For a moment, I felt scared and wondered what Oleg was talking about. “How would this change our family and our life?” I thought. But I loved Oleg and trusted him. I thought he must know what he is asking for, but I had no idea what this would mean for our family. It struck me – it was an important moment in our lives.

From that day, Oleg totally changed. He began reading the Bible daily, sharing what he learned with us, and seeking answers for questions he had. It was like he was driven and wanted to know more. After he finished reading the book of Romans in the Bible, he did not understand it and had lots of questions. He wanted to know who the Apostle Paul wrote the book of Romans to, what he meant, and did it apply to us? We had been taught that certain parts of the Bible applied only to Gentiles, while other parts applied to Jews.

One day Oleg told me, “You know, Olga, if I want to know more about God, I probably have to learn more about the days of Moses, Jesus and His Apostles.”

I wondered what information he will be able to find. Oleg used the internet for research and was excited to share with me daily what new insights he learned. His love and interest in the truth about God grew. He simply had to know more. As we discussed and thought about what he learned, we began to have questions about what we were taught and prayed to God to reveal us the Truth. I also read the Bible, but hearing what Oleg shared with me was very interesting and unknown to me before. We began to question what God actually required of us, and what was the purpose of our life. Each question would lead us to other questions, like an unwinding spool of yarn. As a family, we studied and grew together in our faith.

……..

At the same time, significant changes happened in our life. Oleg’s job with a good salary was an hour drive each way. He decided to switch to a closer location, to be able to spend more time with the family. Unfortunately, his new location was not as busy. Oleg’s income decreased because there was less work and he was paid on a piece rate.

At about the same time, Oleg’s Father passed away at the age of 54. It was a big hit for Oleg’s whole family. It took them a while to accept it and move on.

Soon after, I injured my shoulders, which led to pain for the next few years and frequent doctor visits. Also, the economy took a downfall and our WIC department received a layoff notice due to lack of funding. I was going to lose my job in a year.

Between the house payment, car payments, our credit cards and other expenses, I wondered if we would ever be able to pay off our debt. I often cried out to God that we didn’t have the strength to handle this.

One day, my friend invited me to a prayer group, where God spoke to me, “My daughter, give your worry to Me and I will help you. All I need from you is PRAISE!” So, every time I worried, I praised God and His peace would come. It was such a wonderful feeling! Inside my heart I knew that God would help us.

The downturn in the economy also impacted my brothers and sisters. At that time, our parents started a family prayer time on Wednesday evenings at their house. Together with our children, we worshiped God and prayed for our needs and for needs of others.

One evening, my Aunt prophesied to most of the people in the group, and then to me, “My daughter, prepare yourself for an ordeal. Pray often for strength when a disaster comes to your family.”

I was scared and thought that something bad would happen to Oleg. Later that evening, my Grandmother came up to me and said,