Old wounds are healed

Marina and Sveta were living at Katya's house in Krasnoyarsk last year when we met them. Sveta was part of our Evenki language learning group. Marina decided to stay for some weeks while Sveta settled into life in Krasnoyarsk before starting University.

Melody had quite a few chats with Marina on lazy Saturday afternoons last Summer, in the hours after our Evenki lessons. In those times Marina talked of her experiences in her Christian faith.

Before the lesson one week God gave me a dream, with words and scriptures for Sveta. I was nervous to give them to her. Through circumstances, and a conversation that Melody had with Sveta, we knew the words were for her. So we encouraged her to read them. Sveta was a little tripped out that we were bringing her words from a dream.

We later discovered from Marina that she was displeased. Marina was uncomfortable that we are not Orthodox, while she is. Marina knows little of the scriptures and thought we were bringing her something outside Orthodoxy, even though that was not the case.

This rift caused our relationship with Katya to break down. Our Evenki lessons ceased. Four months later we saw Katya again when she came to our house to explain the situation. Our relationship with Katya was being mended.

Later Katya asked me to write a foreword for Marina's book of Evenki art. This book is still waiting to be published. But it is definitely a good thing for relationships all round.

Today we were able to spend six hours with Marina, and see Sveta for a little while too, here in Baykit, where Marina lives. We did not speak of the rift, that was already done via Katya. Old wounds were healed today. We knew we couldn't share stories as freely as we would with others. That could only occur if Marina asked us.

We had a nice time looking at her art. Marina spent some time teaching Abigail how to do art with beads. This was something that Marina had started with Abigail last Summer. Marina was impressed with how well Abigail has progressed, and wanted to teach her some new skills.

Marina also showed us around Baykit. We took a walk down to the river. We also a taxi ride to the far end of town, outside the town to the top of the hill looking over Baykit. From there it was so plain to see Baykit nestled in between the mountains. The stark isolation of Baykit was evident to both Melody and me. Melody commented, "we really are in the boonies now aren't we." This I agreed with, but responded, "I guess the reindeer herders are more isolated." We already feel like we are in the middle of nowhere.  There are Winter roads here, that are made of compacted snow, but it is not possible to drive here in the Summer. To drive here from the city in the Winter takes 24 hours and a break down on the way would not be good.

I wouldn't want to live here with out a car, but getting one here would be a huge challenge or expense in the first place.

Some of Marina's art. A book is yet to be published with her art in it. I wrote a foreword for this book.

 Believe it or not, this is the church that Marina prayed at every day when her husband died. She said we should not go inside as the priest was not there. A new orthodox church building is being built in Baikit at the moment.

The view from the hill above Baikit. I really got a sense of how isolated we were from up there.

A natural spring of water.