Being a Christian in a University in a Former Marxist Country (Urbana 93)
by Margarita DvorzhetskayaIn 1993, Margarita Dvorzhetskaya was Vice-Rector, Kiev Pedagogical Institute of Foreign Languages, Ukraine.
Dear Christian friends, It is an honor for me to have been invited to address the 1993 Urbana Student Mission Convention. I very much appreciate this opportunity to be able to convey to you a message of warm greetings from students and teachers of Ukraine. At this outstanding moment of life, my mind and heart are overwhelmed with rejoicing in God's love for the world and God's omnipotence to create harmonious relationships between people who live in diverse cultures.
Ukraine, one of the former Marxist countries, is now a sovereign democratic state. After years of bureaucratic dictatorship, a new constitution and social policies are seeking to alleviate the sufferings of the people. In 1988 we celebrated a millennium of Christianity in Ukraine, causing us to remember our one thousand years of Christian heritage. Its treasures include not only those made of stone and gold, but especially the truths of the gospel, for which there is no substitute.
Like many families during the regime, my family lived through painful and dramatic trials, searching for faith and truth. My father, who moved from Ukraine to Kazakhstan to help the local community as a railway engineer, was persecuted and died in exile in Siberia. I was baptized when I was five years old, but didn't enjoy religious freedom for many years. Restricted from expressing their faith, many Ukrainians remained only nominal Christians.
We praise the Lord for preserving our integrity, and his providence for developing our cooperation with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship and the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students. We now have much easier access to the Holy Scriptures, which lead us to understand the issues of evil, and the moral remedy of the gospel. Christianity is real to me, my students, my colleagues and my people. It is the rock of the fence for our moral values, the source of hope in life.
I would like to share with you one of my students' appreciation of our Christian relationship. This is a portion from her testimony. She has become a student Christian leader in Ukraine:
I've been in the fellowship for three years. Three years of wonderful experience, learning, growing, enjoying, falling, and getting help to stand up again. It was here that I first heard about God. It was here that he revealed himself to me; chose me to be his servant. It was here that I got a totally new perspective on my life, and got to know the truth. God accomplished his job, using the scripture, the Holy Spirit, and his saints - our missionary friends - to change us, to change me.
I think right now is an especially good time to start Christian student movements. For the most part, people are so pessimistic in their outlook on life, students especially. They are suffering, along with their country, during this time of transition. Young, without a well-paying job, with no place to stay other than with their parents, with no choice and possibilities. I heard young people say, "Why should I love this country? It didn't give me anything." But being a Christian student gives you another perspective: to study, so that you can give something to your country, give it hope in the person of Jesus Christ, and give it your life. Live with God as long as he keeps you here. Every time I hear about a new student group beginning, I rejoice, because it's another light of hope in a hopeless world.
But thank God for what we have, for what we don't, and for what he made of us. In spite of all difficulties, we must thank him for the hope and provision, for [giving us, through outsiders], daily life inspired by him. Praise be to our God. In Ukraine, we join Christians everywhere, placing high priority on student missionary work in various national projects and in creative cooperation in global issues.
I conclude my address to this historic student mission convention. I thank God for the opportunity He has given me to share my thoughts with you and feel all the greatness of God's work around the world, shining the light of Christ. You encourage me, my students and my colleagues to uphold Christian values in the face of all difficulties, and dehumanizing circumstances we have in life. God bless you.
Unless otherwise noted, all materials on the urbana.org web site are Copyright InterVarsity Christian Fellowship / USA. All rights reserved.
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