of envy to other kids, who did not understand the purpose of these secret meetings.


It was dangerous to be a Christian.


If found out, parents could be fired from their jobs and their children would be bullied by their classmates and teach- ers because of their faith. According to the norms of communism, a Christian could not be a leader at work or have high social status.


The only ones who


were able to attend church without any problem were the retired people, especially the babushkas (elderly ladies). Thanks to their age, they feared neither unem- ployment, nor prison. Officials did not pay much attention to them, thinking that they could not do much “harm.”


On the contrary, it


was these grandmothers who preserved and passed on the faith! While the parents were busy at work, my great-grandmother Melanya stayed at home, looking after the household and, of course, the children. It was from her that my mother heard her first Bible stories drawn from that old Bible. Every time my mother would come from school, she would head to Babushka Melanya’s sun-filled room and set- tle down to do her homework. Her grandmother sat opposite her and read her Bible — the only one in the house- hold. Whenever my mom would stop to rest, that dear elderly woman took the opportunity to tell her some Bible stories. Babushka Melanya could read the text, one of the few girls in her time to have gotten education, even though it was only four years in an Orthodox church school.


When my mother, Olya, was a teenager, my Grand-


mother Mariya became a Christian and was baptized. A strong and gentle woman, she worked hard as a manager of a fabric store. Because of her profession, during the hard times after the war, Grandmother Mariya helped many families obtain cloth to make clothes for their chil- dren. After retirement, she and her best friend, Antonina, organized free meals for those who attended church on Sunday, a tradition that is still carried out in some Volgo- grad churches.


These dear brave


ladies were true soldiers of the faith. Although many years have gone since their passing, they will always be remembered by our family as gentle mothers who cared for their children, who worked hard to ensure the strength of their family, and, more than anything else, pass on the love for their Savior.


This ancient Bible


Melanya Nikolaenko, great-grandmother of Mariya Wiens. Photo was taken in the late 1940s.


now has a place of honor in our home. Every time I pass by it, I remember the actions


inspired by its words. This book was the source of strength and


courage to those who read it. Thanks to that old Bible — a precious family treasure — I stay confident in my steps and decisions, and can look on my past with peace and on my future with faith. So true are the words that Jesus spoke to his disciples, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away” (Matt. 24:35, NIV).


Mariya Wiens holding her grandmother’s Bible.


Mariya Wiens is the daugh- ter of Jim and Olya Wiens, FEBC missionaries with Avant Ministries in Volgograd, Russia. They live in the house where Olya grew up. In Russia grandparents often live with their children or grandchildren. Mariya’s grandfather lived


with them until he died in 2015.


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