The soldier walked slowly towards the boarded-up church; the thick clouds prevented any light from illuminating the scene. There were no street lights, there hadn't been any working in that city district for many weeks. Andrei carried his rifle over his shoulder feeling the strap rub his already sore skin. He felt a deep disillusionment inside, just like the cold winter, effecting every part of him. The government had promised so much but delivered so little. The hope that had once lifted his spirit and given him a reason to live, had been replaced by a deep and bitter lethargy
And yet this slumber had been disturbed by one of the men in his barracks. His new comrade had been transferred from a rural area and the two of them had become close friends. Vaslav was a quiet, softly spoken man who had the rough hands of a farmer. But it wasn't his great size or his peasant accent that impacted Andrei, it was his indomitable and optimistic spirit. Vaslav was different than the other soldiers, everyone said so, but no one could really make out the reason why. Whenever one of the other soldiers tried to pry into his life, Vaslav would quickly and expertly turn the conversation on to another, safer topic
Andrei wasn't sure what he would find that evening but one of his contacts had told him about the possibility of a small group of Christians meeting secretly in the crypt of the church. Once a proud structure, with its gothic architecture boasting over the city, it was now nearly derelict unable to hold its head high. Years of the state's atheistic policy had suffocated its life and now all that was left was a battered shell. He walked around the derelict building looking for a way to get inside, hidden by some low trees he found a door that had been prised open. He carefully pushed the door trying not to make any noise and stepped inside
Andrei had tried to find out more about Vaslav, he had asked the women in the admin office if she knew anything about him. All she could say was what he already knew, that he was a farmer from a small village a few miles north of the city. Andrei let the matter rest and focused on getting through each day. Keeping warm, dry and well fed were his main aims, only securing some homemade vodka from one of his contacts had a higher priority. But one night the truth began to come out. Andrei woke suddenly from a dream and lay still in his barracks bed, he glanced at Vaslav's bed and was surprised to see it empty. He climbed out of the bed and slowly crept to the bathroom at the end of corridor, his bladder felt full and needed emptying.
He opened the bathroom door and stopped in his tracks, there sat on some low hot water pipes, with an old book in his hands, was Vaslav. His friend turned in shock and his face stared back, his eyes looking frightened. Vaslav stood up, put the book in his pocket and quickly hurried back to his bed. Over the next few days Vaslav confessed to Andrei that he was one of the secret Christians, he implored Andrei not to tell their sergeant. Believers who were discovered would often lose their job or houses or in some cases were shipped east to be 're-trained.' However, for soldiers, being found practicing a banned religion, it could lead to imprisonment and death
Andrei started to become intrigued with his friend's faith, whenever they had the opportunity Vaslav would talk about the impact that Jesus of Nazareth had on his life. He spoke and revealed an immense gratitude to God and a simple desire to live his life in harmony with his creator. Andrei began to realise that this was what his life was missing, he longed for a deep-rooted peace that would chase away the darkness that he felt. Lying in bed one night he made his decision, he knew that this could be a dangerous and costly path to take but he felt willing to face the dangers. He woke suddenly in the early hours of the next morning, he could hear heavy boots on the concrete floor and heard shouts getting louder. Six fully armed soldiers piled into the barracks and grabbed Vaslav and dragged him out into the corridor and then out into the darkness. Andrei looked around at his bewildered comrades, none of them seemed to have a clue at what was happening. Only Andrei realised what was happening, he closed his eyes and prayed silently for his friend
Andrei moved quietly across the broken floor of the church towards some steps in a corner. In the darkness of the night he could see a flickering glow of candles at the bottom of the steps and to his surprise a sound of people singing. He took his gun from his shoulder and slowly began to descend the staircase, in the dim light he struggled to find his footing. Desperate not to announce his presence he crept closer and closer to the source of the light. He glanced around a large pillar that was holding up the main floor of the building. He could see a small congregation of around ten men and women, standing with their eyes closed, some with their hands raised, quietly singing a simple song
All my heart I give to Jesus
And with joyful song proclaim
I am satisfied with you Lord
Captured by your lovely name
They sang it over and over again, Andrei was captivated. The singing was simple, the tune quite ordinary but the beauty of the atmosphere was almost overwhelming. There was no musical accompaniment, their voices were all that was needed. These people seemed to have received what Vaslav had, they didn't sing about Jesus they sang to him.
The singing suddenly stopped as Andrei walked into the room, pointing his gun at the simple choir. "How can we help you friend?" One of the men stepped forward, his friendly face seemed to be trying to hide a fear of what might happen next. Andrei didn't respond, he looked at the simple congregation and tried to decide what he should do. How could he know if he could trust all of the group? The state had infiltrated many of these underground churches looking for people that could be useful to the cause. How could he know if one of the small group might be a spy who would report him to the state?
Finally, he spoke, his low, serious voice gave a clear command. "I am here to arrest any true believers, leave now if you are not a real Christian." Two men and a woman looked around terrified and ran back up the stairs and were gone. Andrei laid his gun carefully in the floor and embraced the man who had spoken. With tears in his eyes he looked into the man's face and said quietly, "my family."
