I want to spend my life
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mending broken people
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I want to spend my life
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removing pain
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Lord, let my words
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heal a heart that hurts
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I want to spend my life
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mending broken people
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I want to spend my life
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mending broken people
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Hello and welcome to 3ABN
Today. My name is CA Murray,
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and allow me to thank you
once again for spending a little
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time with us and for sharing
your love and your support with
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3ABN, lo, these many, many
years. I'm very excited today.
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One, because of the subject
matter; and then two, because
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of the guests that are with
me in the studio; they hadn't
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been here for a couple years,
and it is so good to see them
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both again. This is Dr. Mikhail
and Lyudmila Kulakov. Good to
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have you both here. I want
to shake your hands. These are
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wonderful people- and this
is a wonderful story. We really
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want you to pay attention and
sort of draw close. Dr. Kulakov
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is on the faculty of Washington
Adventist University, but he's
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not here in that capacity,
per se; he is here as a director
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of the Russian Bible project
- we're going to talk about
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that. He was here several years
ago, so we were going to start
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with a whole new slate and
bring you up to speed because
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some wonderful things have been
happening, and you talk about
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miracles and the move of God
and watching God weave and move
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things along. That has happened
in this project, and he's gonna
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sorta unpackage that for us.
And then right by his side has
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been his wife, Lyudmila, all
of the time. They're a lovely
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couple as you can well
see. Very, very nice Christian
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people who God is using in a
very, very special way; so I'm
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very excited to have them here
and to see them again after a
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few years. We were together
at General Conference for a big
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meeting and had a wonderful
time. I don't know if I've seen
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you since then. [laughs]
And that was back in 2015, so
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God is very, very good.
Before we go to our music-
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let's just start and talk about
someone who looms large in the
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history of the Adventist
church in the Soviet Union
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during those days and in Russia,
and that is your dad. He was
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kind of the Genesis of this
project, so walk us through,
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Mikhail, if you will, who he
was, what he did - because he
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suffered for the Lord, did
he not? But out of that, God
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blessed him to do a number
of things. So, kinda walk us
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through that experience of your
dad who was a sort of luminary
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in the Adventist church. -
I'm very grateful to God to have
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him as my father, Mikhail
Petrovich Kulakov Sr., born in
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1927. And as a 20-year-old
young man, he led the
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Seventh-Day Adventist church
in Moscow region during the
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harshest persecutions of the
Stalin's era. And for that, he
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was imprisoned and put into
a labor camp for 5 years, and
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his dad was already in a
labor camp serving a 10-year
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sentence. He was released
in 1953 when Stalin died and he
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met my mom; they established
a family and they established
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a wonderful church in
Kazakhstan where he was exiled,
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and then was allowed to move
to Russia proper back in 1976
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only, but his lifelong
dream was to create a clear,
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accessible translation of
the Bible for all the people of
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Russia for anybody who can
read Russian. - Now, the burden
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was- and I just wanna tap the
brake a little bit and ask, how
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did Adventism come to your
family? Where did it come from?
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How did it get to the family?
- To cut the long story short,
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my great-grandfather back in
1905 was elected by his local
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community in Russia to be
a representative to the first
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democratic prerevolutionary
parliament of Russia, and he
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went to save Petersburg from
a little remote town. And there,
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he had a couple days to
kill, so- before the parliament
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session would open. He was
so in awe that the books of
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Daniel and Revelation will
be expounded by a German scholar
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who is visiting St. Petersburg.
He was a deacon at the Russian
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Orthodox Church at the time,
so he decided to go. He went and
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was fascinated by lectures
on history being fulfilled and
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prophesied in the books of
the Bible. He decided to talk to
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the lecturer after the lecture.
He went outside of the hole
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and he noticed that the
lecturer is smoking. As a
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devout Russian Orthodox,
he was shocked. He said, "Sir,
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may I ask you, you are
expounding the Holy Scriptures.
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Why are you smoking?" And he
said, "Actually, you know, I'm
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working in Hamburg. I am not
a Christian; I am a translator-
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professional translator. I'm
translating the literature from
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English and German
into Russian. A Seventh-Day
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Adventist community had hired
me to translate the books and
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the prophecy of Daniel." And
I got so fascinated! And because
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I have a background in
education, I decided I should
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give lectures about it! And
so, he gave the address to my
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great-grandfather- where
to write for more books about
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this. - I think what I'm
going to do, I want to sort of
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put a pause button right there,
because this is an interesting
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story, and it leads me
to anothe- a couple of other
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questions. We want to go to
our music, because when we come
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back, I want to sort of
put this in the doctor's hands
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and let him run with it.
Our music today is coming to us
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from a good friend of
the ministry - Jaime Jorge, a
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wonderful musician. He is going
to be playing "The Holy City."
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Amen and amen. Jaime plays that
violin like he wants to saw it
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in half sometimes. I
asked him about that. He said,
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"Sometimes, I actually do,"
but beautiful song; beautifully
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rendered, and we thank him
for that. My guests, Dr. Mikhail
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and Lyudmila- I love that.
Lyudmila... You call her 'Ludi.'
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- Lyuda. - Lyuda [laughs]
Kulakov. And of course, I know
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you as Dr. Kulakov; I'm
shortening it to Mikhail for
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now so that we can kinda get
to this kind of quick. But we
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were just talking- your
dad, your grandfather, and your
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uncle- your great-uncle all
spent time in prison for their
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faith? - Yes. - Yeah, that
is powerful. And maybe it's the
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Lord's way of sort of punching
the devil back by letting this
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Bible get published, you know?
And letting it be disseminated.
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So, your dad got out of prison
and took up his ministry again;
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it didn't stop him? - It
did not stop him; it only
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strengthened his faith.
The experience was actually
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faith-building rather than
faith-shattering. Before he
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was imprisoned, he was
very fortunate to meet a Bible
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scholar in Latvia. Pastor
Oltingue who, right after the
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Second World War, introduced
him to the latest biblical
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resources and beautiful
renditions of the scriptures-
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in German, in English - books
on biblical archaeology, and
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some of the books were shot
through with bullets from the
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German advance and the battle
that was there. My dad was so
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inspired by the possibilities
that opened for him - a vision
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of what can be done in Russia,
also. He met in the labor camp
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with some of the leading rabbis
who lectured to him in prison
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cells on the grandeur of
the biblical Hebrew language.
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Some German scholars who
expounded to him the beauty
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of the- Martin Luther's
translation of the scriptures
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and encouraged him. A little
New Testament in German was
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smuggled to the camp for
my dad, and he treasured only
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some pages. He was able to
salvage after the censor found
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the books. He kept those pages
with promises that kept him
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going, so that's how his
vision grew. He spent his entire
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life preparing for this work,
studying the biblical Hebrew
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and the biblical Greek and
the literary Russian language
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and the series of Bible
translations. - Yes... Yeah.
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So prison actually was sort of
the birthplace of this vision.
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Rather than pushing down
the vision, it kinda watered the
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vision as he got a respect for
the scriptures. I remember you
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telling me some time ago,
one of the reasons why it was
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necessary to do a translation
is because the translations
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that were in existence
were kinda old, and the language
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had really changed, and people
weren't able to read them;
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is that not so? - Yeah, that's
actually true, because the only
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available translation at the
time was the 1876 translation
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of the Synodal Bible, and
the Russian language has changed
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so radically that, for instance,
the word 'rested' no longer
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means 'rested;' that was
used in that translation. And
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therefore, the verse in
the scriptures which says that
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the Lord created the world
in 6 days then He rested on
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the seventh day, literally
means now that God passed
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away on the seventh day.
[laughter] And this is just one
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example of how the language
has changed. - Somehow - and
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I'll use this term - you
got infected with this desire of
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your dad to complete this. Now,
Lyudmila, you actually do get a
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chance to talk. You do.
[laughter] We're not going
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to have you sitting quietly,
but Mikhail was saying to me
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a couple things. There was
this time when- of course, your
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dad was diagnosed with cancer,
and there's a beautiful story
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I want you to tell us about.
We gotta go to this, because
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when we talk about a honeymoon,
we think of honeymoon as one
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thing. Your honeymoon was
a little bit different, so,
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Lyudmila, kinda walk us through
those two stories, because
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they're kinda beautiful.
- So should I start with
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honeymoon? - Well, you start
where the Lord tells you to
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start- where you're impressed
to start. - Should I start with
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honeymoon? - Honeymoon?
Okay. - Okay, I will start with
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honeymoon. Mikhail had an idea
to have our honeymoon camping.
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So we decided to go, to drive
to Crimea, by the way. Crimea,
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which is- belongs now to Russia,
to Black Sea camping. So we
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were very excited- you
know, like we were very young.
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Mikhail was 25 as I was 23.
We had a Russian car, Zhiguli,
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driving to Crimea, listening to
music- crazy music- in the car;
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we were so happy. We were
driving through a big city in
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Crimea- Novosibirsk.
Novorossiysk! And listening
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to the music in the van, we
heard the, "Babah!" in our car.
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And we just looked, "What
happened?" so we jumped out
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of the car and started looking,
and we see a minivan. He bumped
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into our car and into
our- trunk got smashed and it
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opened, and we went outside
and we got scared. "Wow, what
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should we do now?" You know?
"It's our honeymoon and we had
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so many plans and everything!"
And from this minivan, a guy-
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yeah, a guy around 20 years
old came out and he was all
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shaking and saying, "Sorry!
I'm very sorry! I'm very sorry,
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guys; it's my first day!
Yesterday, I came from the army
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and today's my first working
day! That's what had happened;
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sorry..." And we said, "Okay.
We are not calling the police.
00:18:42.52\00:18:45.85
Okay...let's decide what we can
do here." We said, "Can you show
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us a place where we
can drive to an office
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and they can appraise
00:18:53.60\00:18:54.93
the damage and you can pay
us and we'll just leave this."
00:18:55.00\00:18:58.93
And he said, "Yes, okay! Follow
me!" So we started driving
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to this place for- where a
guy came out, and looked at the
00:19:01.67\00:19:08.14
damage, and said how much that
it will be, so Mikhail went to
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him into the office and I was
sitting there outside next to
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our damaged car. All our
belongings were in the trunk
00:19:16.65\00:19:20.42
and now we couldn't open
it. We found a piece of string
00:19:20.46\00:19:22.92
and we tried to tie the... It's
Russia, you know? You need to
00:19:22.96\00:19:27.70
see pictures, so- -No money; it
was 1985. -So, we were- Mikhail
00:19:27.83\00:19:33.74
went into the office; I
was sitting on the ground, on
00:19:33.80\00:19:37.01
the grass, just crying, and
crying, and crying, thinking,
00:19:37.04\00:19:41.38
"God, why did this happen? Why
did this happen? This is such
00:19:41.41\00:19:44.98
a special time for us. We had
so much fun. We were planning,
00:19:45.01\00:19:48.42
and now what do we do now?
We don't have money and we don't
00:19:48.45\00:19:50.89
wa-." So I was just sitting
there and crying. Then Mikhail
00:19:50.92\00:19:54.32
came out and said, "Lyuda.."
And the guy with the van
00:19:54.36\00:19:58.66
was sitting in his van,
also very sad, and Mikhail
00:19:58.76\00:20:02.40
said, "You know, the appraise
is said it will be like 300
00:20:02.50\00:20:05.23
or 400 rubles." So at
that time, that was like $300
00:20:05.27\00:20:08.84
or $400. And I want to tell
you that, you know, what was
00:20:08.87\00:20:12.77
the salary at the time. For
example, the salary in Russia
00:20:12.84\00:20:15.74
at that time was from 70 to
150 rubles a month, which is
00:20:15.78\00:20:21.48
$70 or $150 a month. So,
when Mikhail said, "300 or
00:20:21.65\00:20:27.82
450," I said, "Oh my goodness.
That's like 3 months' salary."
00:20:27.86\00:20:32.39
And I was thinking, "Oh,
my. How will this guy pay?
00:20:32.43\00:20:35.16
He just came from the
army; he doesn't have any money.
00:20:35.20\00:20:37.50
It was his first day." We
were standing there, Mikhail-
00:20:37.57\00:20:41.17
and talking and talking and
thinking, "What should I do?"
00:20:41.20\00:20:43.30
and then an idea came and
we said, "You know what? Let's
00:20:43.34\00:20:46.14
tell this guy, 'You just go.'"
You know? We'll- "Don't pay
00:20:46.17\00:20:49.64
us anything." You know? "You
don't have any money- just-"
00:20:49.68\00:20:51.81
so we went to him, approached
the guy and we said, and
00:20:52.81\00:20:56.22
Mikhail said, "You know, we
decided that you don't need to
00:20:56.25\00:21:00.52
to pay us anything." -
I had a very hard army.
00:21:00.56\00:21:02.62
- Yeah, so he had experience.
He said, "Ple- we'll just,
00:21:02.72\00:21:07.66
you know, go home and forget
it," and said... This guy just
00:21:07.70\00:21:10.73
started crying, you
know? Saying, "No... Are you
00:21:10.77\00:21:13.84
serious?" "Yeah!" we
said. "Don't worry! Don't worry!
00:21:13.87\00:21:16.40
Everything will be fine;
we'll be fine." So, the guy
00:21:16.44\00:21:20.18
left, and we were sitting
on the ground- with Mikhail,
00:21:20.21\00:21:23.75
together, and thinking,
"Okay, what do we do now?"
00:21:23.81\00:21:25.95
- I've gotta ask you- and
forgive me, Lyudmila- when
00:21:26.95\00:21:30.25
the Lord impressed you
with that, did you fight that at
00:21:30.29\00:21:33.69
all, or was it very natural
for you to tell him? Because,
00:21:33.72\00:21:35.69
- Just natural. -
really, you have no money,
00:21:35.72\00:21:37.33
you're a new wife; you
just got married, and you're
00:21:37.36\00:21:40.20
gonna forgive this guy
3 months' worth of debt.
00:21:40.23\00:21:43.23
That's considerable! - That's
considerable, and keeping in
00:21:43.26\00:21:46.30
mind, we didn't have this
money. So when the guy left,
00:21:46.33\00:21:48.70
we were sitting on the
ground and, "What do we do now?
00:21:49.37\00:21:52.34
We don't have any money to
repair." - Right. - And what?
00:21:52.37\00:21:56.64
Mikhail said, "Okay,
we'll figure out something. You
00:21:56.68\00:21:58.71
know, I'll go into the
office and the guy who appraises
00:21:58.75\00:22:00.68
our car, I'll ask him.
Maybe he knows somebody that,
00:22:00.82\00:22:03.62
you know, will fix our trunk
somehow; but at least we can
00:22:03.65\00:22:06.65
close it and that will be
fine." Mikhail went to the
00:22:06.69\00:22:09.72
office, spent like 15-20
minutes there, and then he
00:22:09.76\00:22:13.60
came back and he said- and
it was around 2 o'clock, after
00:22:13.63\00:22:16.43
lunch, I think; and we
were hungry - nowhere to eat -
00:22:16.46\00:22:18.77
so anyway, that didn't
matter. So he came out- said, "I
00:22:18.80\00:22:21.90
talked to the guy and-
who appraised our car, and
00:22:21.94\00:22:24.71
he said that he can repair
our car. But we need to wait
00:22:24.77\00:22:28.31
till he finishes his job
which will be at around 5
00:22:28.34\00:22:31.01
o'clock, and then we can go
to- follow him into the city.
00:22:31.05\00:22:34.95
There's a parking lot where
it's all closed. We can leave
00:22:34.98\00:22:38.49
the car there. In the morning,
the next day, Friday morning,
00:22:38.52\00:22:41.46
he will come and will
take our car and will fix it."
00:22:41.49\00:22:44.69
We were so excited. We were
so excited. So we were sitting
00:22:44.76\00:22:49.00
there and I was still crying,
of course- I was a girl. So,
00:22:49.03\00:22:54.74
at 5 o'clock, he finished
his work. The guy came out,
00:22:55.77\00:22:58.27
sat on the other side- said,
"Follow me." So we followed
00:22:58.71\00:23:00.84
him into the city. We came
to this huge parking lot which
00:23:00.88\00:23:05.08
had barbed wire and the guy
was there taking care of his
00:23:05.11\00:23:10.29
place. So, we parked our car.
We came out from the parking
00:23:10.72\00:23:13.49
lot, and our guy, the
appraiser, said, "You know
00:23:13.52\00:23:19.56
what? I don't know. Just-
I want to tell you. I have
00:23:19.59\00:23:23.26
an apartment right here,
like- on the next street. It's-
00:23:23.30\00:23:27.20
I'm doing some renovation
right now - painting, and,
00:23:28.60\00:23:31.17
you know- and if you
want, I can give you the key and
00:23:31.21\00:23:33.74
you can spend the
night there." - Wow! - "And
00:23:33.78\00:23:36.81
tomorrow morning, I will
come and we'll go to-..."
00:23:36.85\00:23:39.61
And we said, "What?" -
Did he know you were on your
00:23:39.65\00:23:42.08
honeymoon? Did you tell
him- - Yeah, we told- woo!
00:23:42.15\00:23:44.15
- Okay, you told hi- [laughter]
- He said, "Okay, follow me."
00:23:44.29\00:23:46.99
So, he gave us the key.
We opened his apartment, and
00:23:47.09\00:23:50.59
it was a nice apartment!
Clean... In the apartment was
00:23:50.63\00:23:53.66
only one sofa. - There
was absolutely nothing, and he
00:23:53.70\00:24:00.77
left us. He said, "Tomorrow
morning, at 9 o'clock, I'll
00:24:01.00\00:24:03.41
be here and we'll go, then
I'll fix your car." So he left,
00:24:03.47\00:24:07.38
and we're- I remember we
were sitting on this sofa just-
00:24:07.41\00:24:09.88
you know, we didn't know
what to think! - Right, yes.
00:24:11.11\00:24:13.82
- First, we're excited.
"Wow." And when the evening
00:24:14.38\00:24:18.49
started coming, we
became more and more scared.
00:24:18.55\00:24:21.66
"What does this mean?" -
Yeah. - You know? In case-
00:24:21.69\00:24:24.43
we are sitting in this
apartment. We don't know
00:24:24.73\00:24:27.00
this guy. We don't know
anybody in this city. What
00:24:27.10\00:24:30.57
if he'll kill us in this
apartment, you know?! Crazy
00:24:30.70\00:24:33.00
things! [more laughter]
So, we decided, "You know what?
00:24:33.03\00:24:36.71
Let's go outside. And we'll
be walking the whole night."
00:24:36.74\00:24:40.28
- Oh my goodne- [laughter]
Was it war- was it summertime?
00:24:40.31\00:24:43.65
Was it warm? - It was
summertime. It was July.
00:24:43.75\00:24:45.45
- Okay. Praise the Lord.
Okay, good. - So we went outside
00:24:45.55\00:24:47.42
and Mikhail said, "You
know, at that time, there were
00:24:47.48\00:24:50.49
no created cars, you
know? No ATM. Nothing!" We had
00:24:50.52\00:24:54.36
one with 300 rubles for
the whole honeymoon. But we
00:24:54.42\00:24:59.09
need like 300 or 400 to-
- Just for the car. - For
00:24:59.13\00:25:02.30
the car. So Mikhail said,
"Soviet Union- at the time,
00:25:02.33\00:25:05.53
it was a system you
can trans- - Send telegrams
00:25:05.57\00:25:09.37
and wire money. - So he
called his brother from a
00:25:10.11\00:25:13.17
phone, which- it was
like a booth- special, like-
00:25:15.58\00:25:19.61
- Public telephone exchanges.
- So, he called his brother
00:25:19.65\00:25:23.12
Paul in Moscow and said,
"Paul, here's the situation.
00:25:23.15\00:25:26.92
Can you transfer us some
money?" And he asked, "What
00:25:28.09\00:25:30.06
happened?" So he told
him and said, "Okay. Tomorrow
00:25:30.13\00:25:32.26
morning, I'll transfer you
this money. You can go to the
00:25:32.29\00:25:34.40
postal office and take
the money." So we said, "Okay,
00:25:34.43\00:25:36.73
that's good." So we were happy
that we fixed this. So we were
00:25:36.77\00:25:40.04
walking, walking, walking,
and we were becoming more
00:25:40.07\00:25:43.27
tired and tired- 12 o'clock
at night, you know? I said,
00:25:43.30\00:25:46.14
"You know, Mikhail? Let's
go. Let's go back into the
00:25:46.17\00:25:49.24
apartment." So we came
back into the apartment, lie
00:25:49.31\00:25:52.85
on the sofa, and just
went to sleep right away. In
00:25:52.98\00:25:57.09
the morning, we heard a knock
on the door. - What a way to
00:25:57.19\00:25:59.55
start your honeymoon. -
Yes! So the guy came. He said,
00:25:59.59\00:26:02.62
"Okay, guys! Are you ready?
Let's go!" We came out, took
00:26:02.66\00:26:05.96
our car, followed him. He said,
"I have a garage out of the
00:26:05.99\00:26:10.13
city; I have a garage where
I keep my stuff to fix cars.
00:26:11.23\00:26:14.80
So follow me and we'll go
there." So we followed him to
00:26:14.84\00:26:18.64
this garage and it was
July. Hot! That's- you know?
00:26:18.67\00:26:22.94
Ukraine- hot- very hot.
The garages during the Soviet
00:26:22.98\00:26:27.45
Union were made of metal.
So we came there and he started
00:26:27.52\00:26:32.15
working on our car. Mikhail
was standing next to him-
00:26:32.19\00:26:35.39
you know, what do you do?
He was just standing there
00:26:35.42\00:26:37.69
and I was sitting under the
tree, just so sad and crying-
00:26:37.73\00:26:43.13
but at the same time, I
was happy that at least he was
00:26:43.16\00:26:45.63
repairing our car. But at
the same time, I was thinking,
00:26:45.67\00:26:47.90
"Wow, oh my... How much
will he charge us? Will we
00:26:47.94\00:26:50.41
have enough to pay him?
How much money do we have?
00:26:50.44\00:26:52.91
What will happen?" It was so
hot. The guy was just sweating
00:26:52.97\00:26:58.61
in the sun- outside, he
was repairing- outside- because
00:26:58.65\00:27:01.22
of the metal garage, so it
was worse! In the sun. Mikhail
00:27:01.25\00:27:05.15
was there fixing. Okay
- lunchtime came; we were
00:27:05.19\00:27:07.82
hungry. Nobody was eating-
no drinking- no nothing. So
00:27:07.86\00:27:10.79
at around 5 o'clock, he
was able to close the trunk. We
00:27:10.83\00:27:17.73
were so excited. He
said, "The only thing I don't
00:27:17.77\00:27:20.47
have is the taillight, but
my mom lives not far away from
00:27:20.50\00:27:26.21
here. Let's go to my mom.
I will take the taillight,
00:27:26.24\00:27:29.48
install it, and then we
will be done." - This is a total
00:27:29.51\00:27:31.88
stranger, mind you -
this is someone you had never
00:27:31.91\00:27:33.62
seen before; you didn't know-
yeah. - We didn't even know
00:27:33.65\00:27:35.12
his name! The only thing
we knew was that his name
00:27:35.22\00:27:37.19
was Sergey. That's all.
We followed him, went to his
00:27:37.25\00:27:41.02
mom, brought this taillight,
installed it - everything was
00:27:41.06\00:27:44.39
ready. It was around 6 o'clock
on Friday evening. He said,
00:27:44.43\00:27:49.96
"Guys, everything is
ready. You can go now." We said,
00:27:50.03\00:27:53.54
"...How much do we owe
you?" Scariest question.
00:27:55.54\00:27:59.37
He said, "Nothing."
- Wow. What an angel.
00:28:00.48\00:28:04.75
- I said, "What do you
mean, 'Nothing'?!" I looked at
00:28:04.78\00:28:07.75
Mikhail. I told him, "No, no,
no, Sergey - that's not right.
00:28:07.78\00:28:10.92
That's not right. Please
tell us how much we owe you."
00:28:10.95\00:28:14.12
He said, "I told you
guys, nothing." I said, "No. We
00:28:14.69\00:28:18.93
can't leave like that.
You know you worked like, from
00:28:18.96\00:28:21.46
morning, hot and sweating,
fixing our car, and now you
00:28:21.50\00:28:25.20
tell us 'Nothing'?"
"No, you owe me nothing."
00:28:25.23\00:28:27.57
We started insisting and
insisting. He said, "Okay,
00:28:28.54\00:28:30.97
okay, guys. If you want to
pay me, pay just 25 rubles-
00:28:31.01\00:28:36.58
$25 for the taillights and
I'll give it to my mom. And
00:28:36.61\00:28:40.48
that's it." - Wow. -
So we took 25 rubles and
00:28:40.52\00:28:45.02
gave it to him, said goodbye,
sat in the car, and started
00:28:45.05\00:28:50.76
driving away. I don't
know if you've experienced
00:28:50.79\00:28:53.19
something like this, but
00:28:53.29\00:28:54.63
I remember till this day-
it's already more than 30 years
00:28:54.66\00:28:56.93
ago. We had a feeling that
something happened - something
00:28:56.97\00:29:01.40
amazing! It was a miracle
because in real life, that
00:29:01.50\00:29:04.84
doesn't happen! I can't
explain it - the feeling I
00:29:04.94\00:29:08.01
had - we didn't know what
to say. We were just quiet,
00:29:08.04\00:29:11.78
driving away and
thinking, "Wow." Just, "Wow." I
00:29:11.81\00:29:17.62
remember that we drove a little
way away, parked the car, and
00:29:17.65\00:29:21.49
we just stopped,
started praying and
00:29:21.52\00:29:26.23
thanking God for showing us
this miracle! Not only showing
00:29:26.26\00:29:32.00
it- He DID this miracle
for us! I was sitting in the
00:29:32.03\00:29:38.44
car, thinking, and a
verse from the Bible came into
00:29:38.47\00:29:43.75
my mind, like "Boom!
Boom! Boom!" I want to read you
00:29:43.78\00:29:48.02
this verse and I want to
read it to you in Russian
00:29:48.05\00:29:50.75
from our New Russian
Translation so you can listen-
00:29:50.79\00:29:56.39
hear the Russian language,
and Mikhail will read it in
00:29:56.42\00:29:59.09
English. So first, the
idea came to mind- this verse
00:29:59.13\00:30:04.63
from the Bible.
00:30:04.73\00:30:06.23
[reads in Russian]
00:30:06.27\00:30:09.84
And Mikhail can translate.
- It's Zephaniah chapter 3:
00:30:09.90\00:30:13.78
"Sorrow I will remove
from you." - Uh-huh. Praise the
00:30:13.81\00:30:17.81
Lord. - And then,
[continues reading in Russian]
00:30:17.85\00:30:24.32
And in English, it's "He
will quiet you with His love."
00:30:24.35\00:30:28.39
- Amen. Amen. - So
that's the experience that we
00:30:28.42\00:30:32.39
had. - Praise the Lord. -
It's amazing; yes. - Yeah.
00:30:32.43\00:30:37.17
So your marriage started
off with a miracle. Yeah. A
00:30:37.20\00:30:40.34
blessing from the Lord. -
It was like He was telling us,
00:30:40.37\00:30:44.01
"You know, guys? I will
be with you." We're human.
00:30:44.04\00:30:49.24
That's human. We started
crying, were depressed, "Oh,
00:30:49.28\00:30:53.31
everything will end..."
But if you know God is there,
00:30:53.35\00:30:58.65
He will just not let you
go. He will help you. He'll
00:31:00.19\00:31:03.39
be with you. We had in our
life...a lot of this. - A lot
00:31:03.43\00:31:08.66
of those? Praise the
Lord. Now, let's go quickly onto
00:31:08.70\00:31:10.47
the story of Mikhail's
dad dying of cancer, 'cause we
00:31:10.50\00:31:15.67
gotta get to this Bible
cl- - Oh, okay. That will be a
00:31:15.70\00:31:19.04
short story. It was in
2010? Yes; he was diagnosed with
00:31:19.17\00:31:25.15
cancer. We knew that he would-
brain cancer. In 4 months, he
00:31:25.18\00:31:30.62
would die. In January, we
decided to go and visit him
00:31:30.65\00:31:35.86
for the last time. We
spent 10 days there with him,
00:31:35.89\00:31:40.63
helping them around the house
and talking like nothing was
00:31:40.66\00:31:45.27
happening. On the last
day, we came in the evening to
00:31:45.30\00:31:48.44
say goodbye. We knew what
was about to happen. We knew
00:31:48.47\00:31:52.24
that would be the last.
Mikhail's dad said, "Okay,
00:31:52.27\00:31:58.05
let's have prayer before
you leave," so we sat in the
00:31:58.08\00:32:01.02
living room, and he
was praying for us and for
00:32:01.05\00:32:05.22
everything. We hugged each
other, and then he looked at
00:32:05.25\00:32:08.62
us and he said, "Mikhail and
Lyuda. Promise me that you'll
00:32:08.66\00:32:14.13
take this project and
you'll not leave this project.
00:32:14.16\00:32:17.73
Please promise me that you'll
do this for me." I remember we
00:32:18.63\00:32:22.54
looked at him and,
"Of course! Of course. Of
00:32:22.57\00:32:25.97
course." Even though we were
thinking, "Wow." But we said,
00:32:26.01\00:32:30.61
"Yes, Dad. Don't worry. We'll
take this project and we will
00:32:30.65\00:32:34.58
finish it." So we hugged,
said goodbye, and we left.
00:32:35.45\00:32:41.09
We never saw him ever
again. That was our last-
00:32:41.12\00:32:45.16
- He just hugged us and prayed
with us and asked for God to
00:32:45.19\00:32:51.80
lead the way. -
That was amazing.
00:32:51.83\00:32:54.80
- A powerful, powerful
man. Now, he had the good sense-
00:32:55.67\00:32:59.17
the Spirit-led sense to-
when he began this project,
00:32:59.21\00:33:03.98
to begin to include other
scholars. Tell me, Mikhail,
00:33:04.01\00:33:08.82
if you'll just a little-
of the mindset- actually, it
00:33:08.85\00:33:11.75
was a brilliant move to
include other individuals
00:33:11.79\00:33:14.66
rather than just try to make
this an "Adventist" project,
00:33:14.69\00:33:17.63
but to include other scholars
from other religious groups
00:33:17.76\00:33:20.73
to help with that. -
Yes. In 1992, when he formally
00:33:20.76\00:33:27.70
established the Bible
Translation Institute, he
00:33:27.74\00:33:31.31
wrote to the leaders of
all Christian denominations and
00:33:31.34\00:33:36.54
Jewish scholars and invited
them to work on the project.
00:33:36.58\00:33:41.42
He also wrote to
leading philologists in Russia -
00:33:41.45\00:33:45.99
specialists in the Russian
language, because he always
00:33:46.02\00:33:49.12
used to say, "Imagine if
Russian people are reading
00:33:49.16\00:33:55.83
the masterpieces of
Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky and the
00:33:55.86\00:34:01.57
poems of Pushkin - imagine
in what kind of language we
00:34:01.60\00:34:07.98
need to render the Word
of God." - So he wanted this
00:34:08.01\00:34:12.31
project to be an exalted
translation. The best language
00:34:12.35\00:34:16.15
available using the
best individuals. Yeah.
00:34:16.18\00:34:18.85
So he kind of lays that
burden on you and you accept
00:34:20.46\00:34:22.92
that burden, so you had to
carry it on. Now, was much of
00:34:22.96\00:34:27.43
this work done while you were
in Russia or did you have to
00:34:27.46\00:34:30.13
it from the States and
kind of go back and forth?
00:34:30.17\00:34:31.83
Walk us through that for
us, 'cause that must've been a
00:34:31.87\00:34:34.10
massive undertaking. -
Yes... I'm very grateful to God
00:34:34.14\00:34:39.07
that we were able to
establish partnerships.
00:34:39.11\00:34:42.34
Washington Adventist University
here in the United States,
00:34:42.38\00:34:46.61
Zaoksky Theological Seminary
in Russia, the St. Apostle
00:34:46.68\00:34:52.79
Andrew Institute - the
Russian Orthodox Institute
00:34:52.82\00:34:55.82
in Moscow - and, the
General Conference - we all work
00:34:55.86\00:35:00.46
together across the Atlantic
using the internet and Skype
00:35:00.50\00:35:05.57
and e-mail and a lot
of traveling to Russia.
00:35:05.60\00:35:10.11
I received, from the President
of the university here -
00:35:10.14\00:35:15.21
Washington Adventist - a
five-year sabbatical lease.
00:35:15.24\00:35:21.95
I was able to work around
the clock, almost taking no
00:35:24.02\00:35:28.79
breaks. - It occurred to
me, because even with internet
00:35:28.82\00:35:31.53
and Skype and all of those
things, there's gotta be some
00:35:31.56\00:35:34.06
face-to-face, one-on-one,
or one-on-group talking, so
00:35:34.10\00:35:37.57
you have to log a lot of
miles back and forth across the
00:35:37.63\00:35:39.47
Atlantic with just
sorta- yeah. Skype also. Yeah.
00:35:39.57\00:35:45.91
How many, Mikhail, in general,
people are we talking about
00:35:46.64\00:35:50.65
that had input - significant
input into the project?
00:35:50.68\00:35:53.72
- The project took about
22 years to complete. I would
00:35:54.38\00:36:01.12
say over a hundred people,
taking into consideration all
00:36:01.22\00:36:07.03
aspects of the work, because
work on a Bible translation
00:36:07.16\00:36:12.93
includes specialists in
biblical Hebrew, Aramaic,
00:36:12.97\00:36:18.34
biblical Greek, the
Russian language, style, layout,
00:36:18.37\00:36:26.08
design, Bible maps, biblical
archaeology, specialists with
00:36:26.11\00:36:33.69
the databases for ancient
manuscripts. It involved a
00:36:33.72\00:36:41.70
large, large group
of specialists. - You're
00:36:43.16\00:36:46.33
superintending all of this stuff
and somebody's gotta be the man
00:36:46.43\00:36:48.87
and you were it. - By
God's grace, with Lyudmila, with
00:36:48.90\00:36:54.28
my manager... Yes. God blessed
her with great administrative
00:36:54.31\00:37:01.25
abilities. - Can I ask
you, what is the difference -
00:37:01.28\00:37:03.35
for our?- between a
version and a translation.
00:37:04.62\00:37:08.36
Because this was a translation,
was it not? What is the
00:37:08.46\00:37:11.19
difference? Can you explain
that? - A version is usually
00:37:11.23\00:37:15.60
an edition of a translation.
A group of translators would
00:37:15.63\00:37:22.87
prepare a brand new
translation, and then that
00:37:22.90\00:37:28.04
translation can be designed
and published with additional
00:37:28.08\00:37:34.65
apparatus or without the
additional apparatus with
00:37:34.68\00:37:39.79
introductory notes to
the books of the Bible. Each
00:37:39.82\00:37:44.49
particular edition is
represented or registered
00:37:45.49\00:37:52.73
as a version - as a specific
version. - Once the actual
00:37:53.64\00:37:59.84
hard work began, did
expand that five years
00:37:59.87\00:38:04.35
that they gave you or five
years plus? - We were able,
00:38:04.38\00:38:08.45
by God's grace, to complete
the project in five years.
00:38:08.55\00:38:14.09
But prior to that, in 2010,
when my father passed away,
00:38:14.12\00:38:20.50
the New Testament was already
completed - and the book of
00:38:20.53\00:38:25.23
Psalms - and published.
The Pentateuch was already
00:38:25.27\00:38:30.04
completed and published.
But when we sat down and created
00:38:30.07\00:38:37.15
the schedule for the five
years, we realized that the
00:38:37.18\00:38:42.02
entire mass of the Old
Testament books has to be
00:38:42.05\00:38:47.79
worked. - Yeah. You've got
some things covered, but you
00:38:47.82\00:38:50.73
still got a lot of work to
do. - I think it's important
00:38:50.79\00:38:54.40
here to say that, at
that time, in 2010, there was
00:38:54.43\00:38:59.53
no budget. - Ooh! That
makes things a little complex.
00:39:00.37\00:39:03.94
- We didn't have any money
at all for this project, so
00:39:03.97\00:39:08.81
Mikhail spent a lot of
time to talk to the General
00:39:08.84\00:39:13.28
Conference to do fundraising
so we can have the funds to
00:39:13.31\00:39:19.89
finish this project. It
was hard. It was very hard.
00:39:19.95\00:39:23.96
- It was terrifying in
2010. When my father died, the
00:39:23.99\00:39:28.26
account was depleted. We were
alone...but God showed to us,
00:39:28.30\00:39:36.10
"You're not alone." - Praise
the Lord. - What I realized-
00:39:36.14\00:39:40.04
that if God gives you a
task and He gives you a dream
00:39:40.08\00:39:43.78
to do something that people
need, help comes from nowhere.
00:39:43.81\00:39:50.39
People come from left and
right and they ask you, "Do
00:39:51.22\00:39:55.56
you need help?" "Do you
need help?" It was fearsome to
00:39:55.59\00:40:04.07
experience. - Talk to me a
little bit about the idea that
00:40:04.10\00:40:07.90
you had so many scholars from
across religious disciplines,
00:40:07.94\00:40:11.07
including the Russian Orthodox
Church - how that helped in
00:40:12.04\00:40:17.25
the acceptance of the final
product. - It was providential.
00:40:17.28\00:40:22.32
It was uniquely led by God-
the vision that he granted to
00:40:22.35\00:40:28.46
my father. He always used
to say, "God is the God of
00:40:28.49\00:40:37.13
every human being. Of every
Russian person and of every
00:40:37.17\00:40:42.80
person on the globe.
The Bible is God's Word for
00:40:42.84\00:40:47.84
everybody. He wants us to
give it back to everybody;
00:40:47.88\00:40:54.32
therefore, we need to involve
as many scholars as possible."
00:40:54.35\00:41:00.12
When we completed the project,
the newspapers, the media,
00:41:01.76\00:41:07.60
social networks, television
in Russia - they started
00:41:07.63\00:41:13.37
interviewing people
and scholars- Russian
00:41:13.40\00:41:16.97
Orthodox-leading scholars
gave wonderful reviews about
00:41:17.01\00:41:25.41
the level of scholarship -
the transparency that existed
00:41:25.45\00:41:32.25
in the project - the spirit
of mutual respect and reverence
00:41:32.29\00:41:38.43
for God's Word... At one of the
most difficult times in Russian
00:41:38.49\00:41:43.10
history where there was
so much tension and so much
00:41:43.13\00:41:47.27
mistrust, this project
was a beautiful testimony of
00:41:47.34\00:41:53.38
what God can do - how He
can unite different people
00:41:53.68\00:41:58.08
from different communities
to labor on His Word. - Yeah.
00:41:59.08\00:42:04.65
And given the way things
were, it was important that
00:42:04.69\00:42:08.29
that happened. I want to
go to that video. You can
00:42:08.32\00:42:10.76
walk us through this,
Mikhail, if you will. This
00:42:10.83\00:42:13.13
is a national news agency
talking about this project,
00:42:13.16\00:42:16.63
isn't it? Guys, if you
can kind of set that up, let's
00:42:16.67\00:42:19.63
go right into that
video. Mikhail, sort of walk us
00:42:19.70\00:42:22.60
through what we're
looking at. This got very wide
00:42:22.64\00:42:26.78
acceptance when this was
rolled out - in the nation;
00:42:26.81\00:42:29.78
not just among the religious
community, but in the nation.
00:42:29.81\00:42:31.81
So what's happening
here? - Here, we see the
00:42:31.85\00:42:36.48
editor-in-chief of a leading
national newspaper - The Russian
00:42:36.58\00:42:41.99
Independent Newspaper. He
has a weekly talk show where,
00:42:42.02\00:42:47.80
at the end of the talk show,
discussing current political
00:42:47.83\00:42:50.83
events, he introduces a book
to the audience that he read
00:42:50.87\00:42:56.04
that week and that impacted
him personally. So at the end
00:42:56.07\00:43:00.31
of this program, he suddenly,
out of the blue, produces our
00:43:00.34\00:43:06.41
Bible; and he says, "Over
the break, I just finished
00:43:06.48\00:43:12.65
reading this brand new
literary, scholarly translation
00:43:12.69\00:43:18.33
of the scriptures, and it
changed my life. I'm a new
00:43:18.36\00:43:24.30
man. I wish that when I
was a young man that there
00:43:24.33\00:43:29.24
was a translation this
clear and accessible. If I have
00:43:29.27\00:43:36.04
read it when I was young,
I'm sure my life would have
00:43:36.08\00:43:40.05
turned out different." -
Wow. Wow. That is quite an
00:43:40.08\00:43:43.72
affirmation. And the fact that
you took the time to get the
00:43:43.75\00:43:47.26
best scholarship, to use
the best language, to appeal
00:43:47.29\00:43:50.63
to someone of that nature
- it could do that because it
00:43:50.66\00:43:53.96
was well done. Had it been
a kind of cheap project, it
00:43:54.00\00:43:57.17
would not have done so.
We praise the Lord for that.
00:43:57.20\00:44:01.04
There's a couple pi- we
saw the picture of your dad.
00:44:01.94\00:44:04.77
There's another picture of
a group of people. If we can
00:44:05.64\00:44:08.04
bring that one up- 'cause
I wanna just sort of clue in
00:44:08.11\00:44:11.31
on who this group of people
are. Yep. Who are we looking
00:44:11.35\00:44:14.55
at here, Mikhail? - We
are looking here at our team
00:44:14.65\00:44:18.69
of translators; the
literary editors: Ivan Lobanov,
00:44:19.45\00:44:25.43
Victor Leahu, the coordinator
of the project in Russia,
00:44:25.46\00:44:30.13
Jana Lebedeva, the
coordinator in the United
00:44:30.17\00:44:33.67
States, Lyudmila here, and
on my left, Iliya Velgosha, the
00:44:33.70\00:44:40.18
treasurer of the
project in Russia. It was such a
00:44:40.21\00:44:45.48
privilege for me to work
with this group of people.
00:44:45.51\00:44:50.02
My life has been changed.
- Praise the Lord. Praise
00:44:50.05\00:44:55.12
the Lord. We have
another video I want- I think we
00:44:55.16\00:44:57.53
have enough time to squeeze
it in - wanna go to it. It
00:44:57.56\00:45:00.46
kind of sets up what this
project was all about. We'll
00:45:00.50\00:45:02.76
take a chance to look at
that, then I want to give you a
00:45:02.80\00:45:04.83
chance to say something
good about Lyudmila, 'cause
00:45:04.87\00:45:07.27
obviously, she's very
integral to this project. Let's
00:45:07.30\00:45:10.54
go to that
second video just now.
00:45:10.57\00:45:12.11
It began a long time ago
when the founder of the Bible
00:45:34.90\00:45:41.60
Translations Institute,
my father, was a young man
00:45:41.64\00:45:46.27
barely in his 20s in
Soviet Latvia in 1947.
00:45:46.31\00:45:52.38
He had a dream that the
Bible should be translated
00:45:54.22\00:46:02.12
with the same accuracy,
the same masterful use of all
00:46:02.79\00:46:11.80
the riches of the great Russian
language, for the people of
00:46:11.83\00:46:17.77
Russia and all those
who use the Russian language
00:46:17.81\00:46:20.88
around the world. -
7 years ago, when he
00:46:20.98\00:46:24.98
passed, his son picked it
up. Over a 20-year period,
00:46:25.01\00:46:28.75
General Conference, Eurasian
Division, Zaoksky University,
00:46:28.78\00:46:33.99
Washington Adventist
University - all these
00:46:34.06\00:46:36.29
individuals got
together and sacrificed time and
00:46:36.32\00:46:40.66
money in order to develop
a clear and accurate modern
00:46:40.76\00:46:46.74
translation for Russian Bibles.
So we've got the people of-
00:46:46.77\00:46:49.44
the Russian-speaking people
can also get the spiritual
00:46:50.41\00:46:53.84
Bread of Life. - This
new project called the
00:46:53.88\00:46:58.48
New Bible in the Russian
language is an affirmation
00:46:58.51\00:47:01.35
of the role of Seventh-Day
Adventists - not only among
00:47:01.38\00:47:04.62
Protestant or evangelical
churches, but also among
00:47:04.65\00:47:07.79
? the great
majority- is the popular
00:47:07.82\00:47:12.13
church in our countries.
So, that is very important for
00:47:12.16\00:47:15.56
us because it's an affirmation
that Adventists are careful
00:47:15.60\00:47:20.47
for the Word of God.
- This is such a golden
00:47:20.50\00:47:24.81
opportunity for witnessing
to the population of Russia,
00:47:24.84\00:47:27.68
which today stands at
approximately 143 million.
00:47:27.74\00:47:31.51
- The project of the Russian
Bible is of great significance
00:47:32.15\00:47:36.18
because this is probably
the most accurate, complete
00:47:36.25\00:47:39.95
Bible that will be introduced
into the Russian community.
00:47:39.99\00:47:43.63
Amen and amen. An impressive
list of names of people who
00:48:29.24\00:48:33.11
were involved in the
project. The General Conference,
00:48:33.14\00:48:35.68
Washington Adventist
University, the Seminary-
00:48:35.74\00:48:38.31
Zaoksky, all of the scholars
that are part of this, but
00:48:38.35\00:48:41.78
the person who paid such
an important part in your
00:48:41.82\00:48:45.09
life and directing you was
your boss, Lyudmila. - Amen.
00:48:45.12\00:48:50.89
Yes. - Take just a moment
and talk about the value of her
00:48:50.93\00:48:54.03
in this project. You'll-
she'll have to give us some
00:48:54.06\00:48:56.83
flowers. - Yes. It would
not have been possible for me
00:48:56.87\00:49:01.77
to finish this without
Lyudmila. From the very
00:49:02.77\00:49:08.21
first day, when we left my
dad and said goodbye to him,
00:49:08.24\00:49:12.58
Lyudmila said to me,
"Mikhail, you need to sit
00:49:13.08\00:49:16.62
down and you need to calculate
the number of verses in
00:49:16.69\00:49:20.89
all the remaining books
of the Old Testament. Divide
00:49:20.92\00:49:24.49
it by the number of
days that are left before the
00:49:24.53\00:49:28.03
General Conference and
we will be giving an account
00:49:28.06\00:49:32.23
to each other. We'll be
sitting down at the end of
00:49:32.30\00:49:35.27
every week and we will be
making sure." And you know,
00:49:35.30\00:49:38.97
God gave Lyudmila amazing
administrative abilities and
00:49:39.01\00:49:43.98
loyalty and selflessness.
Lyudmila worked with donors.
00:49:44.05\00:49:50.79
Every single donation,
she personally, with her hand,
00:49:51.45\00:49:55.86
would write out the receipt
duri- and thank you cards
00:49:55.89\00:50:02.23
to every single one. She
kept the books of the account
00:50:03.43\00:50:09.70
going with a group of people
with whom we met to review
00:50:10.61\00:50:16.88
regularly and vote and
approve the new budget and
00:50:16.91\00:50:24.19
move on - develop the
vision. She encouraged me. Lyuda
00:50:24.22\00:50:32.59
found me a reuben. I said
to Lyuda at the beginning of
00:50:32.63\00:50:36.40
the project in 2010,
"We need a Reuben. We need a
00:50:36.43\00:50:39.73
Reuben." She came to me
and she said, "Adventist Risk
00:50:39.77\00:50:45.21
Management just got a
new leader - a new president.
00:50:45.24\00:50:47.94
Michael - he has such
administrative abilities and
00:50:48.74\00:50:52.65
gifts. He fears God in a
good way and he has a kind
00:50:52.71\00:50:59.75
heart. You need to talk to
him about raising funds for
00:50:59.79\00:51:05.13
this project." - "I'll
make an appointment for you."
00:51:05.16\00:51:08.63
I want to tell you - without
the people that Lyuda brought
00:51:11.10\00:51:14.40
into the project and
God brought through her, we
00:51:14.44\00:51:18.17
wouldn't be able to- -
Praise the Lord. Praise God.
00:51:18.21\00:51:21.08
So many people. So many viewers
of 3ABN helped us tremendously.
00:51:21.18\00:51:28.05
- Praise the Lord. It's a
good team. From the day you
00:51:28.08\00:51:31.95
got hit in the back there
until this day... We praise
00:51:31.99\00:51:36.89
the Lord. We're going to go
quickly now to our news break.
00:51:36.93\00:51:41.33
We've got a couple things
we want to share with you,
00:51:41.36\00:51:43.03
then we're gonna come
back and get a little closing
00:51:43.06\00:51:44.70
thought from
Mikhail and Lyudmila.
00:51:44.73\00:51:47.30