In 1988, my own church took in 24 Ukrainian Pentecostals for resettlement in the U.S. (Well, they were a mixture of Ukrainians and Russians, but they were from the Ukraine, southwest of Kiev.) It was one of those experiences that doesn’t happen often in life. We got to know people who had endured this kind of persecution, including being shipped off to Siberia and becoming “orphans” because their parents were in prison and couldn’t raise them. You can read about some of their family members in the post Overcoming Obstacles: A Reminder For Us All.
But we also found people (especially the younger ones whose persecution wasn’t as hard as their parents and grandparents) who were fun to be around. It was also my first introduction to Russian and Ukrainian people and culture, one what would prove very educational and dominate my life for the next decade.
Today, as the article states, half a million Slavic Pentecostals have settled in the U.S., a living reminder of what happens when the country turns its back on God and hates his followers.
A couple of other lessons from these people are here:
Positive Infinity 