The Puzzle of Elijah. Olga Anischenko

wound.

      Oleg’s parents, brothers & sister. Oleg is the second tallest in the back.

      Oleg’s family lived in Austria for two months and then immigrated to Italy. In Italy, they waited for another two months for a sponsor and documents, allowing them to enter the United States. Finally, they were able to take a plane to New York, and then to San Francisco. Due to a long flight and the time change, they were exhausted. On the flight to San Francisco, Oleg’s sister went through the checkpoint, boarded the plane into the first-class seating, and fell asleep without her family knowing where she had gone. Oleg’s fourteen-year-old brother, trying to be helpful, went to look for her with one of the airport security staff. Her parents found her sleeping inside the plane, but the older brother failed to make the flight. Thus, another flight for the brother had to be arranged by the sponsor. You can only imagine the stress Oleg’s parents went through while immigrating to America.

      In San Francisco, earlier Russian immigrants from the church of Alexander A. Shevchenko, who came to America during 1940s, helped them. Oleg’s family lived in their church for two months before renting a small apartment. At the school they attended, Oleg and his siblings were the only white students. The other students consisted of African Americans, Hispanics and Phillippinos. This was very different than Russia. As their cultural knowledge grew and their language skills improved, America became less foreign.

      After two years, Oleg’s family moved into the smaller, quieter and more affordable city of Modesto, California. Together, Oleg’s parents sewed for themselves and for others. More Russian people immigrated to Modesto and established a Russian church there. Oleg’s Mother taught Russian and Bible school, and led a children’s choir. She is a very positive and knowledgeable person. Oleg’s Father was kind and had high expectations for his sons. Unfortunately, diabetes disabled him at the age of 35 and his health was weak.

      …….

      3

      Marriage is for life and divorce is a sin. If you

      have problems, you work them out.

      Some of my cousins lived in Modesto. In time, my extended family became friends with Oleg’s family. A year later, our cousins moved to live in Vancouver and Oleg came to visit them. The first time he saw me, he shared with my cousins that he liked me very much. They did not hesitate to report that news immediately to me. I was only fifteen years old and thought I was too young for love.

      Two years later, one of my cousins opened an Auto Body shop in Vancouver. He knew that Oleg was responsible, so he invited him to come and work in his shop. Oleg thought this would be a great learning opportunity to improve his automotive skills. Plus, as he told me later, he could not wait to see me again. With the blessing of his parents, he moved to Vancouver to live and work. However, he had also promised his Father that he would return to Modesto after a year.

      At this time, Oleg was nineteen years old and I was seventeen. We often saw each other in church and sometimes at my cousin’s home. Soon, Oleg started calling me. The third time I talked to him on the phone, he shared his feelings about me.

      “Olga, I really like you. I am serious about this and, with time, I would like to marry you. Would you like to be my girlfriend?”

      Oleg’s words really scared me. I barely knew him and wasn’t ready for a relationship, much less marriage, so I kept answering, “I don’t know.”

      “Olga, do you know anything?” Oleg asked, impatiently.

      “Oleg, I just started college. Give me time to concentrate on my education. If you are very serious, call me back in a year,” I answered politely.

      That year hadn’t been easy for both of us. For some reason, I could easily talk to other youth in church, but not to Oleg. I avoided him and did unkind things to him. For example, he would quietly wait in the hallway to speak to me after the service, but I would intentionally pass by without looking at him or greeting him. It was if he did not exist. I knew that Christians should not do this. Maybe I had those feelings of love for him inside me, but I did not want to recognize it.

      During the year, Oleg had returned to Modesto, as he promised to his parents. Exactly one year after I asked Oleg to call me back in a year, he called me and said,

      “Olga, the year has passed, but I still love you so much. Would you consider being my girlfriend?”

      I was so shocked. During the year we had communicated very little. I was happy to hear his voice.

      “I was not nice to you, Oleg. Would you ever forgive me?” I asked.

      “I love you so much, Olga. I forgive you and would like to spend the rest of my life with you,” Oleg said with a calming voice. “Would you consider dating me, please?”

      “Give me a day to think and pray about this,” I asked.

      Oleg promised to call me the next day. With blond hair, blue eyes and a big beautiful smile, Oleg was the nicest young man I had ever met. He was always friendly and polite. I liked him, and my parents liked him too. I knew if I entered a relationship with him, it was a serious step and promising basically to date him exclusively. Was I ready to do this? Did I want to do this? After much praying and asking for God’s blessing, I agreed to enter into a friendship with Oleg. That relationship has grown into a great love.

      For the next nine months, Oleg would drive to Vancouver once a month, twelve hours each way, to see me. While staying in Vancouver for three to four days, he would also pick up a job at my cousin’s shop. On the first evening, Oleg came to see me with a huge bouquet of flowers. Our love was growing stronger every day. While he was in California, we would talk on the phone and write each other letters.

      I believed that marriage is for life and divorce is a sin. If you have problems, you work them out. Things were becoming serious and I knew if Oleg asked me to marry him, it was for life, if I said “Yes”.

      During one of his visits, Oleg took me out to a beautiful park besides the river and proposed to me on bended knee.

      “Olga, would you marry me, please?”

      “Yes!” I exclaimed with joy, and then continued, “Oleg, please get, up. You are embarrassing me on your bended knee. People are watching us!”

      We were so happy together! I loved Oleg so much and he loved me. Shortly after this visit, Oleg, his parents, his pastor, and his relatives came to meet my parents and me. We celebrated our engagement. Oleg’s parents brought a huge sweet Russian bread, called “Karavai”, which they had made and decorated beautifully with dough flowers and a braid on top. Traditionally, a young man brings this bread to the girl he loves when he asks her to marry him. They eat this bread together. Oleg’s family was wonderful. I felt their love towards me from the first day. It was a beautiful day and it just happened to be my 19th birthday.

      Five months later, on April 5^th, 1997, Oleg and I were happily married. We promised each other to be faithful in happiness and sorrow, in richest and the poor, and stay together until death separates us. We felt deep love for each other and felt God’s blessing upon us. One day I learned that Oleg's name meant “Holy and Faithful”. To know that his name was connected with God only lifted up my heart more.

      Our first year of marriage was a beautiful year of adjustments. We loved each other dearly, but had to find how to compromise on our different points of view. My values taught me to respect my husband and to listen to him as the head of the household, yet, we didn’t always agree on what to do or how to do it. As the years pass, we have learned that we can have a difference of opinion and to respect that difference. The more freedom we give each other, the more our love and our respect for each other grows.

      …….

      Oleg worked at an Auto Body shop, where he was a highly-skilled technician. I continued with college. A year after we were married, I completed my Associate Degree in Business Administration/Accounting. It took me three years