Myrna Grant

"Katjas nya lärare, Valentina Pretovna, är en ung ambitiös sovjetmedborgare som ofta med beundran talar om det sovjetiska samhällssystemets fördelar.
En dag får Katja se Valentina bära ett litet silverkors. Hon säger att hon fått det av en turist och det påminner henne alltid om den underbara tid de hade tillsammans.
Katja blir god vän med sin nya lärare, även om hon inte delar alla hennes uppfattningar. När klassen en dag får i uppgift att skriva en uppsats om "frihet" skriver Katja om de sju sibirier som förföljda för sin kristna tro tagit sin tillflykt till den amerikanska ambassaden. Hon har hört om dem på familjens kortvågsradio. Valentina säger att det inte är sant, det är bara propaganda. Men en dag ringer hon själv till ambassaden …"… (meer)

NOT an easy book to read, the harsh brutality Vanya suffered for his faith is all in here in this well-written biography of a modern day martyr. While I know we live in a world where it's apparently acceptable to mistreat others for their faith, whatever it may be, that doesn't make mistreatment right. Some people think that Christian martyrdom ended in the Roman Colosseum, but it didn't; in fact, it didn't even end when the Iron Curtain came down. I don't have any respect whatsoever for a person who is wiling to kill for his faith, but I do have compassion and respect for a person who is willing to die for his. Vanya's story is a tragic one, and a harsh one, but at the same time, it's a reality check sorely needed by most of us in the Western Church who aren't willing to die to the flesh, much less in it--not for ourselves or for anyone else. Vanya's life was an exemplary one, and he lived and died for something. How many of the rest of us can that be honestly said about?… (meer)