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
another 3ABN Today program.
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I'm Jason
Bradley, and I'm so excited
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that you could join us today,
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as we are going to be talking
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about the Russian Bible project.
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And it is an exciting
project that is taking place.
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Here with me to discuss
this is Dr. Mikhail Kulakov
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and his lovely
wife Lyudmila Kulakov.
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Did I say that right
or close? I was close?
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Welcome to the program,
it's so great to have you here.
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Thank you,
Jason. It's a privilege.
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Yes, I'm looking forward
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to jumping into the
Russian Bible project,
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finding out what it's all about,
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how it got started, all of that.
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But before we do,
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we're going to be
blessed in song by Pam Lister.
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And she's gonna be
singing, "When I Turn to You."
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When I turn to You
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You are always waiting
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With a heart that understands
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Before I speak
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And I learn from You
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All that really matters
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Though a million years go by
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You'll still love me
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I no longer look
for a place to hide
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'Cause I know where I belong
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When I turn to You
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When I turn to You
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When I turn to You, dear Lord
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I know that I love You
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When I turn to You
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You are watching over me
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Through the eyes that look
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Beyond the faults I see
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And I learn from You
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You are always merciful
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Though I remember all
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That You've forgiven me
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I no longer look
for a place to hide
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'Cause I know where I belong
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When I turn to You
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When I turn to You
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When I turn to You, dear Lord
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I know that I love You
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I no longer look
for a place to hide
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'Cause I know where I belong
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When I turn to You
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When I turn to You
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When I turn to You, dear Lord
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I know that I love You
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When I turn to You, dear Lord
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I know that
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I love You
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Amen, thank you
for that song, Pan.
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If you're just joining us,
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we are discussing the
Russian Bible project.
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I'm so happy that we can
jump into this topic now,
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the Russian Bible project.
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Where did you grow up?
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I grew up in the
country that is no more,
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in the Union of
Soviet Socialist Republics.
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I was born in Kazakhstan, USSR,
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and my dad was a pastor
and a human rights activist,
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Protestant pastor
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who was released
from Stalin's labor camps
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in 1953.
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And married my mom and
that's where I was born.
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Wow, and what about you?
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And I was born in Moldova. Okay.
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And Moldova, that's
also a small country,
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which was in the USSR.
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It was a part of Romania.
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So we have the same
language, like Romanian language
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and Romanian
alphabet and everything.
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So I was also born in a
family of Christian family.
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My dad was a pastor.
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And we were first
generation I think, yes.
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So you guys are
both PK's, Pastor Kids.
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Yes, we are. Brilliant.
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Wow, what are the odds of that?
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So, tell me about the
Russian Bible project.
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How did that get started?
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In Russia, the
Bible that has been used
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for most of the 20th century
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was the Bible that was prepared,
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translated and
published in 1876.
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Wow.
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And because the
language changes,
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culture changes, we change.
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After so many decades,
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it became very,
very difficult for people
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to understand the
language of the 1876 Bible.
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Yes.
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To give you one
example, for instance,
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the passage that so many people
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who read the Book of Genesis,
the first book of the Bible,
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know and love
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about the
beginnings of everything,
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that God created
the world in six days,
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and He rested
on the seventh day.
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That word in the
1876 Bible now means
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that God passed away
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on the seventh day.
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And that creates a challenge
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and the need to read afresh,
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to read anew those
ancient inspired words
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and render them
in clear, accurate,
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beautiful Russian.
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And that vision was given
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to a young person in Russia
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back in 1944
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in the middle of
the Second World War.
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Wow.
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And that young person
was the son of a pastor
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who was imprisoned
by the Stalin's regime
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and we have a
picture of that young pastor
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teaching in Daugavpils, Latvia,
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teaching a class
of young children.
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Oh, wow.
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That young person was my dad.
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Wow, that was your dad?
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That was my dad
Mikhail Petrovich Kulakov Sr.
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He and his mom and his brother
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had to flee Russia proper,
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and his dad,
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my grandpa was already in prison
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for being a pastor.
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Wow, he was in
prison for being a pastor?
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Yes, for being a pastor.
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And my dad just
finished the College of Arts.
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And he was the
teacher of arts and drawing.
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And his mom was
hoping that there in Latvia,
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in the Baltic
Republic of Latvia,
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she will protect her young boys
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from persecution and arrests.
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Yes.
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And if we could have
that picture for a moment,
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once again on the screen.
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In the middle of teaching,
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in the midst of
teaching the class,
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my father was arrested
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by two plainclothes policemen
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who entered the class.
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They were sent by the KGB
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all the way from
Russia proper to Latvia,
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and in Stalin's
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labor camps
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he received just a few pages
00:12:04.95\00:12:11.56
of the old Russian 1876
translation of the Bible.
00:12:11.59\00:12:18.00
Wow.
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But before he was imprisoned,
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he was inspired to learn German
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by an highly
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educated pastor,
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in the Baltic republics,
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who shared with him
00:12:40.39\00:12:43.89
that going back to
more accurate translations,
00:12:43.93\00:12:49.60
and learning the
original languages,
00:12:49.63\00:12:52.10
Hebrew and Greek
00:12:52.13\00:12:54.97
will bring you
closer to the depth,
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the beauty, the
richness of that word.
00:12:58.21\00:13:02.18
And my father
00:13:02.21\00:13:05.21
in impossible circumstances
00:13:05.25\00:13:09.12
was learning languages,
00:13:09.15\00:13:14.36
German.
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With the help of
prisoners of war,
00:13:16.56\00:13:19.76
of German prisoners of war,
00:13:19.79\00:13:21.50
who were in the same camp,
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in the same labor
camp in Siberia with him.
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He was getting
acquainted with biblical Hebrew
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through rabbis...
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Yes.
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Who were also imprisoned by
the atheistic Soviet regime.
00:13:36.91\00:13:42.28
And he had a dream of one day
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devoting his entire life
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to prepare a clear,
00:13:52.86\00:13:56.97
beautiful
rendition of God's Word
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in the Great Russian language
00:14:03.04\00:14:05.34
which every Russian
00:14:05.37\00:14:08.21
will be able to
appreciate and understand.
00:14:08.24\00:14:12.28
Yes.
00:14:12.31\00:14:13.65
And the story of
the new Russian Bible
00:14:13.68\00:14:16.28
is the story of using
00:14:16.32\00:14:19.55
ordinary human beings,
00:14:19.59\00:14:23.22
and imbuing them with a vision
00:14:23.26\00:14:27.90
of being led by God
00:14:27.93\00:14:31.60
to make this happen.
00:14:31.63\00:14:33.64
Yes, yes.
00:14:33.67\00:14:35.00
I think it's incredible
that your dad, you know,
00:14:35.04\00:14:38.31
he was in a tough situation.
00:14:38.34\00:14:41.38
But yet during
that tough situation,
00:14:41.41\00:14:43.48
he learned those other languages
00:14:43.51\00:14:45.71
to further the Gospel of Christ
00:14:45.75\00:14:47.88
to be able to
translate the Bible.
00:14:47.92\00:14:52.05
Yes, absolutely. Yes.
00:14:52.09\00:14:53.79
That's amazing. Absolutely.
00:14:53.82\00:14:55.16
We would, when we
grew up in Kazakhstan,
00:14:55.19\00:14:58.56
where my parents
initially settled,
00:14:58.59\00:15:02.03
after the death
of Stalin in 1953.
00:15:02.06\00:15:06.63
My dad and my mom established
their first congregation there,
00:15:06.67\00:15:11.84
which was an
underground congregation.
00:15:11.87\00:15:15.61
And we met
secretly in private homes
00:15:15.64\00:15:20.95
for fear of further
arrests and persecution.
00:15:20.98\00:15:24.42
And my father was
arrested many times after that,
00:15:24.45\00:15:28.99
and then released again.
00:15:29.02\00:15:32.36
And after the initial arrests,
00:15:32.39\00:15:36.56
and initial five
year imprisonment,
00:15:36.60\00:15:40.00
he was sentenced
to life banishment,
00:15:40.04\00:15:43.97
to a small Northern Kazakh
00:15:44.01\00:15:48.01
village of Merzkoor.
00:15:48.04\00:15:50.68
And as he later told us, kids,
00:15:50.71\00:15:55.35
children,
00:15:55.38\00:15:56.72
there is nothing
eternal in this world.
00:15:56.75\00:16:00.52
Only God's things are eternal.
00:16:00.56\00:16:02.76
That eternal banishment
ended with the death of Stalin.
00:16:02.79\00:16:07.90
And as we grew up,
00:16:07.93\00:16:09.26
we would wake up in the morning
00:16:09.30\00:16:10.63
and our dad would be
sending us off to school.
00:16:10.67\00:16:14.77
But we would come
to the kitchen table
00:16:14.80\00:16:18.94
and above the kitchen table,
00:16:18.97\00:16:22.74
there was a sheet of paper.
00:16:22.78\00:16:25.15
And on that sheet of paper,
00:16:25.18\00:16:26.58
there would be the
memory verse for that day,
00:16:26.61\00:16:30.75
in beautiful Russian,
00:16:30.79\00:16:34.16
in German, in English,
00:16:34.19\00:16:37.79
and if it was
from the New Testament,
00:16:37.83\00:16:39.63
in Greek,
00:16:39.66\00:16:41.00
and if it was
from the Old Testament,
00:16:41.03\00:16:43.77
in biblical Hebrew,
00:16:43.80\00:16:45.97
in neat
handwriting of our father,
00:16:46.00\00:16:50.74
and he would read it to us
00:16:50.77\00:16:53.51
and he would say, kids,
if you could only imagine
00:16:53.54\00:16:57.81
how beautiful it
sounds in the Greek.
00:16:57.85\00:17:01.42
Yes.
00:17:01.45\00:17:02.78
Or in the Hebrew,
00:17:02.82\00:17:04.15
or in Martin Luther's
translation in German.
00:17:04.19\00:17:09.16
And we loved our
dad's love for God's Word.
00:17:09.19\00:17:14.80
I have a picture.
00:17:14.83\00:17:16.33
I would like to show of my dad
00:17:16.36\00:17:18.27
returning from his
official day job...
00:17:18.30\00:17:22.64
Okay.
00:17:22.67\00:17:24.34
Where he would
greet us and hug us.
00:17:24.37\00:17:29.24
And just share with us
00:17:29.28\00:17:32.61
what happened during
those very difficult times,
00:17:32.65\00:17:37.09
pastors could not
officially be recognized
00:17:37.12\00:17:41.89
by the government as pastors.
00:17:41.92\00:17:44.73
They had to do it very secretly,
00:17:44.76\00:17:47.30
risking their lives.
00:17:47.33\00:17:48.66
Yes.
00:17:48.70\00:17:50.03
And so they each
had to have a day job.
00:17:50.07\00:17:53.13
And my dad was a photographer.
00:17:53.17\00:17:55.20
Okay. Okay.
00:17:55.24\00:17:56.64
Now, what kind of
impact did seeing your dad,
00:17:56.67\00:18:00.98
experience those
things and his dedication,
00:18:01.01\00:18:03.78
what kind of impact
did that have on your life?
00:18:03.81\00:18:08.72
It helped me to realize
00:18:08.75\00:18:15.09
that if I give myself
00:18:15.12\00:18:21.83
to the
influence of God's Spirit,
00:18:21.86\00:18:25.57
and if I will encounter God
00:18:25.60\00:18:30.44
in my own life, personal life,
00:18:30.47\00:18:33.88
that I will experience love,
00:18:33.91\00:18:38.91
peace and power that
nothing else can give me.
00:18:38.95\00:18:44.29
And I remember very distinctly
00:18:44.32\00:18:47.16
that when I was
about nine years of age,
00:18:47.19\00:18:52.69
I loved reciting poetry.
00:18:52.73\00:18:55.16
It all started with the Psalms.
00:18:55.20\00:18:57.80
Our dad taught us
00:18:57.83\00:18:59.73
how to love the Psalms of David,
00:18:59.77\00:19:02.50
the 23rd Psalm, the 91st Psalm,
00:19:02.54\00:19:06.88
and how to recite
the Great Russian poetry.
00:19:06.91\00:19:11.55
And the teachers
spotted that in me.
00:19:11.58\00:19:15.08
And my music and arts teacher
00:19:15.12\00:19:18.95
promoted me to take
part in the contest,
00:19:18.99\00:19:21.82
in the poetry contest.
00:19:21.86\00:19:23.83
But I didn't wear
the communist scarf.
00:19:23.86\00:19:27.96
I didn't join the children's
Communist Party organization,
00:19:28.00\00:19:32.17
and participating in any
kind of public event on local
00:19:32.20\00:19:36.84
and let alone regional level,
00:19:36.87\00:19:38.94
was strictly
prohibited for children
00:19:38.97\00:19:42.24
who were not members
00:19:42.28\00:19:44.35
of the children's
Communist Party organization.
00:19:44.38\00:19:47.92
But my music teacher, I believe,
00:19:47.95\00:19:50.99
God touched her heart
00:19:51.02\00:19:53.42
and she wanted to
empower me and courage me
00:19:53.46\00:19:58.89
and she told
the school mistress,
00:19:58.93\00:20:03.16
the principal of the school
00:20:03.20\00:20:05.83
that I need to be given a chance
00:20:05.87\00:20:09.84
to take part in
the regional contest
00:20:09.87\00:20:13.54
for poetry, for all
the schools of the region.
00:20:13.58\00:20:17.65
And on that day at that square,
00:20:17.68\00:20:21.08
there were many
trucks that brought kids,
00:20:21.12\00:20:25.32
and all their
props and the red flags
00:20:25.35\00:20:29.76
and the school insignia,
from the entire region.
00:20:29.79\00:20:34.96
And the superintendent
00:20:35.00\00:20:38.03
for the regional
department of schools
00:20:38.07\00:20:41.20
had her mobile
office brought there.
00:20:41.24\00:20:44.74
And just a few minutes
00:20:44.77\00:20:47.54
before the competition
began with all the music going
00:20:47.58\00:20:51.38
at the square there.
00:20:51.41\00:20:53.01
They realized that I don't have
00:20:53.05\00:20:54.82
that red communist
scarf tied around my neck.
00:20:54.85\00:21:01.72
Even though I had the
starch blue white shirt
00:21:01.76\00:21:05.49
that my mom ironed for me,
00:21:05.53\00:21:08.90
and the director was scared
00:21:08.93\00:21:12.63
that she will lose her job,
00:21:12.67\00:21:15.30
because the superintendent
of the region told her
00:21:15.34\00:21:19.51
that all the party
officials were there.
00:21:19.54\00:21:23.24
Could she have
gone to jail for that?
00:21:23.28\00:21:25.31
I'm sure that she
could have lost her job
00:21:25.35\00:21:29.28
and something terrible
might have happened to her.
00:21:29.32\00:21:36.26
And she demanded
that I would be brought up
00:21:36.29\00:21:39.89
to her mobile office right there
00:21:39.93\00:21:42.03
at that square in
Shymkent, Kazakhstan,
00:21:42.06\00:21:45.63
and I remember
00:21:45.67\00:21:49.27
when I entered
that mobile office.
00:21:49.30\00:21:55.64
Office, uh huh.
00:21:55.68\00:21:57.35
That very imposing lady
was sitting in front of me.
00:21:57.38\00:22:04.02
I was a tiny little
kid, nine years of age.
00:22:04.05\00:22:08.92
And she, her fingers
were all in golden rings.
00:22:08.96\00:22:14.46
And she was very intimidating
00:22:14.50\00:22:19.80
and very
powerful, I could sense.
00:22:19.83\00:22:22.94
And she was talking down at me
00:22:22.97\00:22:28.31
with disgust and irritation.
00:22:28.34\00:22:33.82
And she
challenged me and she said,
00:22:33.85\00:22:38.02
do you want to be a dark
00:22:38.05\00:22:43.12
sectarian ignoramus...
00:22:43.16\00:22:46.59
Wow.
00:22:46.63\00:22:47.96
Like your dad?
00:22:48.00\00:22:49.50
Wow.
00:22:49.53\00:22:50.87
Or do you want to
go to a university,
00:22:50.90\00:22:53.94
and join the Communist Party
00:22:53.97\00:22:57.41
and go up in society,
00:22:57.44\00:23:01.38
and reach the
heights of Soviet society
00:23:01.41\00:23:06.98
with your gifts.
00:23:07.02\00:23:10.12
And I will never
forget, I was all shaking inside
00:23:10.15\00:23:14.52
and a huge lump
came up my throat.
00:23:14.56\00:23:18.89
And I immediately
started thinking of my dad
00:23:18.93\00:23:23.97
and his love
00:23:24.00\00:23:26.43
for all the
learning in the world.
00:23:26.47\00:23:30.17
I knew that he read
German, and English,
00:23:30.21\00:23:35.61
and Greek, and Hebrew.
00:23:35.64\00:23:38.28
I knew that he loved the
Great Russian literature.
00:23:38.31\00:23:42.48
And I adored my dad.
00:23:42.52\00:23:45.75
And I just looked
into her face and I said,"
00:23:45.79\00:23:48.66
I want to be like my dad."
00:23:48.69\00:23:52.29
Yes, yes.
00:23:52.33\00:23:54.33
And she drove me out.
00:23:54.36\00:23:58.83
And I ran out of
that mobile office,
00:23:58.87\00:24:03.24
and my teacher of music
00:24:03.27\00:24:05.91
and arts found me in the crowds.
00:24:05.94\00:24:09.94
And she was comforting
me and I was all shaking.
00:24:09.98\00:24:15.38
And 20 minutes later,
somebody called her back.
00:24:15.42\00:24:20.29
And then she came to me.
00:24:20.32\00:24:22.62
And she said,
00:24:22.66\00:24:23.99
she allowed you to
take part in the contest.
00:24:24.03\00:24:28.50
And in just a few seconds,
00:24:28.53\00:24:30.70
I was brought on top of a truck
00:24:30.73\00:24:34.54
in front of several microphones.
00:24:34.57\00:24:38.11
And it was my turn to recite.
00:24:38.14\00:24:41.84
And as I started reciting,
00:24:41.88\00:24:43.78
I was praying that
God would give me strength
00:24:43.81\00:24:48.62
and courage to
do it to his glory
00:24:48.65\00:24:52.39
and to his owner.
00:24:52.42\00:24:54.22
And my voice was carried out
00:24:54.26\00:24:56.62
by all those huge
metal loudspeakers
00:24:56.66\00:25:01.13
across the entire square.
00:25:01.16\00:25:03.60
And I could see my music
00:25:03.63\00:25:05.37
and arts teacher
sitting on the front row
00:25:05.40\00:25:08.37
and pointing to her
00:25:08.40\00:25:12.47
color of her blouse
00:25:12.51\00:25:15.71
and whispering
something into the ear
00:25:15.74\00:25:18.91
of another teacher
from another school.
00:25:18.95\00:25:22.78
And I could understand
that she was saying to her,
00:25:22.82\00:25:26.35
that I do not belong
00:25:26.39\00:25:28.32
to the Communist Party
Children's Organization
00:25:28.36\00:25:32.83
of the Pioneers.
00:25:32.86\00:25:35.90
And I won the content...
00:25:35.93\00:25:39.03
You won the contest?
For our entire school.
00:25:39.07\00:25:43.57
Our school
received the first place,
00:25:43.61\00:25:47.58
I recited a poem
about the mother,
00:25:47.61\00:25:52.41
that was written
00:25:52.45\00:25:55.82
by a famous Russian poet
00:25:55.85\00:25:59.65
who was murdered
in Nazi labor camps.
00:25:59.69\00:26:04.63
Wow.
00:26:04.66\00:26:05.99
And God showed to me that day
00:26:06.03\00:26:11.13
that the faith of
my father is my faith.
00:26:11.17\00:26:18.11
The faith that I
was given by God.
00:26:18.14\00:26:23.81
Wow, wow.
00:26:23.85\00:26:25.91
That is powerful.
00:26:25.95\00:26:27.28
That is a powerful
testimony, powerful story.
00:26:27.32\00:26:31.39
Mrs. Kulakov,
00:26:31.42\00:26:33.22
what was life like
growing up for you?
00:26:33.25\00:26:38.46
As I told you, I
grew up in Moldova.
00:26:38.49\00:26:43.26
Also, it's a tiny,
very small country.
00:26:43.30\00:26:47.97
Warm country.
00:26:48.00\00:26:50.21
Wine country.
00:26:50.24\00:26:52.77
Grapes, sunflowers
and sun, a lot of sun.
00:26:52.81\00:26:58.05
So that's why I
love sunny weather.
00:26:58.08\00:27:01.52
So I grew up in a
Christian family too.
00:27:01.55\00:27:06.35
My dad was a
pastor all his life,
00:27:06.39\00:27:10.76
and my mom was
helping him a lot in,
00:27:10.79\00:27:15.36
in the church and we
kids, also six of us,
00:27:15.40\00:27:19.83
worked in and help
them in the church too.
00:27:19.87\00:27:23.71
So, and I want to
tell you today a story
00:27:23.74\00:27:29.58
which changed my life.
00:27:29.61\00:27:33.82
A person which had
a very strong faith.
00:27:33.85\00:27:40.06
And you know that
the faith of somebody
00:27:40.09\00:27:44.96
who have strong faith
can change so many lives.
00:27:44.99\00:27:49.93
And one of them was my mom.
00:27:49.96\00:27:54.24
She changed so many
lives during her lifetime.
00:27:54.27\00:27:58.77
And I want to tell a
little bit about her,
00:27:58.81\00:28:04.01
how we grew in the
family with my mom.
00:28:04.05\00:28:09.05
Few years ago,
00:28:09.08\00:28:11.02
I received a call
from my sister in Canada.
00:28:11.05\00:28:15.19
And she told me, "Luda,
my mom, our mom passed away.
00:28:15.22\00:28:20.10
So we need to,
all of us to get ready
00:28:20.13\00:28:22.80
and fly back to
Moldova for the funeral."
00:28:22.83\00:28:26.90
So at that time,
we're six in the family.
00:28:26.94\00:28:32.74
So my oldest brother,
00:28:32.77\00:28:35.34
he's the only one
who lives in Moldova.
00:28:35.38\00:28:37.71
He also is a pastor.
00:28:37.75\00:28:39.71
And the rest lived in...
00:28:39.75\00:28:42.75
Two of my brothers lived,
live with me in United States.
00:28:42.78\00:28:46.99
One is in Alaska,
00:28:47.02\00:28:50.63
one lives with
me in Washington DC
00:28:50.66\00:28:53.60
and my sister lives in Canada.
00:28:53.63\00:28:57.20
Okay.
00:28:57.23\00:28:58.57
So, all of us got
together, we bought the tickets.
00:28:58.60\00:29:03.27
And then in a few
hours we left to the airport
00:29:03.30\00:29:06.44
and we were
planning all this trip
00:29:06.47\00:29:08.78
to get to Moldova
as soon as possible,
00:29:08.81\00:29:11.58
you know,
because it's a country,
00:29:11.61\00:29:13.21
we don't have funeral
homes, anything like that.
00:29:13.25\00:29:15.52
So we need to get as soon
as possible for the funeral.
00:29:15.55\00:29:18.79
And it was very touching
00:29:18.82\00:29:21.69
how we all flew in to Germany,
00:29:21.72\00:29:24.73
Frankfurt Airport,
00:29:24.76\00:29:26.29
and we were
walking to the terminal,
00:29:26.33\00:29:30.03
and we saw, my brother
from Alaska was coming,
00:29:30.07\00:29:34.20
and we were so
excited at the same time.
00:29:34.24\00:29:36.34
You know, it was a
very tragic meeting for us
00:29:36.37\00:29:41.68
and my brother
from DC also was there,
00:29:41.71\00:29:44.81
and we all were
going to fly in one plane.
00:29:44.85\00:29:49.08
It was so exciting.
00:29:49.12\00:29:50.49
And so it was me,
Michael and my two brothers,
00:29:50.52\00:29:55.46
and my sister from
Canada was supposed to fly also,
00:29:55.49\00:29:58.99
and we were
waiting for her to come
00:29:59.03\00:30:01.23
so we can all fly
to Kishinev, Moldova.
00:30:01.26\00:30:07.44
And our sister wasn't coming.
00:30:07.47\00:30:09.90
And we were so
worried what happened,
00:30:09.94\00:30:11.64
why she's not here,
because I knew she was coming.
00:30:11.67\00:30:14.84
And we were, all of
us already in the plane,
00:30:14.88\00:30:17.08
sitting in the plane.
00:30:17.11\00:30:18.71
And all the other passengers.
00:30:18.75\00:30:20.45
And all the passengers,
and then I saw my sister
00:30:20.48\00:30:23.39
running in to the plane
00:30:23.42\00:30:25.12
and we were so excited
that all of us had made it.
00:30:25.15\00:30:27.19
So she made it? She made it.
00:30:27.22\00:30:28.79
So we all flew to Moldova
and my oldest brother came,
00:30:28.82\00:30:33.73
he met us and took us
straight to my mom's house.
00:30:33.76\00:30:38.47
And my dad passed away,
like five, six years before
00:30:38.50\00:30:42.54
so at that time, my mom
was living alone in Moldova.
00:30:42.57\00:30:47.18
So we drove to
our childhood house
00:30:47.21\00:30:50.75
and it was very
sad and difficult
00:30:50.78\00:30:54.72
to come into the house
00:30:54.75\00:30:56.38
when she was already not alive
00:30:56.42\00:30:59.52
and when we entered the room,
she was in the living room.
00:30:59.55\00:31:03.76
We heard crying,
somebody was crying.
00:31:03.79\00:31:07.83
And we entered the room
00:31:07.86\00:31:10.47
and I saw there
two of my cousins,
00:31:10.50\00:31:13.47
two girls, my cousins,
00:31:13.50\00:31:15.37
they were sitting
around her and crying.
00:31:15.40\00:31:17.67
Bewailing.
00:31:17.71\00:31:19.04
Bewailing, you
know so beautifully.
00:31:19.07\00:31:22.51
And they were in Romanian
language and they're saying,
00:31:22.54\00:31:25.91
Aunty Valentina.
00:31:25.95\00:31:27.28
And my mom's name was Valentina.
00:31:27.32\00:31:29.75
Aunty Valentina,
why did you leave us?
00:31:29.78\00:31:34.32
Our mom left us a few years ago,
00:31:34.36\00:31:36.62
and now you left us,
00:31:36.66\00:31:38.19
how will we live
alone without you?
00:31:38.23\00:31:41.36
And you know, I was
looking and thinking,
00:31:41.40\00:31:43.43
wow, they are her nieces,
00:31:43.47\00:31:46.30
and they are so
crying at the funeral.
00:31:46.33\00:31:49.04
And I was thinking and
wow, what does this mean?
00:31:49.07\00:31:53.27
And I remembered, I
remembered my childhood.
00:31:53.31\00:31:57.21
I remember how she was helping
my cousins and their mom,
00:31:57.25\00:32:03.82
they had a very,
very difficult life.
00:32:03.85\00:32:07.06
And my aunt's
husband was an alcoholic.
00:32:07.09\00:32:12.79
So he died very young.
00:32:12.83\00:32:16.16
You know, he froze
in the winter outside
00:32:16.20\00:32:20.40
somewhere so she
was left with children,
00:32:20.44\00:32:23.97
and my mom was
coming from the store,
00:32:24.01\00:32:27.18
from the market.
00:32:27.21\00:32:28.61
And every day she will
stop by and bring them something
00:32:28.64\00:32:32.11
to eat and help them to,
to live and have a nice life.
00:32:32.15\00:32:38.19
And I remember all of that.
00:32:38.22\00:32:40.86
My mom also had a
very difficult life.
00:32:40.89\00:32:43.83
She grew in a well to do family,
00:32:43.86\00:32:49.46
and my grandma passed away
00:32:49.50\00:32:52.87
when she was giving
birth to the seventh child.
00:32:52.90\00:32:57.37
And my grandpa was killed,
00:32:57.41\00:33:02.64
were murdered in front of my mom
00:33:02.68\00:33:06.05
when she was
seven, by a Nazi soldier.
00:33:06.08\00:33:10.49
And my mom was so
shocked and so traumatized
00:33:10.52\00:33:14.42
when, she was seven
years old at the time
00:33:14.46\00:33:17.13
when grandpa
came into the house,
00:33:17.16\00:33:19.93
and I don't want to
describe the terrible thing,
00:33:19.96\00:33:23.23
but he fell on the
ground and blood gushed out.
00:33:23.26\00:33:29.57
And my mom saw that
00:33:29.60\00:33:31.01
and she just
collapsed there in front of him.
00:33:31.04\00:33:34.44
And, of course, he
passed away right away,
00:33:34.48\00:33:36.95
and after that
she couldn't speak.
00:33:36.98\00:33:40.02
She lost her speech
for three or four months
00:33:40.05\00:33:43.82
after that shock.
00:33:43.85\00:33:45.32
So she was very traumatized,
00:33:45.35\00:33:46.99
and all the kids
were left without parents,
00:33:47.02\00:33:50.66
so they became orphans.
00:33:50.69\00:33:53.09
And the government took
away two of her brothers
00:33:53.13\00:33:57.07
and my mom was
left with her sister.
00:33:57.10\00:33:59.80
And with the baby which was born
00:33:59.83\00:34:03.07
and they didn't have
anything to feed of him,
00:34:03.10\00:34:06.07
and my mom will tell me
that they take a piece of cloth,
00:34:06.11\00:34:10.68
put a piece of
bread in that cloth,
00:34:10.71\00:34:14.28
put it in the water
and give it to the baby
00:34:14.32\00:34:17.15
so he can suck
at least some water
00:34:17.19\00:34:19.62
with some taste of bread,
00:34:19.65\00:34:21.22
because they didn't
have any milk or anything.
00:34:21.26\00:34:23.66
And as I told you,
they were work to do,
00:34:23.69\00:34:26.80
but when my
grandpa was murdered,
00:34:26.83\00:34:30.93
all the neighbors, you
know, how it happens in life,
00:34:30.97\00:34:33.30
they came and they took
everything from the house
00:34:33.34\00:34:35.47
because only kids.
00:34:35.50\00:34:36.84
It was the war, the
town was occupied by Nazi.
00:34:36.87\00:34:39.54
It was during the
war, it was in 42 or 43,
00:34:39.57\00:34:42.74
something like that.
00:34:42.78\00:34:44.28
So they were trying
to survive and my mom saw
00:34:44.31\00:34:48.25
and grew with poverty,
00:34:48.28\00:34:51.75
and it was a
very difficult life.
00:34:51.79\00:34:54.72
So she, every time
when she saw people in need,
00:34:54.76\00:34:58.39
she was there to help
them, to do something for them,
00:34:58.43\00:35:01.80
so that's why she was
helping all my cousins,
00:35:01.83\00:35:04.63
feeding them,
bringing them stuff.
00:35:04.67\00:35:06.70
And at the funeral,
00:35:06.74\00:35:09.90
I will never
forget the funeral day.
00:35:09.94\00:35:12.67
We were at the funeral
and going to the cemetery.
00:35:12.71\00:35:18.45
And in front of the procession,
00:35:18.48\00:35:20.98
I saw two boys
around 10 years old,
00:35:21.02\00:35:24.52
and they were two brothers
00:35:24.55\00:35:27.46
and they were
holding my mom's picture
00:35:27.49\00:35:31.79
and walking in
front of the procession.
00:35:31.83\00:35:35.63
And I was looking at these boys
00:35:35.66\00:35:37.37
and I was thinking and asking
my brothers and my sister,
00:35:37.40\00:35:41.17
who are these two
boys, I don't know them,
00:35:41.20\00:35:43.14
who are they?
00:35:43.17\00:35:44.51
Why are they
having my mom's picture?
00:35:44.54\00:35:48.94
And my sister told me,
oh, they are the two boys,
00:35:48.98\00:35:51.91
do you remember?
00:35:51.95\00:35:53.28
Our mom was helping
them out all this years,
00:35:53.31\00:35:56.69
and I remember their
mom had these two small boys
00:35:56.72\00:36:01.92
and they didn't
have a place to live.
00:36:01.96\00:36:03.96
And my mom had a old
house which was almost,
00:36:03.99\00:36:07.06
you know, collapsing,
00:36:07.10\00:36:10.20
but she went and she
fixed that house for them.
00:36:10.23\00:36:13.34
She paint it, you
know, everything she,
00:36:13.37\00:36:16.20
they had a stove, and
she'll bring them some wood
00:36:16.24\00:36:19.54
so they can warm and she grew.
00:36:19.57\00:36:22.28
She took care of
these two boys of mom
00:36:22.31\00:36:24.48
in that house.
00:36:24.51\00:36:25.95
And every day,
she'll come from the market
00:36:25.98\00:36:28.35
on the way home,
00:36:28.38\00:36:29.72
she'll stop at that
house, bring some food for them,
00:36:29.75\00:36:33.56
to the boys,
00:36:33.59\00:36:35.06
and then come home
and cook something,
00:36:35.09\00:36:37.19
eat something and
then will bring them
00:36:37.23\00:36:38.96
some other food.
00:36:38.99\00:36:40.33
So she was taking
care of these two boys
00:36:40.36\00:36:43.53
until they grew
like 10 years old.
00:36:43.57\00:36:46.67
So they knew Mama Valentina,
my mom's name was Valentina.
00:36:46.70\00:36:51.87
So, they came at the
funeral and they were there,
00:36:51.91\00:36:55.38
you know, next,
like was their mom.
00:36:55.41\00:37:00.12
And I knew that many
people will come to the funeral.
00:37:00.15\00:37:03.75
I knew that, because
she was helping everyone.
00:37:03.79\00:37:05.79
That was her heart,
you know, she couldn't,
00:37:05.82\00:37:08.19
you know, leave
without helping anyone.
00:37:08.22\00:37:10.89
And she took such
great care of you guys
00:37:10.93\00:37:13.40
as you grew up to dress you.
00:37:13.43\00:37:16.50
And so she earned money
by knitting, By knitting.
00:37:16.53\00:37:20.44
Because my dad was a
pastor, as Mikhail said.
00:37:20.47\00:37:23.20
And he also had a day
job which was construction.
00:37:23.24\00:37:27.98
Okay.
00:37:28.01\00:37:29.34
And, but at the same
time, he was a pastor,
00:37:29.38\00:37:31.91
they didn't get paid a lot.
00:37:31.95\00:37:33.72
You know, very
little so, and we were six
00:37:33.75\00:37:36.45
and my mom wanted
us to look nice kids.
00:37:36.48\00:37:40.96
We have a picture of
Lyuda at high school,
00:37:40.99\00:37:43.63
with a bow tie, with a bow.
00:37:43.66\00:37:46.23
So that's how she was,
me with that white bow.
00:37:46.26\00:37:49.96
So, she was
making money knitting
00:37:50.00\00:37:52.87
and she taught me how to knit
00:37:52.90\00:37:54.87
and she will sell
it and try to dress us,
00:37:54.90\00:37:58.41
because she was so worried
that people think about us,
00:37:58.44\00:38:01.31
that you know, we
are Christian sectarians
00:38:01.34\00:38:04.55
and all my
relatives were not Christians,
00:38:04.58\00:38:07.52
because my mom
became a Christian
00:38:07.55\00:38:09.98
when she was 17.
00:38:10.02\00:38:12.09
So, all my relatives
were looking down at us.
00:38:12.12\00:38:16.59
Look at these Christian kids,
00:38:16.62\00:38:18.76
you know, they, like we
lost everything in life.
00:38:18.79\00:38:22.13
So for her it was
important that we look decent.
00:38:22.16\00:38:25.87
Yes. That we are dress nice.
00:38:25.90\00:38:27.27
Yes. That we are fed nice.
00:38:27.30\00:38:28.77
Yes. So, that
was very important.
00:38:28.80\00:38:31.74
I don't have time, I
think now to tell the story
00:38:31.77\00:38:34.28
how we became an Adventist,
00:38:34.31\00:38:37.65
but in a few
words, I will tell it,
00:38:37.68\00:38:39.98
because it's a
very moving story too.
00:38:40.02\00:38:42.25
When she was 17, she really felt
00:38:42.28\00:38:45.92
that she needs to find a church.
00:38:45.95\00:38:49.59
She just felt,
she was telling us,
00:38:49.62\00:38:51.26
but I want to go somewhere,
so I can pray, you know,
00:38:51.29\00:38:56.00
and be with people
who believe in God.
00:38:56.03\00:38:59.03
So she had some girlfriends,
00:38:59.07\00:39:01.04
and they started
looking for a church.
00:39:01.07\00:39:03.97
And it was after
the war, you know,
00:39:04.01\00:39:06.68
the country was devastated.
00:39:06.71\00:39:09.24
No electricity, cold, no food.
00:39:09.28\00:39:13.08
So they found a
church, not a church,
00:39:13.11\00:39:15.52
a house, a building,
00:39:15.55\00:39:16.99
where they heard that
there are people meeting there.
00:39:17.02\00:39:20.19
So, it was during the winter.
00:39:20.22\00:39:22.42
She went with her
girlfriends there.
00:39:22.46\00:39:25.66
And there was a meeting
in some kind of the basement
00:39:25.69\00:39:29.30
and it was dark, cold dark,
00:39:29.33\00:39:32.40
no light, just,
you know, candles.
00:39:32.43\00:39:36.04
And everyone was
praying in that room.
00:39:36.07\00:39:39.24
And suddenly,
00:39:39.27\00:39:42.38
mom felt that
somebody jumped to her...
00:39:42.41\00:39:46.72
Something.
Something to her neck.
00:39:46.75\00:39:50.59
She starts screaming
and it was a huge rat.
00:39:50.62\00:39:55.46
I would be screaming too.
00:39:55.49\00:39:57.33
So they run, the girls
run out of that building
00:39:57.36\00:40:01.43
because she was
bitten by a huge rat
00:40:01.46\00:40:05.23
and how I found out the story.
00:40:05.27\00:40:07.80
You know, when I was a baby,
I was sitting on my mom's lap,
00:40:07.84\00:40:11.64
and I looked at
her neck, I said mom,
00:40:11.67\00:40:14.14
what's that,
you know, like kids,
00:40:14.18\00:40:15.94
what marks are these,
you know, what's that?
00:40:15.98\00:40:19.15
I was so curious.
00:40:19.18\00:40:20.52
And she would tell me the story,
00:40:20.55\00:40:21.88
how she became a Christian.
00:40:21.92\00:40:23.52
So, after that they
didn't go there anymore.
00:40:23.55\00:40:27.29
And then they, some
girlfriends told them
00:40:27.32\00:40:29.82
that there's a church, a
Seventh-day Adventist Church.
00:40:29.86\00:40:32.39
What is
Seventh-day Adventist Church?
00:40:32.43\00:40:33.76
I don't know,
let's go and have a look.
00:40:33.80\00:40:35.63
So they went into the church.
00:40:35.66\00:40:37.33
And they saw that the people
were there, reading the Bible.
00:40:37.37\00:40:41.94
She was amazed.
00:40:41.97\00:40:43.30
She had never seen
a Bible in her life.
00:40:43.34\00:40:45.44
And they were talking,
you know, discussing thing.
00:40:45.47\00:40:49.24
And then she loved it,
00:40:49.28\00:40:51.35
and she decided to
come to the church.
00:40:51.38\00:40:54.18
And then she was baptized
00:40:54.22\00:40:55.55
in the
Seventh-day Adventist Church.
00:40:55.58\00:40:57.72
And that's how she
became an Adventist.
00:40:57.75\00:40:59.82
And I was born in
an Adventist Church.
00:40:59.85\00:41:03.69
And on the day of the funeral,
00:41:03.73\00:41:06.76
as we entered into her bedroom,
00:41:06.80\00:41:11.13
her Bible was still open
00:41:11.17\00:41:14.50
and her morning
devotional was open.
00:41:14.54\00:41:18.67
And the Sabbath School
lesson book was open the day,
00:41:18.71\00:41:22.34
that last day of her life.
00:41:22.38\00:41:26.68
And also what was
interesting, you know,
00:41:26.72\00:41:30.09
my dad was a
pastor all his life.
00:41:30.12\00:41:32.15
So they'll wake up every
day, early in the morning.
00:41:32.19\00:41:36.09
And I remember that picture
is in my mind all the time.
00:41:36.12\00:41:39.23
I wake up to go to school
00:41:39.26\00:41:40.93
and I will see my
mom sitting and knitting,
00:41:40.96\00:41:45.03
because she needed to go
to the market and sell it.
00:41:45.07\00:41:47.40
And my dad was
sitting and reading the Bible,
00:41:47.44\00:41:51.47
studying Bible
lessons and devotional,
00:41:51.51\00:41:55.21
that was the
picture which I had.
00:41:55.24\00:41:57.08
And you know the funny thing?
00:41:57.11\00:41:58.95
I thought all my life
that my dad is reading
00:41:58.98\00:42:02.48
because my mom can't read.
00:42:02.52\00:42:05.15
Because I knew she went to
school only for four years.
00:42:05.19\00:42:08.19
I felt, oh, my mom
didn't know how to read.
00:42:08.22\00:42:11.26
And then when
my dad passed away,
00:42:11.29\00:42:14.13
my mom started
reading the Bible.
00:42:14.16\00:42:16.23
And I was amazed. Mom,
you can read the Bible?
00:42:16.26\00:42:19.17
Yes, of course, I can read.
00:42:19.20\00:42:20.97
You didn't read the
Bible all your life.
00:42:21.00\00:42:22.77
Okay, because your
dad wad reading it for me.
00:42:22.80\00:42:26.07
So when she was left alone,
00:42:26.11\00:42:28.34
she was reading
the Bible every day.
00:42:28.38\00:42:31.01
And for me, it was like, wow.
00:42:31.05\00:42:33.55
And she will tell me
what she read and how.
00:42:33.58\00:42:37.05
And at that time, she knew that
00:42:37.09\00:42:38.45
Mikhail was working on
the translation on the Bible.
00:42:38.49\00:42:41.72
And she was praying for
Mikhail and she was so excited.
00:42:41.76\00:42:45.03
And actually in 2015,
we finished the Bible.
00:42:45.06\00:42:49.56
And she died in 2016.
00:42:49.60\00:42:52.63
So we're telling her how
Mikhail finished the Bible.
00:42:52.67\00:42:56.14
She was very
excited. Praise the Lord.
00:42:56.17\00:42:58.14
Yeah, before the funeral.
00:42:58.17\00:42:59.51
And at the funeral,
00:42:59.54\00:43:00.88
Mikhail decided to read
a chapter from the Bible
00:43:00.91\00:43:06.11
from the new
translation, you know,
00:43:06.15\00:43:08.18
because it's a
modern translation
00:43:08.22\00:43:10.89
and it sounded so beautiful.
00:43:10.92\00:43:13.12
And Mikhail was reading.
00:43:13.15\00:43:14.49
I will not read it in Russian.
00:43:14.52\00:43:15.92
He'll read it in English,
but when he was reading it,
00:43:15.96\00:43:18.39
I said, "Wow, that's my mom.
00:43:18.43\00:43:22.20
That's exactly what
my mom did in her life."
00:43:22.23\00:43:26.30
Would you like
to read it, Mikhail?
00:43:26.33\00:43:27.67
Before you read that.
00:43:27.70\00:43:29.34
As I listened to you
guys talk about your parents.
00:43:29.37\00:43:33.01
I can tell that
they've had a significant
00:43:33.04\00:43:36.41
amount of
influence on your life,
00:43:36.44\00:43:40.42
like what you went
into with the translations
00:43:40.45\00:43:43.65
of the Bible and
all of that stuff like,
00:43:43.69\00:43:46.09
is a result of your
parent's faith and dedication.
00:43:46.12\00:43:48.09
Yes, of course,
yeah. Yes, yes, yes.
00:43:48.12\00:43:51.49
Absolutely. Absolutely.
00:43:51.53\00:43:53.66
And, as we worked
on the translation
00:43:53.70\00:43:58.90
of the last chapter
in the Book of Proverbs,
00:43:58.93\00:44:03.71
I thought about
Lyuda's mom and my mom.
00:44:03.74\00:44:10.48
And I wanted to
dedicate it to Lyuda's mom.
00:44:10.51\00:44:15.28
Nice.
00:44:15.32\00:44:16.65
And this is how I shared it
00:44:16.69\00:44:21.29
with all those people
00:44:21.32\00:44:23.59
who gathered at her place there,
00:44:23.63\00:44:29.66
as we bid her farewell.
00:44:29.70\00:44:33.00
A wife of noble character,
00:44:33.03\00:44:36.44
who can find she's
worth far more than rubies.
00:44:36.47\00:44:43.11
Her husband has
full confidence in her
00:44:43.14\00:44:47.42
and lacks nothing of value.
00:44:47.45\00:44:51.79
She brings him good, no harm.
00:44:51.82\00:44:55.82
All the days of her life,
00:44:55.86\00:44:58.89
she selects wool and flax
00:44:58.93\00:45:01.90
and works with eager hands.
00:45:01.93\00:45:06.07
Her husband is
respected at the city gate,
00:45:06.10\00:45:11.34
where he takes his seat
among the elders of the land.
00:45:11.37\00:45:16.95
She makes linen
garments and sells them,
00:45:16.98\00:45:21.38
and supplies the
merchants with sashes.
00:45:21.42\00:45:25.85
She is clothed with
strength and dignity.
00:45:25.89\00:45:31.39
She can laugh at
the days to come.
00:45:31.43\00:45:35.66
She speaks with wisdom
00:45:35.70\00:45:39.23
and faithful
instruction is on her tongue.
00:45:39.27\00:45:44.74
Many women do know both things,
00:45:44.77\00:45:48.01
but you surpass them all.
00:45:48.04\00:45:52.05
Charm is deceptive
and beauty is fleeting,
00:45:52.08\00:45:56.25
but a woman
00:45:56.28\00:45:57.79
who fears the
Lord is to be praised.
00:45:57.82\00:46:03.22
Give her the
reward she has earned
00:46:03.26\00:46:08.23
and let her works
00:46:08.26\00:46:10.70
bring her praise
at the city gates.
00:46:10.73\00:46:15.20
And that's what we
witness to that day.
00:46:18.27\00:46:20.84
Yes.
00:46:20.88\00:46:22.21
Let me ask you a question,
00:46:22.24\00:46:23.58
because I would imagine that
you face a lot of opposition
00:46:23.61\00:46:27.22
in what you're doing
with translating these Bibles.
00:46:27.25\00:46:30.72
What happens when
God closes one door?
00:46:30.75\00:46:35.36
He opens another.
00:46:35.39\00:46:37.96
God opens another door.
00:46:37.99\00:46:40.90
There is trying times,
00:46:40.93\00:46:43.37
difficult times
in Russia right now.
00:46:43.40\00:46:46.60
And religious liberty is
being limited in many ways.
00:46:46.63\00:46:52.71
But our Bible
continues to inspire people
00:46:52.74\00:46:57.08
in the high society.
00:46:57.11\00:46:59.18
The learned
people at universities,
00:46:59.21\00:47:01.35
people in the
orphanages, in prisons,
00:47:01.38\00:47:05.59
and recently, a
leading Russian actor,
00:47:05.62\00:47:09.76
Nikita Perserovski,
00:47:09.79\00:47:12.19
who is deeply respected
and known by all the Russians,
00:47:12.23\00:47:18.83
has decided to produce
00:47:18.87\00:47:22.47
an audio version of our Bible.
00:47:22.50\00:47:26.64
He dubs Robert De Niro
for the Russian audiences,
00:47:26.68\00:47:32.38
for his movies.
00:47:32.41\00:47:33.95
He dubs the batman
into Russian language.
00:47:33.98\00:47:37.35
So everybody recognizes him.
00:47:37.39\00:47:39.55
And he said, first of all,
00:47:39.59\00:47:42.16
I want us to
build a proper studio
00:47:42.19\00:47:45.36
for the Bible.
00:47:45.39\00:47:47.66
And he now travels to
the Zaoksky University
00:47:47.70\00:47:49.96
to build the studio,
00:47:50.00\00:47:52.03
and he's
devoting all the free time
00:47:52.07\00:47:55.60
that he has to
producing a new version,
00:47:55.64\00:48:02.24
that even those in Russia
00:48:02.28\00:48:04.45
who cannot read
will be able to hear.
00:48:04.48\00:48:08.32
That's
beautiful. That's beautiful.
00:48:08.35\00:48:10.52
And I think with that
type of influence too,
00:48:10.55\00:48:13.29
that's going to go in
front of a lot of people,
00:48:13.32\00:48:16.69
a lot of people.
00:48:16.73\00:48:18.06
So God opened that door.
00:48:18.09\00:48:19.46
God has opened that door.
00:48:19.49\00:48:21.80
What else is going on in Russia?
00:48:21.83\00:48:24.70
We, for instance,
00:48:24.73\00:48:27.50
are experiencing
another blessing.
00:48:27.54\00:48:30.21
Okay.
00:48:30.24\00:48:31.57
People are
telling us that they love
00:48:31.61\00:48:34.54
that the first
edition was a study edition.
00:48:34.58\00:48:38.98
But they would like us
now to produce a smaller,
00:48:39.01\00:48:42.92
more compact edition of
this clear, modern Bible
00:48:42.95\00:48:48.79
that young people
could carry around.
00:48:48.82\00:48:52.76
Ladies could put
into their handbags.
00:48:52.79\00:48:55.66
And there is a great
demand and we're working on that
00:48:55.70\00:48:58.00
and we need your
support for that,
00:48:58.03\00:49:00.90
and without you
00:49:00.94\00:49:04.11
we would not have been able
to produce the first edition.
00:49:04.14\00:49:09.11
There is a conflict going
on between Ukraine and Russia.
00:49:09.14\00:49:14.65
It's a war.
00:49:14.68\00:49:16.05
You know, I'm half
Ukrainian and half Russian.
00:49:16.08\00:49:18.55
These are two brotherly,
great nations, great people.
00:49:18.59\00:49:24.69
And nothing can be brought
from Russia into Ukraine.
00:49:24.73\00:49:28.43
But I was
recently sent a document
00:49:28.46\00:49:31.50
that the Ukrainian
government produced,
00:49:31.53\00:49:34.27
and a list of accepted goods
that can be brought to Ukraine.
00:49:34.30\00:49:39.57
And particularly,
our Bible was singled out
00:49:39.61\00:49:44.48
for the
government workers in Ukraine
00:49:44.51\00:49:47.12
who work on radio and television
00:49:47.15\00:49:49.58
in the Russian
speaking areas of Ukraine,
00:49:49.62\00:49:53.66
that they are permitted
to bring and use our Bible.
00:49:53.69\00:50:00.40
So in other words,
00:50:00.43\00:50:01.76
God's word can
cross any borders.
00:50:01.80\00:50:03.70
God's word can cross any borders
00:50:03.73\00:50:07.47
and can reach hearts.
00:50:07.50\00:50:09.80
Amen.
00:50:09.84\00:50:11.41
What are some of the
needs of your ministry?
00:50:11.44\00:50:14.74
There is an opportunity for us
00:50:14.78\00:50:18.81
to use the
largest publishing house,
00:50:18.85\00:50:24.25
a printing press in Russia,
00:50:24.29\00:50:26.92
which publishes the
novels of Leo Tolstoy
00:50:26.96\00:50:30.83
and Pushkin's poems
and Dostoyevsky's books,
00:50:30.86\00:50:35.63
and prints all
the western classics.
00:50:35.66\00:50:39.10
If we could
together raise the funds
00:50:39.13\00:50:45.94
to publish the
new compact edition,
00:50:45.97\00:50:51.75
and have it circulated
across the 11 time zones...
00:50:51.78\00:50:56.18
Yes.
00:50:56.22\00:50:57.55
That will change
many, many more lives.
00:50:57.59\00:51:02.89
And that's what I
would like to share
00:51:02.92\00:51:06.23
with our wonderful friends,
00:51:06.26\00:51:09.00
the viewers of
Three Angels Broadcasting,
00:51:09.03\00:51:12.50
who started
this project with us.
00:51:12.53\00:51:14.70
Yes, yes.
00:51:14.74\00:51:16.07
Danny Shelton
interviewed my father
00:51:16.10\00:51:18.91
who started the Bible
translation project here
00:51:18.94\00:51:22.98
many, many years ago.
00:51:23.01\00:51:24.98
Wow, that is incredible.
00:51:25.01\00:51:26.98
I can't believe our time
is running a little bit low.
00:51:27.02\00:51:32.05
I definitely want people
00:51:32.09\00:51:33.66
to get involved
with this project.
00:51:33.69\00:51:35.86
We're going to go
to your address roll,
00:51:35.89\00:51:38.96
because I want you to know
00:51:38.99\00:51:40.36
how to get in contact with them,
00:51:40.40\00:51:42.20
how to support
this wonderful ministry.
00:51:42.23\00:51:45.00
And then we're going
to go to a news break
00:51:45.03\00:51:46.43
and we'll be right back.
00:51:46.47\00:51:47.80
The Russian Bible
Project has spent decades
00:51:50.84\00:51:52.87
working on a modern
00:51:52.91\00:51:54.24
and accurate
translation of God's Word
00:51:54.28\00:51:55.61
into the Russian language.
00:51:55.64\00:51:56.98
And now they
finally reached their goal.
00:51:57.01\00:51:58.91
Visit their website
for more information
00:51:58.95\00:52:00.75
on how you can help,
00:52:00.78\00:52:02.12
as well as a list of
their published books.
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That website is
RussianBible.org.
00:52:04.02\00:52:07.16
That's RussianBible.org.
00:52:07.19\00:52:10.26
You may also call
them at (301)-613-2809
00:52:10.29\00:52:16.06
or write to them at
Russian Bible Project,
00:52:16.10\00:52:18.83
PO Box 10988, Silver
Spring, Maryland 20904.
00:52:18.87\00:52:24.44