God’s Faithfulness: A Journey in Trusting

Chapter 26

Ministering in The Sewer

One afternoon, Esther and Helena went to a metro site to minister to the street children, but there was only one little girl who was begging at the main entrance. This was very unusual, but it was a very cold rainy day. Possibly the children had stayed where they did not have to get wet or cold. The little girl was dressed in a thin ragged dress and appeared to be about ten years old. Esther spoke to her in Russian and asked her where the other children were. She replied, "In the sewer." This shocked Esther and Helena as they had never heard of children being in a sewer before.

Esther asked the little girl if she could take them to the sewer. She replied, “I cannot because if I stop begging, I will not get enough money to take back to my father. Then he will not let me in our flat, and I will have to sleep in the street." Suddenly a little eight- year-old boy walked up and overheard the conversation. He said he would take them there. Esther and Helena thanked him and he started walking, with the two women following. The little boy led them down a deserted road. The buildings were falling down and trash was in the streets everywhere. The boy was several yards ahead of the women when a black Mercedes car came quickly down the deserted path and pushed Esther and Helena against a brick wall. Immediately, the two women realized it was the Russian Mafia. The black Mercedes had the windows tinted so dark nobody could see who was inside. The car stopped before it crushed them and a man rolled down a window and shouted at the two women, "Where are you going?" Esther looked at him and saw he was wearing a black turtleneck sweater under a black leather jacket and she knew that was exactly how the Mafia men dressed. Esther knew they were in trouble with the Mafia and she remembered how these same people killed a missionary woman about a month before this for doing exactly what she and Helena were doing. Esther explained that they were going to the sewer to give food to the children. The man gruffly commanded, "Stay away from them. We will feed them. They are our kids." Esther quickly looked in the man's car and said, "Do you have food for them right now?" The man had an angry expression on his face as he looked at them and said, “We will get food.” Esther replied, “We have food in our backpacks; please let us take it to them.” The man sternly replied, "We will let you go this time but don't ever come back again." Esther replied, "We won't come this way again." She kept her word and did not come back that way again; however, they did go back to the sewer, but from a different route. The Mafia car slowly pulled away from Esther and Helena and they continued to follow the boy. As they were walking, Esther and Helena had time to think and talk. Esther told Helena about the report of the woman the Russian Mafia killed because she was ministering to the street children. She also told Helena how WEC left it up to the team to pray about going on to Russia or staying home because of the danger from the Mafia. After praying, they all felt God was telling them they should go, so they left knowing they could be in dangerous situations.

As the two women continued to follow the boy, many thoughts were going through Esther's mind. She knew many missionaries in the world were living in very dangerous places, and yet they stayed there as God's Ambassadors. She made the decision right then that God had called her to St. Petersburg and she was staying. The Mafia was not going to chase her home.

She remembered how, when she was nine years old, she faced the dangers of being killed by a wild animal such as a moose or a bear. She decided back then that she was not going to live in fear, and she refused to let the danger stop her from walking to school or just playing in the forest. She had learned to spot a bear or moose before the animal saw her, and she did what was necessary to avoid it.

She would do the same thing in Russia. She would be on the watch for the black Mercedes cars that the Mafia drove and avoid them. She knew the Mafia was dangerous, but she was not going to live in fear. She was going to continue working with the street children with God's protection. Helena also made this decision.