Alina grew up in the far east of part of Siberia near the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Russia. She is a member of one of the smallest language groups called the Udihe people numbering only a few thousand. They live in isolated villages along the vast Russian forests.

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Alina’s friends and family survive by hunting, fishing; she harvests ginseng to help support her family. It’s difficult to survive in the harsh arctic environment, so the Udihe people pray to various animal spirits to ensure that they will have successful hunts and catch enough fish.

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One day, a Bible Translators led by Don came to Alina’s village and started telling stories about Jesus. I recently trained Don in Bible translation strategies for the Russian context. As the Udihe listened to the Bible stories, Alina’s mother agreed to help them translate and record more of the stories into the Udihe language. As they recorded the stories, Alina’s mother narrated scene where Jesus was on the cross and cried out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me!” Her tears fell on the Bible. She wept as she narrated the story.

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Alina’s mom was deeply moved by the story of Jesus but was afraid that if she stopped praying to the animal spirits, their family would starve. She pressured Alina to stay true to the animal spirits. But Alina was gripped by the love of God she heard in the stories and asked Jesus to be her Lord and Savior. She said, “I heard the Good News of God’s love for me in my own language and I had the courage to follow God despite the social strain and spiritual opposition.” The Bible translation team baptized her while her family watched with interest.