“I Keep Moving Forward”

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On May 12, 2025, the Sovetskiy District Court of the City of Chelyabinsk convicted Brother Andrey Shurygin and sentenced him to five years and six months in prison. He was taken into custody from the courtroom.

Profile

Andrey Shurygin

Born: 1976 (Ust-Karabolka, Chelyabinsk Region)

Baptized: 1998

Background: Worked as an electrician. Married Yevgeniya in 2006. They have two daughters

Charged with: Organizing and conducting religious meetings of Jehovah’s Witnesses

Sentence: Five years and six months in prison

Personal Comments

How has Jesus’ example helped you to endure?

Jesus experienced persecution while he was on the earth. As I go through this personally, I better understand what is written about him at Hebrews 5:8, 9: “Although he was a son, he learned obedience from the things he suffered. And after he had been made perfect, he became responsible for everlasting salvation to all those obeying him.” Even though Jesus had a perfect record of obedience in heaven before his earthly existence, he “learned obedience” in a new way through what he endured as a human. This made him perfect in the sense that he was now qualified to serve as our High Priest. My own trials, which are new for me, have helped me to see that I have a lot of room for growth. Making progress is not easy. Some days, it is like running. At other times, it is like a slow walk. Whatever the case, the important thing is that I keep moving forward.

As we face our own trials, we are determined to “let endurance complete its work” and are grateful for Jehovah’s support, which allows us to become “sound in all respects.”—James 1:4.

Jehovah’s Witnesses