Blessing Lydia

To be able to go with Lydia Petrovna to Moscow was such a blessing…let me start from the beginning. 

I was still in Africa when I heard that Lydia had lost her sister and her cousin, that she was not feeling well and that she was just waiting for the time when Wes and Vicky would be in Russia to spend Christmas together with her…  Wes and Vicky had wonderful plans in store for her in Moscow, but she didn’t feel able to travel.  So, when I arrived in Vladimir, Russia for my furlough, I had to convince her that a trip to Moscow would be an incredible experience…She told me later that she still struggled with the idea, but in prayer brought it before the Lord…She never regretted the decision to go…

We started our adventure on a train that took us to Moscow in less than 2 hours--usually by car the trip takes 4 or 5. For Lydia, who worked all her life for the USSR Rail Way Company, the trip was beyond imagining…it was shocking to her that they fed us on the train and even gave us slippers …

Please consider that Lydia Petrovna had never been to Moscow, had never seen the Moscow Subway… This was a very overwhelming experience for her…but the Lord by His hand led us every step of our way…  It was such a blessing to meet Wes & Vicky in Moscow. We went to the Bolshoi Theater to see “The Nutcracker”.  How precious it was to see how Lydia moved her hand in unison with the conductor of the orchestra, how later, after the Ballet, she would wipe away her tears with the same hand…It was very humbling to listen to the stories of her life and to see how the Lord protected her through so many trials and difficulties…to realize that she had to live with the pain of rejection, mockeries, and loneliness…and how great it was to see how Jesus wiped away her tears and wrapped His arms of love around her...

Please continue to pray for Lydia and her family, (sisters, nephews) that she would be that light of Jesus’ love for them…

Natasha Chilikina

“You are all fair, my love, and there is no spot in you…” Song of Solomon 4:7