Posted by:
shannon
(
)
Date: May 28, 2012 04:12PM
Ten years ago, I adopted a Russian orphan - a little girl named Marina.
We had already adopted her younger sister, Sasha, two years before. However, we didn't know at the time about the older sibling because the girls had been separated in the orphanage as toddlers.
I arranged in advance for missionary discussions in Moscow because my little girls could not be sealed to one another (and to us) until the older child took all six discussions and then was baptized. I could not find a Russian-speaking church member willing to translate U.S. based discussions in our entire metro area (the closest I could find was an RM in Atlanta-8 hours away).
The AP in the Moscow mission home arranged for us to meet with a companionship during the time we would be there processing paperwork and exit visas.
Those were some heady times. The "miracles" that flowed from that experience kept me in the church for a lot of years.
The Moscow companionship consisted of a fairly recent Russian convert who spoke fluent English (he had learned from diligent study with American companions during the first year of his mission). His companion was an American with pretty decent mastery of Russian. In retrospect, it's obvious that we were given the cream-of-the-crop mishies. These guys were amazing and showed us the Royal Treatment in Moscow.
While we were in the city, a gigantic Regional Conference was held for Moscow and the surrounding areas. We, of course, were invited so that our adopted daughter could see her new church in action. As we took the metro (subway) to conference in the middle of the city, it seemed the mishies knew everybody! In the train station, and at every stop, hoardes of blue-suited missionaries and their investigators climbed aboard . . . laughing, waving, chattering in Russian and English.
I had grown up in the cold-war years with a terror of the Godless Soviet Union. That day, it seemed to me that I was witnessing, in person, the very fulfillment of Latter-day prophecy. It was not hard to make the mental leap that the Gospel was rolling forth across the world and the Second Coming was near. Not. Hard. At. All.
Was I really riding a train in Moscow, Russia with a bunch of Americans and an even greater number of EX-SOVIETS hungry for the Gospel of Jesus Christ?! Communist athiests? Really?!
The building used for the conference was a former Communist headquarters. I kept getting goosebumps as I climbed flights of stairs with our missionaries and stopped frequently on the steps or the landing so my daughter could be introduced to dozens upon dozens of Russian church members. She was quite overwhelmed by all of the attention. I was simply in awe.
The "theater" was packed. The Russian choir onstage (all beautiful, young adult women dressed in modest navy skirts and white blouses) sang LDS hymns in haunting Russian. It was spooky and moving all at the same time. Speakers were a mix of English and Russian. The poor MP haltingly delivered his talk in Russian but it was obvious he didn't know the language. I probably knew more Russian at that point than he did! ;o)
At the end of the conference, two Russian Orthodox Priests in their black robes, long beards, and square hats approached the officiator. There was some sort of confrontation that we were not privy to in the audience. Our missionaries explained that the Priests showed up at every Christian gathering in the city, and that they were "always hassling us."
The Priests finally left and a closing hymn/prayer was offered.
President James E. Faust was the presiding apostle at the conference that day. Afterwards, our gung-ho mishies talked us into approaching the stage to talk to him. My daughter, who was very shy, was already on sensory overload and I expressed concern about pushing our way through the crowd since we were in the back.
The guys talked us into it and, suddenly, a path opened up like the Red Sea. We found ourselves 2nd or 3rd in line to talk with President Faust, who was greeting conference-goers with his wife.
It must be said at this point that our story had received mass media attention in both the U.S. and in Russia. The story of our 2-year struggle to reunite two little Russian sisters was well-known. (In fact, upon our arrival home in the U.S., television crews actually filmed the reunion live). So, it's POSSIBLE that President Faust already knew about our family. I have no way of confirming or denying that suspicion now, as he has since passed away. At that moment, I felt he was just hearing our story for the first time.
When we reached President Faust, after just a few moments, it seemed that the crowd pressing around us simply fell away. Everything got quiet and the English-speaking missionary explained our quest.
President Faust took both of Marina's hands in his and stared deeply into her eyes. He blessed her and her sister, Sasha. While the Russian missionary translated, he gave her counsel and encouragement and made her promise to write him when she got to the U.S. and was reunited with her sister.
That was a powerful spiritual moment for me - and still stands as one of the Peak Experiences of my life. Marina stopped looking so scared and overwhelmed. She smiled at that tall, comforting man and then accepted a hug from Sister Faust. I felt fortified for ANYTHING that might come my way as I raised my Russian girls. (Jeez was I naive - story for another day!).
One of the first things we did when we got home was write President Faust and enclose the local newspaper article of the girls' journey.
He, almost immediately, wrote back a handwritten letter with a picture of he and his wife. He told the girls to always remember that "miracles happen everyday." He promised to visit with our family if his duties ever brought him to our area.
We had only received one missionary discussion in Moscow, having spent so much of our precious time at Regional Conference . . . so I still had the looming problem of how I would complete the rest of the 5 discussions, get Marina baptized, and the girls sealed to one another (and us).
The first Sunday back at church, we were treated like Rock Stars. In the hallway between meetings, everyone wanted to crowd around Marina and Sasha, hug them, and chat with them. I got lost in the crowd while Marina moved on ahead and I struggled to catch up with her.
As I approached from behind, Marina was surrounded by admirerers, but a strange thing was happening. I heard her conversing in RUSSIAN with a man I had never seen before. I was astonished. Then, a split second before I arrived, ANOTHER strange man approached her and began speaking Russian, too. I was so confused! I had spent the better part of an entire year trying to find LDS members who spoke Russian.
I worked my way into the group, and introduced myself as Marina's mom. Both young men stuck out their hands and introduced themselves. While we'd been gone in Russia for a few weeks, both families had transferred into the ward from out of state due to job requirements. Both families were only in our ward for about 6 weeks while their houses were being prepared in other parts of the city. Both men had served Russian missions. And . . . .
The men had served as COMPANIONS together in an area just outside of Moscow!!!! Neither one knew ahead of time that they were both moving cross-country to the same city.
Russian-speaking missionaries! Companions! In our ward just long enough to teach the discussions and baptize Marina!!!
I was simply dumbfounded. Elder Faust's words rang in my ears: "I testify that miracles happen every day."
So the men got permission to teach Marina, and a Senior Missionary couple was added to the mix to make things official. The Russian missionary discussions and teaching materials were ordered from Salt Lake. Both "Elders" showed up at the appointed time wearing their original Russian nametags.
Marina got all the discussions in before the men moved away (although one had a stake calling and we saw him often when he visited our ward). Her baptism was quite the event and, shortly afterwards, our family was sealed in the Orlando, FL temple. The girls looked like angels in their beautiful, white dresses.
Unfortunately, this story has no happy ending. Perhaps, for that reason, I now doubt all of the "miracles" that happened along the way. Sasha is estranged from Marina and our family (again) due to mental illness, drug use, and criminal activity. She is a sad, severe case of Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD) - google *that* one for a fun afternoon of insanity.
Marina has struggled, as most Russian adoptees do. However, we have a close, loving relationship. She graduated from high school and is living independently with friends near the beach. She just completed a Certified Nursing Assistant program (with an "A").
Our family resigned from the church in 2007. We imploded. But we are now rebuilding, one day at a time.
Whatever happened to Russia? I don't know. From my perspective a decade ago, the Gospel should have been preached in China and the Middle East by now. Christ should be coming, like TOMORROW.
However, the Russians lost interest in all things American-especially wacky frontier religions. I think that what I witnessed in Moscow was simple experimentation with other cultures and lifestyles - a natural reaction to the lifting of the iron curtain. At that time, the new freedoms were intoxicating. I think lots of post-communist citizens tried on Western ideas just because they *could*, not necessarily because they wanted to make lasting changes.
That being said, those who want to leave their lives behind can AND DO leave. In droves. It dawned on me a few years ago, that the Russian missionary in Moscow converted to the LDS church for that very reason. He knew what he was doing. ;o) That elder learned impeccable English for free. He worked hard and eventually made it to AP in the Mission Home. When I talked to him one Christmas, he was making plans to attend BYU . . . not a great leap from BYU, to marriage, to a green card.
I believe the Russians who stay return to their traditional roots. It used to be that civil marriage ceremonies were the the big, beautiful traditional events. Russian Orthodox ceremonies were frowned upon. Now, in rural Russia, the reverse may be true. Our hosts showed us a 2-hour long video of their church wedding and took great pleasure in describing the meaning behind all of the pomp & circumstance rituals. They explained to us that they wouldn't have even had the option to marry in the church previously.
So, I'm guessing that the ex-communists who wanted to get out, got out. And those who stayed became more traditional.
Unless, of course, you are Russian Mafia. Then you feed the corruption and get filthy rich . . . and watch your back every minute of every day (those guys get shot A LOT).
The criminal activity in Russia is very real and the government is very corrupt (personally, I believe it was just as corrupt under Communism). As a small illustration, black market pay-offs to corrupt government officials were worked into the cost of our adoption. In one rural village, we were required to pay $100 under the table to a local official in order to process Marina's new birth certificate in 24 hours instead of one month.
If you got this far, thanks. I started to reply to the "Whatever Happened to Russia?" thread and got carried away in the memories. I have a lot of time on my hands today. We're dealing with a rinky-dink hurricane here . . . no beach parties or BBQ's for us! So just throw an extra hamburger on the grill and think of me. heh.
Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 05/29/2012 07:23AM by shannon.