On Monday, we spent time in the region of Tula.

We basically joined with Pavel and Zoya at their family reunion. It was at a small church in a secluded area. We spent time talking with the family

members and then our group sang for them. After we took the time to introduce ourselves, they began to show us the family members on both Pavel’s and Zoya’s side of the family. Pavel has 5 brothers and 4 sisters. Zoya has 6 brothers and 3 sisters. Not to mention that almost all of them were married and had children of their own. It just amazed me to see how many people they had in their families. And

        everyone in both of their families is followers of Christ. This was amazing to me. After they introduced their families, we all sat down and had a meal together. After we all ate our meals and were having tea and dessert, the family had prepared a slideshow of the history of their two families. Their ancestors had been victims of the persecution of Christians in Russia after World War II. They were not allowed to teach young children and youth, because the Russian government did not want Christianity to spread any further. However, the families continued to teach children, and some were even sent to jail because of their doings.

I was just struck by the amount of faith and determination that these two families had. They continued to share their faith even when their lives were threatened. They continued to show God’s love to their children and the others around them. Their strong faith has inspired me to embrace persecution and to show God’s love in every aspect of my life.

Blake Creasy – Team Member