The second edition of Lydia Istomina’s book Bringing Hidden Things to Light is available on Amazon.

Americans have churches on every corner and do not value their freedom to practice their faith. American congregations suffer from bullying and antagonism running people off. In Russia, faith and Church were prohibited for 60 years. This book is about the first female pastor and God’s work through her in post-Soviet Russia. It is a true story of transformation that took place in Ekaterinburg, Russia and brought together many ordinary individuals who attempted an extraordinary change.

The book also shares a concern about the ethical side of Christian missionary work in a foreign country. The excitement of meeting American missionaries did not allow the former Soviets to distinguish true collaboration from manipulation and discrimination. Too soon, Russian Methodists faced heavy Church bureaucracy and accepted control by the West. The first leaders of the church had to leave. The purpose of Lydia’s writing is to refresh the initial spirit of the Christian movement that empowered a small group of former atheists to move the mountains.

This is how the author describes her first encounter with the Bible:

“The Bible was leather bound and had metal locks, and unusual pictures, each covered with a thin transparent paper leaf. We grew up with this Bible without understanding its value, or our good fortune in having it, but only feeling some trepidation when we watched Granddad perform the same solemn ceremony each time he opened it. He carefully spread a newspaper on the table, then, washed his hands thoroughly before taking the Bible out of the metal box. Only after he had prayed for a long time did he begin reading. Children were strictly forbidden even to touch this secret place. But as soon as Granddad left the house, we immediately dragged out the heavy box from under the bed, to look at and read the Bible, which attracted us because of its inaccessibility and mystery. I think now that Granddad did it on purpose. He was a wise man: “Forbidden fruit is sweet!”