10/23/2009
BIRTHDAY MEMORIES
TODAY IS Alesya’s 19th birthday.
JUST A FEW YEARS AGO, we looked forward to this day, anticipating the celebrations and happiness that we would be enjoying. Instead, we look back on memories.
THE DAY WAS MONDAY, April 21st. The time was 10:30 PM. This past Wednesday marked the one-year-and-a-half anniversary of the day we lost Alesya. It also marked the two-year anniversary of her 17th birthday party – the last birthday party she every had.
IT’S SO STRANGE TO LOOK BACK. Exactly two years ago, we were all crowded around the table where a huge pink birthday cake sat in state. Everyone was laughing and singing as Alesya was helped to her feet by her faithful mother to let 17 pink and purple balloons go. We all watched them sail away into the wide blue sky. And we laughed again, and hoped.
TWO YEARS SINCE we were all crowded in the tiny living room, pressed flat against each other, Russian style, watching Alesya open her birthday gifts with that tired but ever-present smile on her face. And Felecia’s gift to her was a candle holder. On it was an oak leaf, symbolizing life.
LIFE! How could we all know that in exactly six months – literally to the minute – Alesya’s life would be ending? That at only 17, she would pass out of this life for another?
YES, IT WAS A TRAGEDY. And yes, I’ve cried today. I’ve cried many times. And I know I am not the only one. Everyone who knew her misses her, for her place is empty now and there is no one that can ever fill it again.
BUT I WOULD NOT CHANGE IT. For though it was sad, her death was one of the most beautiful things I have ever witnessed. There was pain, sorrow, grief, and struggles – plenty of them.
BUT THERE WAS SOMETHING ELSE. The presence of God was in that room where Alesya lay for eight long months, unable to talk and barely able to move.
I FELT THAT PRESENCE as I sat by her side, running my fingers through her hair as she lay there sobbing as if her heart would break. I felt that presence when I would look into her white face, looking for frustration and pain, but instead seeing only peace and a strength that was definitely unearthly.And that presence was there when we walked into the darkened room for the last time and gazed at her transparent face as she lay in a coma.
GOD WAS THERE.
HE NEVER LEFT. He held her in His arms. I witnessed it. And it was beautiful.
YES, I CRIED TODAY. But today, I laughed also. And I smiled, too, as I remembered the birthday party, remembered the times we girls sat crowded around the bed looking at old photo albums and giggling over the ancient foreign photographs. The times when we sat busily exchanging girlish gossip, or when we sat around the table eating Zoya’s delicious chicken and borsch.
THEY WERE HAPPY TIMES. And today, I catch myself walking around the house singing snatches of “Danny Boy”, “Someday”, and “Send Me a Song” – some of Alesya’s favorites.
FELECIA CALLS ME.
“I’M ON MY WAY home from the grave. I stopped by there today. It’s so peaceful and quite – no one was there.”
“DID YOU get flowers?” I ask.
“YES - I got some white lillies and there are some magenta roses too! They are beautiful!”
“AND YOU took pictures?”
“YES, I GOT a couple with my phone…it it behaves, then I’ll show them to you! And are you working on that post about Alesya for Daughters of Light? You are supposed to do that today, you know.”
“YES, I KNOW. I’m working on it right now.”
I HANG UP. I write. And then I stop. I find the slideshow I made a year ago, in honor of her 18th birthday. I watch it, and I cry some more. And then I smile again.
BECAUSE EVEN if I could, I would not change anything.
IN HONOR OF ALESYA’S 19TH BIRTHDAY
VISIT OUR NEW PAGE
IN LOVING MEMORY – ALESYA
BY MISS FELECIA V
10/18/2009
IN CHRIST
“THEREFORE, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” – II Corinthians 5:17
THE SCRIPTURE OF THE WEEK column is hosted by Miss Felecia V and appears weekly each Sunday morning, featuring an encouraging scripture from the Bible as an uplifting way to start the week.
10/12/2009
UNCONDITIONAL TRUST
“Who is among you that feareth the LORD, that obeyeth the voice of His servant, that walketh in darkness, and hath no light? let him trust in the name of the LORD, and stay upon his GOD.” (Isaiah 50:10)
“Behold, God is my salvation; I WILL TRUST, and not be afraid: for the LORD JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; He also is become my salvation.” (Isaiah 12:2)
SOMETIMES, it’s easy when things are going good for us to say, “Oh, I trust God! I love Him SO much! I have faith in Him! He can move mountains! He can work miracles! I do trust Him!”
BUT IT’S WHEN we hit those difficult times, those hard trials, that our trust and faith in God is really tested!!!
FOR ME, there have been some hard things these past couple years that have really tested my faith and whether or not I DO trust God . . . such as the passing of 17-year-old Alesya due to a cancerous tumor of the brain. After going to visit her nearly every single week for7-8 months, she passed away at home with her family gathered around. Since then, the devil has tried SO hard to ruin my faith in God! To make me feel like “God didn’t answer my prayer for her healing”. In my heart, I KNOW that God did have and still does have a plan in all of it, but the enemy will use anything to make your faith waver. He does not care! He wants you to think that God doesn’t really care or that His love for you isn’t as strong as you always believed it to be . . . OR that His power isn’t as real as the Bible says it is . . . that He doesn’t work miracles any longer or even that your faith just wasn’t strong enough. But this is when we must “step on the devil’s head”! We must recognize that this IS the devil working on our minds. God still DOES love us and He has a plan far above any that we could think or imagine!!! He knows the way and He sees what we don’t see! We must continue steadfast in our love for Him, TRUSTING Him – because we KNOW He does care! Unconditional trust . . . no matter if we understand or not, we have submitted our lives to Him, knowing that “we can trust the Man who died for us”!
“Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths.” (Proverbs 3:5-6)
AGAIN, in the beginning of last month, we found out that my mom was expecting a baby! We were so surprised and excited, seeing that she had lost the last one and we didn’t think she could have any more kids. We had already started thinking about names and questioning whether it would be a boy or a girl. Mom went to her initial doctors appointment and we were able to see the image of a tiny baby inside of her . . . we even saw it’s little heart beating. on the screen. But then, a few weeks later, some complications arose and before long, we found out that the baby had died. Why God would allow all this to happen is beyond our human understanding. We can’t see what the purpose or reason in all of this is, but we know that there IS one! I know that God gave us a little blessing, a little miracle for but a short time. I don’t know why He chose to take it to be with Him, just as He chose to take Alesya, but I know that He sees the future and He has plans in all these things that are beyond what we can even imagine. His thoughts and ways are higher than ours and past finding out!
NO MATTER WHAT happens, let us always trust the Man who DIED for us – Who was SHAMED, HUMILIATED, SUFFERED, BLED, DIED . . . for us!!! He gave all that He could possibly give – and even if He took everything that we had from us, oh may we still ever say, like Job:
“. . . The LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; BLESSED be the name of the LORD.” (1:21b)
UNCONDITIONAL TRUST.
THINGS ARE always going to be things that happen. It’s just a part of life. Life does not have all joy or all sorrow. Things happen to everyone. But it’s our choice to trust God in it all and know that He still loves us and has a plan for our lives. It’s our choice to give God our UNCONDITIONAL TRUST!
THE CONSECRATED LIFE column is hosted by Miss Felecia V and appears bi-weekly each Monday, featuring thoughts on a deeper, more personal relationship with God in a life consecrated to His service.
09/12/2009
FELLOWSHIP MEETING FUN
WELL, THIS IS our debut post for our “Behind The Scenes” column. This column is just to update you all on some of the things we’ve been up to in our personal lives. I hope you all find it interesting and enjoyable! 
ONE WEEKEND IN August, Nastya and I were able to hang out with our friend Inna at the Fountains. Many of you have met Inna. She is a sweet girl. This time she brought along her two nephews ages 2 and 5 years, I believe, Jason and Roman. They were very shy with us at first, but super cute and warmed up as the time passed. After hanging out some at the Fountains, going through the shops and sitting down to enjoy hand-dipped chocolate-covered strawberries, we headed over to her sister’s house to hang out for a bit. By the time we left, the boys were talking to us and telling us this and that. The older one was showing Nastya his fish and telling her she could stick her hand in the water and touch them if she wanted. Then he climbed up on the counter, opened the cupboard and produced the fish food. He then proceeded to feed the “balls” to his fish. lol. 
They were both really cute and we had a good time. We were happy to be able to see Inna since we had not seen her for a few months, so it was great to be able to see her and talk to her again! Unfortunately, Nastya, being the mischevious personage that she is (wink, wink), did not include any of the pictures of us together with her in them when she sent them to me. Sighs. I’ll get her in here though!
OF COURSE, Nastya and I had to spend a weekend together before she went back to school (college) so it worked out for us to do so when our brothers and dads went on a long-awaited camp trip together. She stayed with me for the weekend and that is when we put our initial “re-opening” post up. We also did a photo-shoot together (our usual thing, both being into photography) and many of you have seen some of the pictures that resulted. We also had the opportunity to go visit Alesya’s grave. It was technically the same weekend that we had first gone to visit her two years ago. The time is flying! It was very beautiful and peaceful up there. There was like no one there since it was at dusk just before the sun set. Again, we had to take pictures as usual!
WE ARE ALSO currently helping out with building websites for other congregations both here and internationally. We work with a brother from church who lets us know when there is a need that we can fill. A month or two ago, we were privileged to actually help start the website for a church in Nigeria, Africa. I have also helped a little bit with the congregation’s site for Kenya, Africa. Recently, we divided up the work so that Nastya is now in charge of the work on the Nigeria church site, and I for the Kenya church website. It is a blessing to be able to help out even if it is just in a small way. We also may be helping congregations in Arizona and Florida build sites. So this has been exciting. If you think of it, pray for us that God would help us and guide us in this work!
LAST, BUT BY FAR THE LEAST, we had an awesome Fellowship Meeting at church over Labor Day weekend. This is an annual event that we all look forward to a great deal! We are encouraged, strengthed and challenged
through the messages and thoughts brought to us by the different ministers and souls are once again given the blessed opportunity to be saved! This year we had a young girl of about 12 or 13 give her heart to God. She has been coming in to the services with Nastya’s family for some time and Nastya’s little sisters had been praying for her salvation for several years. God moved on her heart and it was a blessing to see her go forward in 
the start of the service while everyone was singing, tears streaming down her face, to give her heart to God! We had ministers and saints come from all over the United States, representing God’s church standing in those areas: Idaho, Arizona, Illinois, Colorado (Nastya’s grandma from CO just got saved this past summer and this was her first time being able to be in this meeting!), So. California, Florida . . . perhaps there are a few I am missing. In times past, we have also had saints from Cuba, South America, Mexico and other places come as well! It is such a blessing! Even though we may not speak the same language (i.e. Spanish/English), our hearts speak the same language of love, fellowship and unity in Christ’s body! After several of the services, we gathered in the back hall for food, fun and fellowship. It was all such an encouragment and blessing! On the first night Oksana’s family came and on next night, my family picked up her and her sister. It was a blessing to have them along too! We were so happy to have them come! All in all, it was a wonderful meeting and God really blessed! If you were not among those of us who went, you sure missed out on a huge blessing!
The BEHIND THE SCENES column appears at least once a month to give an update on the activities and events on our personal lives.
04/24/2008
ALESYA’S FIGHT – FINISHED
Oh, beautiful rose, please tell me,
For I would like to know,
Why I must crush your petals
That sweet perfume may flow.
Oh, life that is clothed in beauty,
Perhaps like that beautiful rose,
You will need to be crushed by suffering
Ere you give out your best; who knows?
A life that is crushed by sorrow
Can feel for another’s grief,
And send out that sweet perfume of love
That will bring some heart relief.
Oh, do not repine at your testing,
When called to pass under the rod,
It is that life might the sweeter be,
And comes from the Hand of God.
He knows how much we are needing,
Of sorrow, or suffering, or test,
And only give to His children
The things that He knoweth are best.
Then let us rejoice when He sendeth
Some sorrow or hardship that tries,
And be glad to be crushed as the rose leaf,
That a sweeter perfume may arise.
Flora L. Osgood
ALESYA LEFT HER SICK BODY to take on an incorruptible one at 10PM on Monday, April 21st at the age of 17 years. The funeral is on Friday. She is the first of our group to go. Keep the grieving relatives in your prayers – she has gone to a much better place, but life will not be the same without her. We love and miss you, Alesya! You’re forever in our hearts!
04/18/2008
ALESYA’S FIGHT – ENDING
Alesya in October 07
MOST OF YOU KNOW, I believe, but we received an unexpected phone call from Alesya’s mother on Wednesday, telling us to come over because the nurse had come by and said that it was simply a matter of hours or days for Alesya.
WE WENT TO SAY goodbye, and she is pretty much in a coma at this point. We were able to sing her her favorite song, “I’ll Never Miss Heaven for the World” while she lay there struggling. We sang some other songs, then we all slowly filed out, stopping by her bed to say goodbye.
ON THURSDAY WE LEARNED she had started breaking out in sweat, another sign of her body shutting down. The family would really appreciate your prayers through these times.
02/22/2008
A REQUEST FOR ALESYA
08/22/2007
UPDATE ON ALESYA
06/02/2007
ALESYA’S MRI RESULTS
HOORAY!!!!! Oksana e-mailed me today and informed me that Alesya’s MRI scans came back clear! The cancer is gone – the chemotherapy treatments have proved successful. Continue to pray for her that she will have a speedy recovery and revert back to her old self again quickly. Praise God! What a mighty God we serve!!
~Nastya
02/02/2007
NIGHTMARE CONTINUES
“But now thus saith the Lord that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not; for I have redeemed thee, I have called the by thy name, thou art mine.
When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.
For I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel……
Even every one that is called by my name: for I have created him for my glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him. Bring forth the blind people that have eyes, and the deaf that have ears……I, even I, am the Lord; and beside me there is no Savior.”
Selections from Isaiah 43
