Ольга Анищенко, Olga Anischenko
The Puzzle of Elijah
REVIEWS
Dear reader, I am so glad you chose this book! In it you will find a fascinating story of a mother, who boards an emotional roller coaster that tests her in every way possible, while her precious longed-for baby struggles to survive. Walk with Olga as she relates her story of life, love, survival, and learning while on this path. Be uplifted
Marie Walters
This was one of the most heart touching and hardest books to read. This book is not for the faint of heart. This book was a big eye opener for me as to understanding people who are going through a hard time in life. As I am related to Olga, as a sister, seeing them go through this scary time in their life, I did not fully comprehend the intensity of their pain and just how excruciating fragile everyday was for them until I read the book. It will be hard for you to read the book and not shed many tears. I can say their testimony forever changed my heart.
Lana Mchedlidze
This book is a wonderful source of encouragement for anyone who is going through a difficult time in their life and struggling with their faith in God. Olgas story is a beautiful testament to the hope that exists in even the darkest of days.
Taylor Hooper
This is a heartwarming story of a couple that struggle with tough decisions that Im not sure I would be able to make concerning their 4th child. Gods grace and love and their strong faith makes this a book that youll not soon forget.
Sandie Hollister
I did not have the honor of knowing Elijah, but I have come to know his mother, Olga, and learned of the amazing impact his life had upon his family and the medical personnel. As told in detail by his mother, Elijahs story broke my heart and lifted my spirit on every page. He was a warrior sent here to teach all of us the value of life, and the power of families to find faith, love, and joy even in the most heart wrenching circumstances. Within the pages of this book you will mostly likely weep when Elijah struggles to survive, and his parents make life or death decisions. Yet, you will also be inspired by the courage and faith of this family as they triumph over tragedy and move forward to serve others with love and compassion in their community.
Kay Watson
This book is a journey, filled with Love, Courage and Faith. Love not only for Elijah, but the love shown and shared by Olga and Oleg for each other and their children. Courage shown by Olga and Oleg to do everything in their power to save the life of their precious Elijah. Faith in our God that He would be with them through out this journey. This journey does not end with the final page It continues.
Joe Amaya
Life is full of good times, love, hope and, sometimes, hard choices. Hopefully those hard choices happen only once in a lifetime, an overwhelming challenge of hope and faith Having worked in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) for 38 years, I met and cared for, not only infants, but whole families. One family I will never forget immigrated from the Ukraine and Russia and were put into a world so very foreign from anything they had ever had to experience before. They had to put their trust in what Doctors and Nurses had to say. Oleg and Olga and their entire family were dealt a card no one would have wanted to deal with. I know this from my personal experience. Their story will capture your heart and soul, as they fought for the life of their premature son. Through this son, Elijah, they found more love and faith than they ever though was possible. I am honored to be part of this story.
Patti Dryden
The Puzzle of Elijah
Life is a puzzle.
You never know what the big picture is going to look like.
You may think, here is the end of life,
but in reality it is only the beginning.
Olga Anischenko
The Puzzle of Elijah
© 2018 Olga Anischenko. All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any way by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording or otherwise without the prior permission of the author except as provided by USA copyright law.
Book editor: Kay Watson
Cover designer: dezaro.net
Website: www.olgaanischenko.com
YouTube: Olga Anischenko English Channel
Amazon books: Olga Anischenko or http://a.co/9QyIdgZ
To invite Olga as a speaker: 3605219240
INTRODUCTION
My name is Olga. This story is about my family, friends, and completely unfamiliar people, who miraculously appeared in our life and helped us during difficult times. I wrote this book for seven long years.
Writing this book has been everything but easy. It has taken time to reflect, understand, and to become completely at peace with the decisions we made and the actions we took. And to be completely honest, it was painful everyday as I recalled and wrote down memories, experiences, thoughts, and such personal conversation as we sometimes had to have. It was never easy for me to entrust my soul to paper. I even had to face family and friends who doubted the wisdom of sharing our story. They felt there were parts of the story which should not be told. I then faced a new dilemma: should I tell only part of our story or be truthful in every detail. I chose the harder way, to share our journey as openly and completely as possible.
Ultimately, I realized my story, told sincerely, would help other families in similar situations. This approach inspired me and gave me confidence I was doing the right thing. I know what parents feel in the midst of continuing crises. I have experienced their fears and their pleas for mercy in their prayers. I know they do not need pity. They need help and encouragement; support and assurance they are doing the right thing for their child; and never-ending love which gives them confidence to keep going.
Every page of this book was written by me with tears. In the process of working and examining what we experienced, I discovered a lot in myself, in my loved ones, and in my God. It is God that Oleg and I are grateful to for the experience and support we received throughout such a difficult time for our family. We have discovered that serious trials can become the foundation for future growth and success. Passing through the limits of physical and moral strength, we moved forward. Accepting from God both good and bad, we decided to rely entirely on Him, believing that He will lead us to a better future.
In fact, my book is a story of faith, hope, love, courage and, at the same time, worry for the future of our family. Under the weight of unimaginable stress, we made important and irreversible life and death decisions. It was a struggle and a challenge to everything we believed in and how we lived. Now, years later, we realize who we are and why we have experienced this life lesson. Over time, there was a clear understanding that we survived largely due to our large family, and the upbringing we received in our childhood. Our parents instilled the qualities in us which helped us cope with the tragedy. We realized that our life is firmly entwined with the subtle and inextricable thread of the past.
.
1
Find out about your ancestors and you
will learn a lot about yourself.
My husband Oleg and I are immigrants to America. In 2007, ten years into our marriage, our journey began
One evening, when Oleg, I and our three children knelt to pray to God, I heard Oleg say: God, I am so tired of being a lukewarm Christian. I want to have a personal relationship with You! Please send a situation into my life that will show me WHO YOU REALLY ARE! For a moment, I felt scared and thought what is my husband talking about? But because I loved him and trusted him, I thought he knew what he was asking for. As I understood later, our words have power because God heard my husbands prayer. He came and knocked at our door, and we began a very hard journey. Only a few years later, when we read a following statement in the book of Sirach, 2:1-5, in a full Bible, we understood what had actually happened.
It says there: My child, if you aspire to serve the Lord, prepare yourself for an ordeal Be sincere of heart, be steadfast, and do not be alarmed when disaster comes. Whatever happens to you, accept it, and in the uncertainties of your humble state, be patient, since GOLD IS TESTED IN THE FIRE, and the CHOSEN IN THE FURNACE OF HUMILIATION.
I am about to tell you what happened after Olegs prayer. I am not blaming my husband or God. Today, seven years later, Oleg and I thank God for every second of our life, for Gods miracles, lessons and for revealing Himself to us. Gods work in our life was painful, but worth every moment of it. It was the time of spiritual growth and learning Who really God is. Today, we love God, each other, and our children so much more than we ever did before. We value our family and know the price of health and happiness. And most important, we know the difference between religion and the real God!
This story begins with our family. We, as individuals, are a product of our family and of other people, who influence us. Therefore, to understand our decisions, you have to understand us as a family. The decisions we make today are connected to the past.
.
My family is from Ukraine. Grandmothers and Grandfathers grew up in wealthy families, but during the revolution, the communists took away most of their property and distributed it between the poor people. Life in the Soviet Ukraine under the communist regime was hard: less food being produced, hunger and some deaths from starvation.
During World War II, in 1942, the Germans invaded our country. My Grandfather, Alexander Lapin, was drafted into the Red Army. He helped to defend the city of Leningrad and was among the troops who entered Berlin. He believed his faith in God kept him safe, when so many people died during the war.
When Alexander came home, he fell in love with a beautiful girl, Anna, and married her. They lived in the urban-settlement, Rakitno, seventy miles from Kiev, the Capitol of the Ukraine. Alexander was a generous man and people were drawn to him. He was originally a member of the Baptist church. After returning from the war, his faith had changed. He became a pastor of a Pentecostal church, serving his community and seven surrounding villages. He rode his bicycle to see people, bringing honey and other gifts with him. At the same time, Alexander worked as а machinist of a local train company. With time, their family grew to nine children. My Father, Anatoliy, is their second child.
Alexander & Anna Lapin My Father Anatoliy Lapin
.
My Mothers Father, Peter Lysenko, was also drafted into World War II. One battle became so intense that many of his fellow soldiers were injured or killed. Wounded and fearing death, he cried out to the Lord, If you exist, help me survive and I will serve you to the end. He survived, but was captured by Germans and put on a train to Auschwitz, a concentration camp. On the way, he and two other soldiers crawled up to the roof and tried to escape. The two soldiers were shot and killed; Peter was the only one to escape.
Several months later he returned home. His life was still in danger, as the Germans were in every village of the Ukraine. He joined the Baptist church, where he met a beautiful girl, Maria, and married her. At first, he worked at a grocery store. Later, he became a supervisor of agricultural workers. During evenings he would do wood work and build furniture. Peter also became a pastor of a Pentecostal church in his village. With Maria, they had eleven children. My Mom, Vera, is their third child.
Peter & Maria Lysenko My Mother Vera Lysenko
Several years later, Peter developed a tumor in his head and almost died. His wife and children prayed for him, and God healed him. Disabled, Peter could no longer work and stayed home with the children.
Maria worked as a nurse to support the family. At that time, to practice ones Christian faith was unacceptable to the communist government. Because Maria was a Christian, she was sent far from her village to work with disabled patients, so she would not tell people about God. Soon, she lost her job. Peter went to Kiev and talked to the governor. He told him that he defended his country and became disabled. His wife, Maria, the only source of income, lost her job because she was a Christian. Peter asked for help. The governor was not happy about this situation. He promised to write a letter to Marias employer. Maria got her job back.
The police actively searched for people practicing their faith. If caught by the government, they were subject to fines, persecution, even imprisonment. The government threatened to take away the children of Christian families, if they kept teaching them about God. In order to worship God together, families had to gather in secret at someones house, in the woods, or in another village, where they were less known. Freedom of religion, as we practice it in the United States today, was prohibited. Something as simple as a church building was not allowed to exist. To protect the church and its members, parents strongly encouraged their children to marry within the faith. Therefore, it was important for Christian families to know each other and to rely upon each other. Moms and Dads families lived thirty minutes apart. They met during church activities.
Christian children were generally not accepted into college. Only those, who had straight As and didnt have to take an exam, were accepted. Still they were always oppressed. My Mom was one of the lucky few, accepted into college and allowed to complete a degree as an Engineer/Technologist. My Dad received his training through college and later through his job, and had professions as a Diesel Locomotive Engineer, Electrician, Welder and Plumber.
.
My Dad knew and loved my Mom since she was thirteen, but he had never told her. Upon returning from the Soviet Army during 1970s, at age twenty-one, he asked my Mom to marry him. She agreed, and they have been very happy together. They lived by his parents, who divided their land into four plots and gave a plot to their three oldest children, including my Father. Dad was a machinist at a train station, and Mom supervised a meat company. The first few years of their marriage, with the help of relatives, they built their house, while keeping full-time jobs.
My parents first had two daughters. When time came for me to be born, the doctor and Mom were the first ones to welcome me into this world. At that time, Fathers were not allowed into the delivery room. When Dad came to visit Мom and the baby, the nurse greeted him,
Congratulations, you have a baby girl!
A girl? I really wanted a boy! responded my Dad.
It is a girl and you are taking her home! the nurse answered firmly.
After ten days of hospitalization, Dad brought Mom and me home. They had two weeks to register the name of a newborn child.
What name should we give to our daughter? Maybe Oksana or Natasha? my Mom asked my Father.
Dad left to register the name. When he came home in the evening, Mom was surprised to see that the name on the birth certificate was Olga.
Why did you choose the name Olga? she asked my Dad.
It is beautiful and easy to say. It will sound beautiful when she is young and as she gets older, Dad answered.
The name Olga means Holy, Blessed and Successful. I was lucky to be born to parents who loved me, cared for me, gave me values, taught me right from wrong, and provided me with a faith to guide my life. Even today, they continue to provide a point of reference, answer my questions, tell me what they think and give me honest advice. I value their opinion and their love.