Olesia Dmytriieva
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First Person is produced in cooperation with the Far East Broadcasting Company, who rejoice in the stories of changed lives through the power of Jesus Christ. Learn more at febc.org. I'm not broken, but there's some pieces of me which is not okay. And I accept myself the way I am, and I know that it will take time, but God is able to heal my soul and to heal my nation. ♪

Coming up now on First Person, you'll hear the testimony of a woman from Ukraine who had to suddenly flee the country with her family when war came to their village. You'll meet Alicia as you stay with us for this edition of First Person. I'm Wayne Shepherd. Please take note of our website where you can learn more about our guest and her story. It's FirstPersonInterview.com. You can also share the listening link with friends and family who might want to catch what you are about to hear. Again, go to FirstPersonInterview.com.

Our guest is, and I'll come as close as I can on her name, Alicia Dimitriva. I know Alicia from our mutual connections with her family and co-workers with FEBC's radio ministry in Ukraine, known as Radio M. Now in the U.S., Alicia continues to support the work and pray for Radio M's crucial spiritual mission in a country torn by war.

Her own brother is in charge of Radio M, and she has an amazing family legacy and story to tell. I wanted you to hear it so you know how to better pray for our Ukrainian brothers and sisters. I'm the most beautiful girl in the world, and I'm very much loved. This is what my dad would keep telling me, and this is what I strongly believe, not believed, but

Sometimes I struggle with that, but I choose to believe that I'm very beautiful, not outside only, but inside. And that I'm very much loved. My dad was blind. He had never seen me, never ever in his life. I've got beautiful brown eyes, and this is from him. When he was five, there was an accident.

And then when he was eight, there was another accident and he completely lost his eyes. But he would hug me and he would keep telling me that I'm very beautiful and that he loves me very much. And he also would tell me, "Alesenka, byt umnitsay," which is translated, "My dear daughter, Alicia, be strong, be nice, choose what is right."

Don't give up. I don't know how to translate "umnica", but this is somebody who is right, who is correct, who is ongoing. And he would repeat and I would listen and I wouldn't appreciate it, but very often when I talk to myself, I say, "I'm Alicia, daughter of Victor, and I am umnica, and I'm loved."

This is my message from my childhood. I've never heard you talk about that before, but I met your father on at least two occasions before.

And I can see that in him. I can picture him saying that to you as a little girl. He was a remarkable man and really a spiritual man, a man who loved Christ and really served Christ with his life, didn't he? Yes, Wayne. He is with the Lord now. But when people come to me and they say, you know what? I love listening to your dad's sermons. I've read his books and he's so wonderful and he's so wise. I look at these people and

And I'm thinking, you know, 1% of 100%. I've lived with my father till I got married at 23. I've seen him in the morning. I've seen him when he was hungry, not angry. When he was, you know, stressed. And he was the Christian that you and me should be. He loved the Lord so dearly that...

I think He is the person who influenced my Christian life. I'm not saying that He's God. He's not. He's holy, and He is the example that the Bible said, "Look at your teachers in faith and imitate their faith." So, every time I struggle and every time I think I cannot do that, I remember my Father who could do it. If He could do it, I can do it too.

Well, when you have that advantage in life of having a father like that, that is wonderful. It doesn't always happen in a person's life. So you are blessed and beautiful at the same time. So that's remarkable. And your mom, I'm sure, had a big part of that as well, and she's still with you.

Yes, my mom, she is beautiful as well. Once again, I'm 42. I know that beauty is something that is very easily fading. So when I focus on beauty, it's not only about face and appearance, believe me. But there is an inner beauty that every man and woman and a child may have. I literally think...

when I'm talking about beautiful person, it's not about, it's not about appearance, believe me, but my mom, she is physically beautiful. I am, I resemble my dad most, but my, so that's why my mom is more beautiful because I'm like my father. Well, just to complete the family, I know you have at least one brother. Maybe you have more than that. I don't know. Cause I've met, uh, Edward, your brother in Ukraine, but, uh, do you have other siblings? Uh,

One is enough, believe me. Especially when he's as tall as Edward is, huh? Yes, he's younger. I'm six feet, and he's younger, and he's taller than me. But it's not only about his height. He is in Ukraine now. He chooses to stay in Ukraine. And I sent you the video once.

One kilometer from the studio, when he was working in the studio, there was a bomb explosion, and it is literally very unsafe. And he chooses to stay there and to lead the team and to serve the Lord. And he doesn't promise. He said, as long as I can do it, I will do it. I know I'm not Superman, but God gives me strength. I'm here, and I'm doing it for God's glory. Yeah.

Well, I feel very close to your family. I did get to spend an afternoon with Edward in Ukraine during the war and to see how the Lord is using him on the radio there. Radio M, it's called, the Far East Broadcasting Company, a network of stations in Ukraine that you've had a big part in as well. We can talk more about that, but talk about radio. How did you get involved in radio?

in radio in the first place. You and Edward, as a matter of fact. Your whole family. Your father was a legend in Christian radio in that part of the world, even during Soviet times. Exactly. He's been on the radio for more than 30 years. And I remember helping him. I would escort him to the studio

Of course, we didn't have a car, obviously. And he would walk. It would take us about 25 minutes. And this was the best time, just walking with my dad to the church. The studio was the church. We would talk. We would laugh. We would walk. And then I would be in the studio waiting while he was recording. And then we would go back. I would never, ever choose.

choose anything but just go with my dad. Very often I have dreams and the best dreams I have it's when I'm talking to my dad.

And he's listening to me, and sometimes I'm just crying, and he's listening to me. These are the best moments in my life. Yes, he was serving the Lord on the radio, and I would look at him, and I saw how he loved it. So one day we had that idea to start our program. It was called "How to Survive in a Family."

So I would be a host and I would ask these crazy, very honest questions about family life. And he would answer very humbly and very deep. I would laugh and I would afford to be myself. When my dad was next to me, I could be free. I could say whatever I want. I know he would make my silly remarks into something beautiful and I would feel safe. This is how I started. Wonderful.

Tell me about putting your own personal faith in Christ. How did that happen? When did that happen in your life? It's not something your father could give you. You had to make that choice. Tell me about that. I know that God doesn't have grandchildren, but I'm the fourth generation Christian, and my kids are fifth generation Christian. I told you, my parents were example. I'm not...

the example to my kids as my parents were to me. Being honest, my parents, they lived, they had so many restrictions. They were during the communist regime and their faith was much mature than mine. I saw my dad loving God at church. I saw my dad loving my mom. Being the Christian, he was the same.

He was talking to me or he was talking to a thousand, you know, congregation. He was the same Christian. He wouldn't please people. He loved God dearly. So I was raised in this love and I saw Jesus in my family. I wanted to be at home. I never wanted to go and have time with my friends somewhere in a bad companies. I was, I was happy home. And then when I was, um,

When I was 15, I think, I went to a camp. I've never been to any camp before. I'm a very home girl. And then I came there, and because I'm tall, the director of the camp said, you know,

"You know what, Alicia? You're not going to rest at this camp. You'll be a counselor. We'll give you 10 kids and you will lead them." I said, "Come on! I've never been in a camp. I don't know what I'm supposed to do. This is my first time." "No, you're tall." I was 15, 16. You looked like a leader. That's it. That's it. And I remember that

I was shocked. So I looked at my 10 girls. Some of them were from rich families and some of them were orphans. And they started this fighting. The rich girls would humiliate those. The orphan girl would fight back.

And I was looking at them. I was raised in love. I didn't even know how to fight. I mean, except my brother. Anyway, I remember that one night I made them go to sleep and I went to the bathroom and I was praying to God. I said, God,

I need you. I don't have my dad. I have no idea how to survive in a camp. And then I have these 10 girls. I need to be an example of a Christian and I need to organize whatever it can be. And I remember this prayer. Now this camp is occupied. It was occupied.

Russians, but now it is de-occupied again. It's in Svetohirsk, Donetsk region, very close to Sloviansk, where I'm from. Okay, so it's really in the middle of everything right now, isn't it? All the fighting. It is. But this is why it is so dear to me. This is where I met God for the first time. I prayed, and I believed. I went to sleep in peace. I woke up, and I accepted that God gave me wisdom, and I started praying.

and be an example and surviving. And then after that, I knew that God is alive. Besides your family, at that early stage of life, were there others that God provided to encourage you, to train you, to read scripture with you, to disciple you? Were there other people? Yes.

Yes, yes. When I was 19, I went to England and I spent a year at a Bible school in England. And once again, it wasn't only about theory. It was about practice. I was, without my dad, I was nobody in England. I wasn't Alicia, the daughter of Victor. I was just a sponsored student from Ukraine, which was kind of humiliating.

But it was nine months of my personal journey with God. I read the Bible. I took all the quizzes, but I also served in England, like street evangelizations, women's ministry. And this is where I grew as well. There's much more to Alicia's story, and we'll get to it next as you stay with us now for the rest of First Person.

Here's Ed Cannon on the vision for FEBC's weekly podcast. The primary purpose of Until All Have Heard, of course, is to share the experience that FEBC has because we have staff on the ground in so many oppressive places. But in addition to that, we're trying to speak to you in a way that only the kind of testimonies you'll hear from around the globe can do.

Discover how the gospel is making a difference around the world. Search for Until All Have Heard on your favorite podcast platform or hear it online at febc.org.

Talking with Alicia, who is Ukrainian and just such a delightful person to get to know. I used to watch you online host radio shows in Ukraine. And even though I couldn't understand the language you were speaking, it was obvious you were really enjoying that experience. And I'm told that you were a pretty tough interviewer. You really kind of came up with difficult questions for listeners and guests to answer. So...

Congratulations on that, I guess I want to say. Yes, thank you. When I saw the mic that you sent me, and when I opened, it was off. I remember my lips starting saying, I literally, when I saw the mic,

I promise you, I wanted to say, hi, you're listening to Radio M. You have a chance to change your life. Join us. This is what I would say if I were in Slavia and scoring Kiev in the studio. This is something that I am when I see the mic. Well, obviously, you're still connected there. Edward, your brother, is the director, and you have many friends there, and you yourself are still connected. What is the ministry of Radio M in Ukraine? What does it accomplish? For today, it's not just

radio shows or interviews. Radio AM is bigger. Even before the war, we had a project called Help to the Women of Donbass. It was part of FEBC Radio AM. We would invite military women

Local civilians, Christian and non-Christian, and we would come together. We would have tea or coffee. We would have presents, a psychologist, a games, whatever, just to, you know, mingle together and support those activities.

non-believers, civilians and military. We also were reading a book and then discussing it. And we were trying to serve those people as women, you know, just talking about kids, I don't know, hugging them. So Radio AM is focusing on real health. Right now they're having the hotline.

Hundreds, if not thousands of Ukrainians are calling this free hotline and they are asking for prayers. Sometimes they're calling, crying, saying they're bombing, I'm afraid to die. And our counselors, they try to support them. They try to pray for them and, you know, just be with them as they suffer. The other, the last probably project that I know is, it's translated as hug me or hug. Hug me.

Hug me. We invite the women or daughters or wives of military to our studio, and we have a chaplain, and we have a psychologist, and we have our team who would just support those women as they leave waiting for their beloved one to come back. We pray with them and just be with them. When you suffer,

It's so important to have someone who is compassionate and who is with you.

Yeah. We're so grateful for Radio M's presence and the fact that it remains on the air during the war and even expands during the war because a license was given to the capital of Kiev for a radio station there, Radio M, Far East Broadcasting Company, which is a miracle in and of itself. But I understand a 10-year license has been granted by the government. So congratulations to the team there. Let me get back to you, Alicia.

Talk more to me about your life in Christ. What does Christ mean to you? And then eventually I want to talk to you about the scriptures, and maybe you can share something that the Lord has been laying on your heart recently. But talk about your relationship with Christ today. I had this journey from the most beautiful and loved daughter of God till a lost sheep, I mean, in my mind.

I was princess and I am still a princess even in these dark times, I believe.

that God is in control. But my Christian faith was perfect. In a way, it was calm. Everything was provided, support and blessing, material and spiritual, and it was just perfect, okay? And then that he went to be with the Lord in 2021. It was a very sudden death, wasn't it? Totally unexpected, wasn't it?

It was very unexpected. And I really believe, I really, I was very afraid that when I see him on a funeral, when I see his body, I would either faint or I wouldn't be able to control myself. And I just, I told my husband, you just keep me physically. I don't know.

This is the worst moment in my life. But I witnessed that the Lord gave me supernatural peace. I didn't take any pills, you know, to come down. I was looking at him. I understood that he's dead. And I couldn't rejoice. I want to be honest with you. But I was there, and I went through this...

These hours of saying bye to him very normally, the only thing was when they started playing his voice. He was talking about dying, and he was talking about his meeting with God. Oh, that'd be hard to hear, yeah.

even now it's almost three years when he's with the Lord. I cannot listen to his sermons. I need to hear his sermons, but I cannot hear his voice. So after my dad wants to be with the Lord, the war, the Russians brutally attacked Ukraine and ruined my life and my Christian faith. It was shaken as well. I didn't understand why after dad's,

death, the war comes into my life. And I was lost sheep in a way. I could afford to tell God whatever I felt.

I would tell him very ugly things. I would tell him very scary things. I would talk to him as if he was my dad. And I believe saying to him, to God, if you were like my dad, you would understand me. And then I said, no, you're not supposed to talk to God that way. And after I was very honest and I was in despair and God, again, he gives me peace.

His presence is my life. I'm very emotional, right? If I feel good, everybody sees it. If not, the same. But with God, I started to build a very personal relationship with Him during the war. When I moved to the United States, the third wave of temptation and frustration came.

And here I have the new level of trusting God, of trusting His way and accepting His will. So I'm not still in heaven.

but my face is very alive. When I talk about my face, I am not pretending that it's easy and perfect, even for the first generation Christian. It is not. But God is alive, and He says in His Word, "I will give you peace that the world cannot give you." I understand that I can die, that Edward can die in Ukraine. I understand that war can come to the United States, but the peace and the hope I have in God

holds my face and holds my life. That is tremendous. Thank you for saying that and for reminding us of that. As I hear you speak about that and that honesty, so would you trade, I mean, obviously no one wants to go through an experience like that, but once you're through it, and maybe you don't consider yourself through it all the way yet,

You have to at some point give thanks for the experience and how you've grown through it, don't you? Yes. They say if something doesn't kill you, it makes you stronger. And the other expression, when you have any scars on your body or on your soul, it means that it wasn't strong enough to kill you. It just left some scars. I have a ring and...

and there is one stone missing and I had a guarantee I could come bring it back and have the perfect ring and I don't want I

I know that I'm not broken, but there are some pieces of me which are not okay. And I accept myself the way I am, and I know that it will take time, but God is able to heal, to heal my soul and to heal my nation. Alicia is such a warm and caring person who has a great burden for her homeland and indeed for her own family in Ukraine.

Like hers, many lives have been affected by this war with tremendous suffering experienced every day. But also like Alicia, many believers, old and new, are placing their faith and hope in Christ. Please continue to pray for all concerned.

Radio M, the stations operated by the Far East Broadcasting Company in Ukraine, are seeing remarkable results in proclaiming God's love and care to broken lives. In addition to the broadcasts, which continue every day, a very effective telephone counseling service is available for spiritual help, and countless Ukrainians have been encouraged in the battle. To learn more from the front lines of this ministry, please visit febc.org slash Ukraine.

Now, with thanks to my friend and producer, Joe Carlson, I'm Wayne Shepherd. Thanks for listening to First Person.