"There will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety nine reghteouse persons who do not need to repent." Luke 15,7.

These words were spoken at the end of a church service. They touched me very deeply, making me shiver and tremble! Would I turn to God and make heaven rejoice, or reject Him and make heaven full of sadness? God had really been speaking to me and I sensed Him filling my heart with His presence. That day for the very first time I prayed a prayer of repentance to God. I was 12 years old.

I was the yongest of seven children in our family. We lived in  Ukraine which was part of Russia at that time. My mother had becom a Christian when gave birth to her first child and my father became a Christian when I was 6 years old. Right from my childhood I enjoyed listening to stories, especially when my mother told me stories from the Bible. As I listened, the Bible became for me not just a book of stories but the real Word of God. I learnt that trusting in Jesus Christ brings peace and joy to the heart.

Confiscated

As I grew up, my parents and family meant a lot to me - they were like a castle, keeping me happy and safe from any trouble outside. But outside of my 'family castle' there certainly was a lot of trouble. Ukraine was completely dominated by communist ideology. Atheism totally grasped all of the country and Christianity was forbidden and persecuted everywhere. Anyone who read the Bible or went to Church was punished. Twice I had to hide my preciouce Russian Bible in one of my Father's bee-hives to keep it safe while the whole of our house was searched from top to bottom by the Police. They confiscated anything which mentioned Christianity. We lost books, cassettes, pictures, musical instruments and other things that we loved and which we never saw again.

Nevertheless our family and many others continued going to Christian meetings. We used to gather in different placed each time, such as woods, fields, and different houses, because the Russian State Security Police (KGB) used to watch us very closely. If they found where the meeting was, they would record the names of everyone who attended and most people would then receive a fine. Others were sent to prison for 15-30 days. Some of my friends always came to meetings in their oldest clothes as they fully expected to be imprisoned and forced to do manual labour. My father sometimes preached in the services and consequently he used to bring home no money for several months at a time as the KGB had fined him all of his salary. During those days, almost every Church Minister was taken to prison for several years.

Continuted to serve

Throughout the country atheist lecturers spread anti-Christian propaganda that created very difficult situations for all Christians at their places of work and education. I never went to University, even though I wanted to, as all University education places were banned for Christians at that time as the Government attempted to kill Christianity. But this policy did not succeed, as Christian believers continued to serve the Lord with zeal and without fear. On one occasion, an atheist lecturer said: "I don't understand those Christian people, the more they are persecuted the more they become strong in their faith!" Definitely, this was due to God's power, for the Bible says: "If God is for us, who can be against us?"

I am so grateful to my Lord, who kept me safe and trusting Him through those very difficult and painful days. All I went through helped to strengthen me and to ensure that my faith in Christ was real and true. I was living in the battlefield between two totally different styles of life - faith in Christ and atheism. On every side I witnessed that the ultimate consequences of unbelief and atheism are discontent, immorality, despair and unhappiness. I saw that even natural success and prosperity, if they are achieved without Christ, cannot fill the emptiness in a person's heart. They eventually bring only disappointment.

No God?

I really enjoed my school years, but sometimes I felt as though I was among my enemies, as every school in the former Soviet Union was instructed to destroy any kind of Christian faith in children from Chistian families. Many times I was called to talk about my faith with my teachers who tried to convince me that there was no God and that faith in Christ was darkness and just some kinde of consolation for old people. Once I was asked by a teacher: "What do you get out of being a Christian?" I replied: "Peace in my heart and confidence in my future". 8 years later, after I had finished school, I unexpectedly met this same teacher and she reminded me of our talk in the exact words I had spoken to her and then she said to me: "You know, I wish I could have peace in my heart as you showed then. I am almost convinced that everything in life is uncertain, unless you believe in Jesus Christ".

It is very sad that the privilege of believing in Jesus Christ was taken away from the majority of people at that time. Only for the last six years has Ukraine seen a period of relative freedom where people can own a copy of the Bible and go to church without the risk of persecution or imprisonment.

Highly secret

In 1988 I went to work in a Cristian Publishing House. This was befor the days of 'Perestroika' so it was a highly secret job - producing Bibles and Christian literature was still forbidden. We worked day and night in a location unknown to anyone, even our families, to keep us from being discovered and arrested, and all of our journeys in and out were made secretly at night. I felt privileged to serve the Lord in this way and God really blessed the work and preserved it. Through what we published, many more people were able to read the Bible and Christian literature. Lots of people got to know the Truth about salvation in Christ and they filled the churches to hear more about Him. In 1996 when I left Ukraine, my church in Kharkov had grown massively to over 400 members and 150 children. We have seen many students and young people start a new life in Jesus Christ.

Probably you are wondering why I'm in England. Well, eventually I got an opportunity to study at the European Missionery Fellowship school in Welwyn. During that time I met my husband Andy, who I married last October. We share many things together, including our love of God and our desire to serve Him. We definitely know that our life and our happiness depends on the Lord who is our Saviour, our Friend, our Protector and our Future. He never disappoints those who believe in Him.

Tanya Ball,
April, 1998