Last year, God led us on an exciting, amazing, and unusual journey! Missionary international school in Switzerland, internship in Albania, pregnancy, deportation, Turkey, Georgia, and finally—return to Tajikistan… Needless to say, we went through all this without any personal savings, without stable financial support, and without the ability to earn money on our own. We took each step solely by faith, trusting God with our every need. It was a time of restoration and new discoveries, a time of learning and inner transformation, of strengthening our family and building new relationships in the large family of Christ! We saw healings, fulfilled prophecies, various supernatural manifestations, heard God, and came to know His heart, His character, and His love more closely. It was a time of miracles and God’s glory!
On September 7, the official part of the YWAM DTS training ended, but, as our mentors warned us, this was only the beginning. For a month and a half, we lived out of suitcases, flying between countries and staying for a few days here and there: in refugee shelters, hostels, and, of course, with hospitable brothers and sisters in Christ. On top of everything else, it was the second trimester of our pregnancy.
On October 16, we finally flew, drove, and arrived in Tajikistan!
God once again arranged everything in the best possible way: Sergei continued working on the electronics project he had started before studying in Switzerland, and our friends’ family allowed us to stay in their apartment for free during the winter while they were away. Until winter, we still prayed and waited for God to lead us to Tashkent (the capital of Central Asia), as we were not ready to have a baby in Tajikistan. We also took stock of everything that had happened over the past season, went through some internal healing processes after our deportation, and tried to figure out whether we should start a specific ministry now (or continue with the board game club). It wasn’t until December that we were able to fully “breathe” and realize that the Lord was giving us a Sabbath.
Such a change of seasons can be seen periodically in our lives: after outdoor activities during the warm season, every winter God insistently leads us “deeper,” closer to Himself, one-on-one. After the frontline 2022, there was winter recovery in Georgia, and after the Tajik adventures in 2023, there was another quiet winter of waiting. Therefore, now, already having some experience with seasonal changes, it was easier for us to accept (believe) God’s goodness and His care for us.
Today, we understand that until the end of winter, we are “just living.” We have a roof over our heads until spring, God is blessing us with warm weather, the pregnancy is going well (though not without difficulties), and Sergey has work for the coming month. Until the end of winter, we have a family Shabbat! At the same time, we try to be a light here in Tajikistan, simply by interacting with the people God brings into our lives at this time: at work, in the hospital, at church meetings. And, of course, we pray and bless this land, because we are representatives of God’s Kingdom here!
And in March, a new season awaits us, which will begin with a move (where to is still unknown, but we will have to vacate our apartment) and the arrival of our son, Salim (the name was given by the Lord in a revelation and confirmed repeatedly). And so, we are eagerly anticipating what the Father has in store for us in 2025.