May your Spirit guide me. Prayer is powerful. Thank you for supporting me in this very important role, lifting me up in the whole writing process before the throne of God to guide, provide, and further his kingdom through these precious stories.

You have all done a great act of service to all those who will read this book, and first and foremost, you have glorified God. May he doubly repay you. You helped me also to grow the talent for writing that God has given me, to multiply for his glory and blessings many. I appreciate your various kinds of help, and I pray that the Lord will protect you in your lives and use you in the unique mission that he has for you here on the earth, to further God’s eternal kingdom. Never doubt your value in the Lord!

Finally, I would like to thank God for you, the reader. It is no accident that you hold this book in your hands right now, and my prayer is that reading these stories will not leave you indifferent, but rather that they will change you and enrich you, all because of God and the sacrifice of his Son, Jesus, through which we have forgiveness and eternal salvation. My wish is that God’s love will fill your whole being. May God bless you!

The Lord bless you and keep you;

the Lord make his face to shine upon you,

and be gracious to you;

the Lord lift up his countenance upon you,

and give you peace. (Numbers 6:24–26)

I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart;

I will tell of all your wonderful deeds.

—Psalm 9:1

Introduction

Letter to the Reader (Second Edition)

Dear reader, I originally wrote this book in Serbian, and it was first printed in Serbia in March 2020. This English edition has some added things to some of the stories, as since then, characters from these stories experienced different major life changes, which I added here with their permission. Also, instead of using space in the book’s introduction to explain how I know the characters in all the stories, I decided to do that at the beginning of each person’s story. I also added a summary and study questions to the end of each story. Finally, I added an enhanced epilogue at the end of the book that includes the section, The Battles We Face.

A year before the Serbian book was published, I gave a promise to God that when my book was finished, I would always freely give away all the Serbian copies of this book within Serbia. I want to share with you why I made such a promise and the blessings that followed as I fulfilled the promise I made to God.

It is not easy when life’s difficulties take us by surprise, but at the same time, it is the most wonderful thing when we are able to experience God’s strength, peace, and joy in the middle of trials. Never in my life could I have imagined that someone in my family might have to go through a struggle with cancer. On May 10, 2019, while I was in Canada far from the rest of my family, we discovered that my eldest brother, David, had late third-stage colon cancer just before turning thirty-five. The news shook us, but from the very beginning, God strengthened us and gave us peace and even moments of joy in dark moments of fear and uncertainty. Two days after the news about my brother’s illness, on May 12, I wrote the following in my journal:

Today I remembered how our Mom, when she was facing death due to problems with her heart, gave God a promise: that if he kept her alive, so that she could take care of her children, she would continue to always help others from then on. She had just had her fourth child, my sister Margareta. God did keep her from death, and she has indeed gone on to serve others selflessly. At that moment I decided to promise God that if he healed my brother I would distribute my book for free in Serbia.

My mom’s family has always been generous in different ways toward the poor, but my mom wanted to confirm her generous heart with this promise to God in the midst of a health issue. After she was healed, six years later, she had her fifth child, my brother Aleksandar, at the age of forty-two.

On May 15, we learned that the tumor was malignant, and they needed to find out whether the cancer had spread to other organs. That day I wrote the following in my journal:

When I woke up I had peace. David had sent a voice message saying that the tumor was malignant. In his voice there was peace. But now I was physically paralyzed by the news, and my thoughts and emotions were empty. Then the song Worthy is the Lamb came to my mind. I found the strength to listen to it on