Keeping the faith in a ‘Christian desert’

n Her garden may be green, but Svetlana Silkina feels she is living in a ‘Christian desert’ in her home village of Bor

BOR, Krasnoyarsk Region — Svetlana Silkina and her family live in Siberia by choice – they moved to the small town of Bor from Kazakhstan 16 years ago at a time when people went north to earn money quickly, but they ended up settling there.

Historically, Siberia was a place of banishment. In fact, Mrs Silkina’s grandfather, father and mother were all sent there by the Soviet government for different political reasons. Her parents met and married in a Siberian prison and were later moved to Kazakhstan. But for Mrs Silkina who works as a nurse/anaesthetist, Siberia has become home.

“We stayed because we like living here,” she says. “There is a forest very close to our house and we enjoy being near the Yenisei River.”

She is also a keen gardener and in the summer grows vegetables, which help to feed her family through the harsh winter. But while her garden is green and yields a good crop, Mrs Silkina, who became a Christian two years ago, feels that she is living in a ‘Christian desert’ in Bor.

“[When I became a Christian] all my friends turned away from me,” she explains. “I used to be the leader of all our socials – I always used to be the first to entertain and have a good, fun time. We would drink and enjoy some laughs. Now I like to talk about God and his Word and invite people to church. But people here are not interested in that kind of thing. They feel that they have nothing in common with me any more.

“My faith has also caused difficulties for my husband and me. We were planning to install a brick stove in our house but to do that we need to insert a chimney through our neighbour’s flat. Before, that would not have been a problem but our neighbour said, ‘If you were not a believer I would let you do it, but now you have your God so let him warm you this winter.’

“My husband says it is my fault that we cannot have the stove. And this winter the temperature inside our flat will drop to about five degrees Celsius.”

Like most men in Bor, her husband fishes illegally to feed his family and refuses to give that up in order to join the Pentecostal Church, which his wife attends.

But even those who mock her faith have noticed a positive change in her life. “People say there is a big change in me, that I am more gentle and kind now. I used to be rude and say offensive things,” she admits. “But now I am a different person.”

She attributes this change to her study of the Bible. “When I became a believer I started to read the Bible and things became clear, especially when I started attending church,” she says.

“I read the Bible every day now. I also listen to the audio New Testament when I am doing housework, which has been very helpful in getting a better understanding of the Bible.”

In fact, Mrs Silkina first became interested in Christianity when a group of missionaries visited her while she was ill in hospital and gave her a Bible.