Fatherhood is understanding. I heard a saying: It is easy to understand another person, it is difficult to understand him correctly. Fathers are able to reconcile with their children's weaknesses and to understand them. Fatherhood, as a whole, is love and acceptance, despite the shortcomings and faults. My pastor Ivan Danilovich Tryuhan had the greatest impact on my life: I could open my heart to him and was not afraid of all my shortcomings.
In complicated circumstances I didn’t hesitate to come to my pastor and tell him what I did. He cried for me more than I did for myself. And his acceptance and love influenced my life more than any of the most famous and popular preachers’ sermons. I followed his example in faith and in ministry. Until he turned 84 years old Ivan Danilovich served people, and on his 85th year he went on into eternity. I am grateful to him because he saw the potential that God gave us and believed in us, twenty-year-olds.
If we are able to do for our young generation what our pastors did for us, we will establish a strong spiritual brotherhood. My dream is to establish such relationships in our brotherhood when we would care for “the wounded”, and cure them. The brotherhood, which will bear each other's weaknesses, serve each other so that our faith would become deeper, and our trust in God would become stronger and men in our country would know what it is to be a father. In Russia, there were many mentors, but very few fathers. Those who show mercy to this nation will be able to win people's hearts for God.
Excerpted from Edward Grabovenko’s interview to “Primiritel” magazine (# 64).
The Russian Church of Christians of Evangelical Faith
