Page 36 - LIfesOuttakes4

Thankfulness For Freedoms We Take For Granted

Note: This is the first in a series of 5 stories written about
Tatiana’s and Uri’s trials for freedom.

I had been studying Russian for a couple of years at

college, and though I still could not speak it fluently, I was

fascinated by the country, the culture, and the people.

There was a lady that I met who was from Russia, and she

had just gained her citizenship in the United States.

As Thanksgiving came around, I asked Tatiana what

was one of the things she was most grateful for. She

retrieved a large, old book that had beautiful decorative

designs and letters on the cover. She patted it and said she

wanted to tell me a story.

As she spoke, her big brown eyes filled with tears.

She talked about when she was a young girl, six years old,

living in Russia. The government decided to make a

concerted effort to rid the country of what the leaders

called the scourge of religion. They came to the schools

and talked to the children about how evil religion was.

They then told the children that if they wanted to be good

children, they must tell the government leaders if they

knew of anyone that did religious things.

They then brought out a Bible, as well as other

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