Today Victor and I had brunch with Vasyl Mondich who has completed his four year term as administrative head of the Christians of the Sabbath Day. The administrative head is now Vasyl Kondratiuk from near Lviv. The head of the worldwide Sabbatarians of this group since 1991 is Franz Klaussen from Tajikistan. His father was imprisoned in Siberia for 25 years. The Christians of the Sabbath Day do not, up to now, have a central organisation, each church is independent but now they realize that in order to preach the gospel more widely it is necessary to donate at least a part of their tithe to a central organisation.
At 3.0 pm we went to Victor Pavliy's home for lunch and discussed crossing the border on Sunday. They assured Victor and me that no one is sent to Siberia any more, but down the Donetsk Basin coal mines - worse! They laughed at this but we were not amused.
They described how under the Soviet Union it was the most competent who were sent to prison, and some made important discoveries while there. For example, thick bitumen oozes out of the ground in a part of Siberia. A prisoner who was an engineer discovered the 35th most valuable product from bitumen, there are 70 altogether, and he was released as a result. The engineer said that prison sharpens the mind.
During the 1930's a 1000 kilometer railroad was built from Moscow to the north in Verhuta. The rail workers only had bread and water for food and most died after six to eight weeks of hard work when they had used up their body fat. There is a body under every fifth to sixth sleeper (railroad tie). The railroad is not completed to this day and comes to a dead end in nowhere. Even if a handful of wheat was stolen on a collective farm, or a bill was not paid on time, or if a remark was made against Stalin, then this could result in 25 years in Siberia if you ever lived that long.
During the 1980's a natural gas pipeline was laid. At one point the pipes crossed a hollow
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in the ground, but one pipe was three centimeter short and barely joined together. The gas collected in the hollow. An electric train came along from Moscow to the Urals and the gas caught on fire, the whole train caught file with the surrounding forest and many died.
I asked the men around the table, "How do you see the future?" They replied, "We look to the resurrection." The only time that there has been happiness in the Soviet Union was when Stalin died, but it did not last long. Ukraine has always been invaded by someone and has been largely leaderless. Who dares to claim that we do not need the Law of God?
At 5.0 pm we went to the Mission Nazareth and Victor worked on the computer. He was able to transfer all the Good News articles we have translated to date on to their system and they can now be read by their version of Microsoft Word. Good News indeed! Now, they can reproduce articles that are published by the United Church of God. Also, their Russian version of Windows was put in order. Ukrainians love to engage in conversation and they have torturous stories to tell, which is great around a bonfire but not when one is trying to repair the computer.
The distribution of aid is the main topic of conversation today because it needs to be
- The aid we have sent them
made more efficient. Aid distribution is new both to the donors and the receivers and there is a learning curve to develop management techniques. Everyone is very willing but it does involve many hours of talking. Victor is sorting it out. I think his second name is Solomon.
At 8.0 pm we went to the modern and comfortable home of Ivan and Nina Urishko. Ivan is a successful businessman, not many about in Ukraine like him. When he was approached by the Mafia to pay protection money, he told them that God was his protector. They went away and have left him alone for six years. Often government
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officials are protectors but difficulty arises when they leave office and a new official is appointed who has his own people whom he protects.
It is interesting to observe family behaviour. Children of all ages in this group of families at all social levels are quiet and polite. When a child enters a room the child will immediately approach the visitor and shake hands and leave after courtesies. If visitors enter the room, the child will stand up to shake hands and leave after a short interval. There have been no demonstrations of tantrums or sulky behaviour. If a child wishes to speak to his father, the child approaches his father and whispers into his ear, usually permission is granted and the child leaves to play happily. The reason that the children are well-behaved is because they are secure in their family relationships. The Pavliy family, for example, consists of five brothers all married, some to sisters. The total number of Pavliys with children included, is 53 all living close to each other. A child cannot go far without being close to a protective family member. They may not have
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roads or modern conveniences or the latest style in anything, but neither do they have nuclear or single parent families, rows or divorces and it shows in the children's faces.
We return to Vasily and Svetlana Mondich's home for a surprise -- a candle lit table with a cake and fruit.
Sunset.