Thankfulness Leads Atheistic Virtuoso to the Lord

"When you enter first grade, youre given this standard dictionary and it has pictures. Theres a picture of a book with a cross, and theres a definition: It says the Bible is a collection of fantastic stories and fairy tales, with no historic or scientific basis, used by the corrupt political powers to prey upon unsuspecting nations.

"I was raised by parents who were raised by the Communist Party and taught by teachers that were taught by the Communist Party through books that were carefully chosen by the Communist Party.

"My parents really encouraged my involvement in music, and my academic curiosity, and my advancement in the world of intellectualism, and literature and poetry. And that was very important, because thats where the answers were kept, in my world."

The world of Darko Velichkovski was all about accomplishment. And he certainly accomplished. He was born in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, in the '60s. His parents loved both their sons and strongly encouraged their academic development.

"I loved reading and loved taking exams, and I was very curious about literature, poetry, science, philosophy, art, music. I graduated from high school when I was 15. I graduated from university when I was 18. That was a sign that, yes, my parents were right; you create your own destiny, and you shape your own happiness and own future."

Of course, there was his clarinet music. The Velichkovskis realized early on that Darko was a child prodigy.

"Very early I started touring internationally with different orchestras and playing and achieved great success. I recorded and competed for my government and for myself at the time. This was this living proof that was taught me through my parents and books, which was right -- you indeed shape your own happiness, indeed create your own future."

So Darko relied on his own effort and finely tuned skills. But the question of a divine power left him restless.

"I was always hoping it would answer itself somehow as this thing called life progresses. [I thought] I will maybe mature and then find out what this supreme being is, because I knew that this whole thing could not just happen on its own. I knew it.

At age 16 Darko met a man who would change the course of his entire life.

"When I saw him walk into this little coffee shop in Belgrade, where we were all sitting after a youth symphony orchestra, we all thought, Well here goes another American tourist. Another opportunity to practice our English. We were all thinking it would make us sound like those cowboy movies we would see on TV, so we offered to show him around."

Kelley Travis was that American tourist.

"I had him bring it to my hotel and play for me," Travis recalls. "When he played one scale, I knew, instantly, I knew if he could ever get away from this socialist, communist, atheist country, thered be no bounds."

Before Kelley left, he asked for a souvenir tape of Darko playing the clarinet. Darko thought nothing of it.

"Two years later, when he called from Jackson, Miss., to Belgrade, Yugoslavia, to say that he had played the tape for someone at a university there. They were very impressed and gave a full scholarship to continue my studies there, and would I like to do so? All of Eastern Europe wanted to continue their studies in the U.S."

But Darko couldnt go. All young Yugoslavian men were required to serve in the army, and Darkos number was up. A year and a half later, though, Kelley called again with the same invitation.

"And so, with $20 in my pocket, and a clarinet in one hand and suitcase in the other, I was on my way to the land of opportunity, McDonalds and Hollywood, as I always like to say."

Darko lived in Mississippi with the Travis family, who introduced him to their Southern way of life. A big part of their lives was church.

I was always taught that the church is a place for those who are intellectually weak. Thats the crutch of the people. Thats the opium of the people. Thats not where you gain strength; thats where you are infused with weakness.

"I walk into the church, and instead of finding a bunch of disillusioned and irrational folks there, I find mothers and fathers and housewives, judges, doctors, lawyers, workers, and just everybody. The whole society was there. I was shocked! I couldnt believe it. The first thought that came to my mind was Well, look whos telling the truth.

The answer to that question was closer than Darko knew. You see his visa required him to enroll at the Louisiana university within 30 days. But Darko postponed enrollment, because Kelley got him an audition at the Juilliard School of Music. So on day 29, Darko glanced at his papers and realized he could face deportation. They all got in the car and drove to the immigration office in New Orleans to beg for an extension. You wont believe what happened next.

"Apparently, the New Orleans Jazz Club picks a different hotel every year, and once a year they jam there all night. Well, they were going to jam at this hotel while we were going to sleep. I dont know how that was going to work out, but thats what they were going do.

Kelley encouraged Darko to join in, as it might be his last night in the U.S.

" I played with great jazz and blues musicians from New Orleans. Then the morning came and I had to go face the real music at the immigration office."

"Sometime in the afternoon, the immigration officer came out, handed me my papers and said something about Mexico being close and I could still make it if I started now. That was it. I had until midnight!"

Every dream of success Darko had was crushed. Then another immigration officer appeared in the hallway. He was the banjo player from the night before.

"He said, 'You want to have a cup of coffee with me? Ill ask you about some of the songs.' I thought, I might as well have cup of coffee before I kill myself. This was one of the highest officers at the immigration office. Do I have to tell you how miraculous? He became the best banjo player Id ever heard in my life! Obviously, I remembered every note he played and I told him so shamelessly."

Darkos visa was extended and his hope revived. It seemed his problems were over except for one that had just begun.

"I opened my mouth to say thank you to this fellow and I realized that he didnt have anything to do with it. Its not like he woke up and said, 'Oh, at 4 p.m. Ill go help Darko.' So who do you say thank you to when your life is spared, when this incredible mercy, incredible grace was poured out on you? All of your life you were taught there is nothing above and nothing below, nothing ahead and nothing behind. You want to say thank you and there is nothing there. Those are the crossroads where all of the atheists will one day find themselves at."

Darko remembered the prayers of Jean Travis, Kelleys wife, and where she told him to look for answers.

"This time it wasnt an intellectual exercise. This time it was a source of truth. When you pick up Gods Word with gratefulness in your heart for what He has done for you, when you realize that you really dont deserve anything, that youre His creation and you need to come to Him, and you come to him through His Word, His Word becomes alive. In my case, every word attached itself to my heart with its life-changing power. I came to know the Way, the Truth and the Life."

Darko soon married Anne from Jackson, graduated from Juilliard, and began a stellar performing career. All the while he had the daunting task of seeing his entire life through new eyes.

"I grew up in a communist country, taught by Communist teachers and Communist parents and Communist books. Thats all I saw on television, heard on the radio, saw in the newspaper -- thats all I knew. Atheism, the Communist Party, Tito, Mao Tse-tung those were my heroes. All of a sudden for God to open your eyes, thats a miracle if ever I knew any!"

At the beginning of his Christian experience, Darkos music was still business as usual.

"I traveled to Italy, France, Switzerland, Austria, Hong Kong, China, you name it. But regardless of what corner of the world I happened to be in, regardless of how many tickets had sold, how much respect and admiration my audience offered, how many TV and radio stations wanted an interview, it just wasnt enough anymore, because I know that by grace I became Gods property forgiven and saved. Of course, it could not be anymore business as usual."

As he studied the Bible and drew closer to God, Darkos thinking was turned upside down.

"I came to this country in search of prosperity, but God through His Word taught me that no one can serve two masters, that we cannot serve God and money. I came in search of prominence, see? But He taught me that to be first, I have to be last, to be great, I have to be a servant. It is a paradox, isnt it? Paradox after paradox. How was my logical mind supposed to accept these apparent suicides of the self?"

And what about his family and friends back in Europe? He knew he belonged to God now. How would that affect his relationship with his family?

"Going down that path meant leaving my parents behind, leaving my brother behind, and leaving friends behind. It seemed to them I was betraying them , that I was leaving everything behind for this newly-found cult, faith, whatever you call it. For them, it wasnt the truth. Even now my parents are not Christians, and we pray for them everyday. They, on an intellectual level, accept the fact we are Christians and think thats fine for us, but certainly not something they would consider."

Darkos view of music as a profession and as his passion also changed.

"It really wasnt until I went to the Brooklyn Tabernacle for the first time and heard the choir sing and praise God and worship Him through music that wasnt incredibly sophisticated, but was offered as such a perfect gift and an offering of praise, that I understood that it is not about perfection, not about mastery, but it is about your heart."

After many years in New York City, Darko and Anne and their daughter Lydia returned to Jackson, Miss. As you might expect, Lydia inherited more than a little musical talent The depth of love between Darko and his First Baptist Church family is something you have to witness to believe.

"We were overwhelmed with his personality, that he could as young person at that age feel at home in a country where he knew only one family, the Travises, thats all he knew," says Larry Black, the choir director for First Baptist Church in Jackson. "But he just came in here with such warmth and our people instantly loved him."

Darko was president of the Mississippi Symphony for three years and now devotes his time to telling his incredible story and leading in musical worship.

"There are so many things you can say through music that you really cannot say through words. For me, music is a divine miracle; thats what music is. Unlike anything else we know of, it speaks directly to our souls, crossing all of those boundaries of language, color, gender, generation."

Darko will never forget his roots and has a special love for people raised in atheistic cultures.

"Atheists, deep down, theyre sad people, because there is nobody to say thank you to."

Darko also has an appreciation for the United States that most of us who were born here lack.

"You look at the world on TV, at Bosnia and Kosovo and East Timor and Africa, and look at a world in pain and then walk onto your front porch, what do you see? Grace, amazing grace. If you live thinking that you deserve this, you worked hard for this front porch, then you are very deceived. It is not there because of your hard work. It is there because of Gods goodness and His grace."

Darkos story and talent are both remarkable, but his desire to worship God transcends them both.

"Unfortunately, even many of our own Christian brothers and sisters would criticize it as fanaticism, madness. All I have to say is fanaticism? Do you mean the everlasting love that led Jesus to the agony of the cross? Madness? You must mean the amazing grace that saved me from the fires of hell. So let me then -- fanatically and madly -- worship Him and praise Him and give Him all the glory!"