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Olga and Victor Wedernikow wish to address this testimony especially to parents whose children were born with disabilities or whose disabilities were acquired through life circumstances. This testimony is intended to edify and strengthen their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Emigration to Germany
We emigrated from the city of Nizhny Tagil in the Sverdlovskaya Oblast to Germany with a few suitcases—without a single penny to our name—and six children. Together, we decided to give everything from the sale of our house and car to the church. Since our arrival in Germany until this day, we have been fed, clothed, and provided with shoes. This is the great care and protection of our Lord. Glory be to Him forever!
The healing
Our children were between four months and seven years old when we arrived in Germany. Our sixth child had health problems in Russia. He had been taken to the emergency room twice by ambulance with obstructive bronchitis. After only three months in Germany, he had another attack. The doctor strongly recommended that we admit the child to the hospital for inpatient treatment, but we didn't want to because we were very afraid of hospitals.
So we decided not to go to the hospital, but to the church service. The congregation prayed fervently, and a miracle happened. God healed the child. Glory to God for His grace shown to us and our son! From the moment of the healing until this day, there have been no more seizures.
Today we have 17 children, including two sets of twins. Five children (triplets and twins) went to heaven as infants. We write this in such detail to point out that, despite all the difficulties, the Lord has saved us from the pernicious idea of family planning. Not because we are particularly brave, but because the Holy Spirit placed a shield over our minds, preventing thoughts unpleasing to God from entering our hearts. Now that our reproductive years are over, our hearts are at ease, and our consciences do not trouble us.
The Wedernikow family with their children and their families
Thy will be done!
In 1993, at the beginning of our lives in Germany, our daughter was born prematurely. During birth, she suffered a brain hemorrhage and shock. The doctors couldn't predict the long-term effects. It turned out to affect everything. Today, she is 28 years old and uses a wheelchair. It was an incredibly painful blow for us, and it was difficult to come to terms with.
We had questions like, “Why us? We accept all children. Lord, why are you punishing us like this, and for what?” The “why” and “why” lingered in our minds and hearts for a long time. We sought answers from the brothers. Only now do we understand how difficult it was for them to find an answer for us. Unfortunately, we also heard that this sort of thing happens to “unwanted children.”
Such a conclusion hit us hard. We knew this child was especially wanted. Nevertheless, there were also people who offered us words of comfort and cheered us up. Some time passed before we realized that our questions about why hadn't been fair or right. The feeling of melancholy and despondency left us.
Despite everything, there was still hope for healing. “Hope that fades away frightens the heart” (Proverbs 13:12). No healing occurred, and we didn't focus on it. “Your will be done, Lord,” we said in our hearts. The right way to respond to all situations we don't understand is to understand God's will and obey Him.
After meeting Christians at the annual gatherings for people with disabilities, we saw that we were not alone and that there were others who had it even harder than we did. Some parents whose children also had disabilities told us, "We looked at your daughter and understood that we have it easier than you." So we comforted one another. Praise be to the Lord! This, too, is a way to serve one another.
During a blessing ceremony, we always listen attentively to the prayers of the parents for their children. How sincerely, and with fear and trembling, they pray and thank God for the health and well-being of their children.
Therefore, we would like to take this opportunity to share our experiences with you and address ourselves to the parents whose children were born with disabilities or whose disabilities have arisen due to various circumstances: Do not be sad! The Lord is near! He is coming soon! God has entrusted to us and to you the children who are restricted in their movements or who cannot control their bodies at all, to lead them to heaven. The Lord has provided that you will succeed, even if it is difficult. For ourselves, we have come to understand that such children should not be a reason or a basis for resorting to the various methods of contraception.
Effects of the Holy Spirit
We would like to share another story about the work of the Holy Spirit in our family, where the Lord's care was very evident. This happened in 1998. Our twelfth child was born. However, the baby's lungs weren't fully expanded. This often happens without any apparent cause. As a precaution, the doctor decided to send us to the University Hospital in Homburg. His breathing stabilized, but the boy needed to remain hospitalized for a while. We visited him every day until finally the moment came when we were told we could take him home. We were all overjoyed.
The night before we were able to pick him up, my wife had a vision:
She dreamt of angels singing a song so beautiful it cannot be reproduced on paper. They sang the text from Luke 3:14: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men!”
When my wife told me about it this morning, we were overcome with great concern, even though the vision had greatly inspired and comforted her. We were worried because my wife's father often experienced similar things and told us that the Lord strengthened him and gladdened his soul in anticipation of impending difficulties he didn't yet know about. He was the regional bishop of the central and northern Urals and had faced many challenges and worries.
The nightly visions and revelations from the Lord are invigorating and warn of future dangers. I experienced this myself when the Holy Spirit frequently visited me at night, so my wife's visions, or rather her feelings, were something I could relate to. We wondered what awaited us. We tried not to dwell on the possibility of something happening to our child. Our attitude was that we would come and get him.
We went to the hospital but couldn't find him in his room. Then a doctor came and said that our son was in critical condition in the intensive care unit. Due to negligence on the part of the medical staff, he had sepsis. When we saw him in the ICU, our vision and our worry became clear to us.
But Jesus was with us in that moment of shock. Only with His help were we able to accept the information from the doctor, who was hiding his eyes from us: “There are no stronger medications than the ones he has already received; if his condition worsens, we can no longer help him. If he survives, he survives,” we were told frankly.
When you understand that everything is known in heaven and that both our child and we are under the protection of the Almighty, then it is simply unreasonable to torment ourselves with the question "Why?" The congregation prayed, the elders prayed. They gathered every day for prayer in the famous cellar at Brother Willi Schendel's house and prayed for us as well. Glory to Jesus Christ! Our son survived and grew up strong and healthy. Brother Kornelius Fast (our pastor) supported us.
Our older children grew up and were understanding of our problems, helping us wherever they could. Although it wasn't easy, we saw that not a single child was superfluous to us. Thank God for everything!
Olga and Victor Vedernikow
Municipality of Miesau