My dream is that children will never cry from loneliness, misery, violence, pain or rejection, and that they will not die in this evil and violent world without Hope. I want to see the kids happy, having fun, laughing and loving the Lord with all their heart. By Zinaida Poluektova
I was born in Siberia in1960. During my childhood I heard my mother’s prayers and Bible stories. Talking openly about God was forbidden. Because my parents witnessed, read the Bible and prayed, they were threatened by losing their parental rights and having their nine children sent to an institution.
My mom and dad worked hard, but we still lived a very poor life. There was barely enough money to feed us and heat the house. The Director of the secondary public school we attended respected my parents and helped my family financially. Every winter, the school bought each of us a coat, a hat and boots to keep us warm from the fierce Siberian cold.
By 1990 I had received a medical degree, was married and had two sons. Life seemed to be in “full swing”. All would have been well, if only my soul didn’t feel so lonely… That year, God used difficult circumstances in my life to bring me to faith. When the first missionaries arrived in our town and showed the Jesus film, I rushed to the showing hoping to find fellow Christians. After futile attempts to find a church, which at that time did not exist in our town, seven people began to gather in our apartment, to read the Bible and pray for our children. This eventually grew into a vibrant church.
In 1992, my husband and I were both involved in organizing the first two Christian camps in Chita region for 160 children. The same year we opened our Sunday school. The church quickly grew to 150 members, in a large part thanks to the children’s ministry. Since 1994 I have been director of the “Sail” Grain of Wheat camp. It has been exciting to see God raise up through the camp ministry more than a dozen pastors, missionaries and five camp directors.
