She Saw Him in a Dream

The year was 1949. Timofei had just turned twenty when, in autumn, he was conscripted into the army. He served in the city of Baranovichi in Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic, in a tank battalion, as a general's personal driver. He would often recall those good, peaceful Byelorussian people and the beautiful nature of that republic. In those days, military service lasted three years, and young men returned as mature, hardened men.

After his discharge, Timofei returned to his native settlement, but soon left for the Urals to earn money, since there was no work in Krasnodon except in the coal mines. On the Urals he continued as a driver on rotating shifts, transporting workers after their shifts. He loved this work so much that sometimes he didn't want to leave the vehicle, he would say. In 1955, Timofei came to visit his aunt Grunya in the settlement of Karabut, hoping to find work there. Coming to the city of Pavlovsk on a weekend, he stayed with his mother's aunt Ksenya.

Religious services of Evangelical Christian-Baptists were held in her house, which the Kudas family attended. After the service, Aunt Ksenya asked Anna Alexeyevna to have her daughter Tanya show Timofei where the local auto depot was. Waking up, Tanya dressed, picked up Timofei, and they set off. Walking through the morning city streets, they were silent. Upon reaching the depot, he asked if there was another one in the city and whether she could show him. Receiving an affirmative answer, the young people continued on, still in silence. When they reached the place, they turned back. Tanya's mind was churning with thoughts—she couldn't understand why such a grown man—he was ten years older than her!—constantly remained silent and said nothing. As they approached the intersection where Timofei needed to turn left, he asked her:

"Where is your house?"

Pointing into the distance, she said:

"That house on the corner—that's our place."

After saying goodbye, he turned and walked toward Aunt Ksenya's house. And Tanya walked home, not suspecting that soon she would walk through life hand in hand with this young man.

Timofei got work as a driver at the auto depot, working seven days a week, since it was harvest time and the grain needed to be collected quickly. He worked diligently, carefully, drove the vehicle neatly. His superiors liked him for being quick and honest. In his second month of employment, Timofei was trusted to pick up and drive a new vehicle from the factory in Gorky, which he continued to drive. He rarely went to church, and Tanya even forgot about him. But Tatyana had pleased Timofei immediately, from that very day when they walked together to the auto depot. Soon a free day came, and he went to Tanya's house, inviting her to take a walk with him. She agreed but said she would bring her sister Luba. Timofei had no choice but to consent. Tanya was silent the whole way while Luba talked incessantly. A few days later, Timofei, seizing the moment, without any preamble, proposed to Tanya.

Then the girl remembered a dream she had seen a couple of years before. In the dream, she stood in her yard, and a small airplane landed there. A tall young man stepped out, approached her, and said:

"Want me to take you for a ride?"

"Yes," she answered.

She got in the airplane with him—and woke up.

And now before her stood that very young man, even wearing the same clothes as in the dream, and proposing to become his wife.

It was so unexpected that Tanya was at a loss. She was only seventeen at the time, and living in a large family, she fully understood what family life meant. She had no desire to immerse herself in household cares and duties, in diapers and infant clothes at such a young age. To Timofei's proposal, Tanya politely refused, saying she was very young and that marriage was still too early for her.

Some time later, troubled in spirit, Timofei resigned from the auto depot and signed up for work in Vladivostok.

During his time there in the fishing industry, his father died. He couldn't make it to the funeral because he had no contact with home. Timofei regularly sent short letters and photographs to Tanya, hoping for her love in return. Once, talking with a coworker, he casually mentioned that he had a fiancée. The man replied: "So what are you doing here then? If I had a fiancée, I'd already be married." Without much thought (he was always quick to act), Timofei packed his things, even though he'd already completed paperwork and planned to move to Magadan to work as a driver. Canceling all his contracts, he boarded a train and headed to Voronezh region to try his luck once more. Upon receiving a second proposal and heeding her mother's advice (who told her daughter that with such a husband she would be protected like a stone wall), Tatyana agreed. The civil marriage was registered on July 2nd, and on July 16, 1957, the wedding ceremony took place, conducted by the elderly Ephim Mikhailovich Proskura from the village of Georgievka.

At that time, neither Timofei nor Tatyana were church members. They were given instruction and blessed with prayer as children of believing parents. The wedding was held in the home of the Balatsky family. Tatyana's parents couldn't attend because they had seven children at the time, the youngest being just six months old.

At first, the newlyweds lived in Timofei's parents' house. It was very small and cramped for such a large family. The young couple had nowhere to be alone, so Timofei decided they needed to find a place of their own. Quick to act as always, he said one day:

"Pack your things, Tatyana. We're leaving."

Thus began the numerous moves of the Balatsky family. They moved to the city of Donetsk in Rostov region and rented a room from believing people, where Timofei's brother Nikolai with his wife Raya were already living. Timofei found work at a sawmill of a woodworking plant, and Tanya worked at a mine as a lamp charger, charging miners' lamps for underground work. In November that same year they moved to the city of Pavlovsk, renting a small house from Tanya's friend who had left with her mother to work on Sakhalin Island. Tima found work at a dairy plant, and Tanya joined a sewing collective as a master of the 4th grade, doing mass production of men's clothing. They lived there for six months, and in May 1958 returned to the city of Krasnodon. They rented a room. Tanya worked at a bakery, and Tima became an ambulance driver.

In July of that year, Tatyana received holy baptism by water according to her faith and joyfully joined in church services. Though she had no musical education, she had a beautiful voice—a high soprano—and joyfully praised the Lord. Almost a year later, Timofei's family moved to the city of Kherson in Ukraine. There they both found work at a cotton mill. They lived with Tanya's parents, who had moved there by that time.