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1999 - online version
MIRACLES ARE VERY TENDER |
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By Fr. James Heinsch ofm Margarita Tal has been doing the graphics art for the English (1.5 years) and Italian (2 years) versions of Holy Land Magazine. It is a challenge! She must do two entirely different formats, for two quite different Editors. Seeing her work in this magazine over the past year, I am sure that you must agree with me: She does a very fine job. I have wanted to introduce Margarita to our readers for some time now. Most of all, I wanted you to hear the story she told me. The story of how she became a follower of Christ. So finally, I was able to sit down and record it. It gives testimony to God’s great love at work in her life. Margarita was born, April 12, 1976, in Uzbikistan. Two months later, the family moved to the Ukraine where they lived in the small town of Cherkas (close to Chernoble). Sergio, her father, was Russian German. He fell in love with a Russian Jewess by the name of Marina. Threatened to be disowned by his family if he married her, Sergio accepted the consequences and married Marina. At that time, it was dangerous to marry a Jew in Russia. Jews were look down upon. The Grandfather, Ambassador to Nepal, however openly accepted their marriage. "My family was atheistic. They practiced no belief in God. I never knew nor saw a Bible. I never even saw a church until we moved to Israel. Russians never went to church ... at least, not publically. Some went in secret, but I never knew them. As a child in the Russian school system, I would say that I was "proud to be born in the USSR instead of the USA." Russian propaganda proclaimed: "Though poor, Russia would provide something for us to eat. If I were born poor in the USA, my family would probably starve to death. "When I was 14 years old, my family decided to come to Israel. We were welcomed because my mother was Jewish. I went to the usual Jewish School system where we studied the Torah almost all day. "My old Grandmother was a baptized Russian Orthodox, but never practiced her faith. She had an old Bible which she gave me one day before she died. I said: ‘I don’t need it.’ Grandma replied: ‘Keep it Margarita. You will need it later on in life.’ As her death approached, I would go to her room and find her praying. I would ask: ‘Grandmother, why are you praying? You do not believe in God?’ She replied: ‘It does not hurt at a time like this.’ "Living in Israel and studying the Torah daily, one would think that I would, in time, come to believe in the Jewish faith. Yet strangely enough, I did not accept the tenets of Judaism. Instead, I became curiously interested in the Bible. Biblical phrases would stick in my mind like: "It is not what enters one’s mouth that defiles that person; but what comes out of the mouth is what defiles one" (Matt. 15: 11). The contradictory examples I met in the lives of Jewish people around me forced me to ask myself: ‘What is happening in Israel? Certainly, they do not practice what Jesus taught.’ I witnessed the fanatical aggressiveness, the lies, the machinations of the Jews I met daily. (I had begun her search of faith. |
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"Grandmother died of cancer at the young age of 64. She could no longer see, her hearing had failed, and her body had simply grown too weak for life. I could not understand why God would allow such a terrible thing to happen to my Grandmother. She died at the hospital, and we did not know how we would tell Grandfather. Perhaps the news would kill him. One day later, Grandfather found out about Grandmother’s death. His mind, that day, just went ‘blank.’ It was like he suddenly had a complete memory lapse regarding Grandmother and the rest of us in the family. He lived happily enough for two more years, but he never asked a word about Grandmother. I personally believe that had he asked, he would have died of a broken heart. "I left school during the 11th grade. I had to go to work to help support our family. My father worked very hard in a factory. Slowly, he saved enough money to buy a computer for me. He taught me everything I know about computers and graphics design. For 1 _ years, my father taught me every evening when he returned home from work. Where did my father learn so much about computers? He studied all on him own. Then, when I was 17 _, father took me to the oldest Jewish Printery in Jerusalem. After they tested my knowledge, they gave me a job. "One year later, I left the Printing firm, and started my own business in Graphics design. Soon, I rented a big office and had two workers helping me. Then, after 1 _ years, I got the biggest job I had ever seen. An Orthodox Jew invited me to print a Hebrew/English book to the sum of 20, 000 NIS (US $ 5,000). I was so excited. I printed all his books. In turn, he gave me checks to cover the costs. However, only one check was good. All the other checks (15,000 NIS worth) were invalid. When I went to him to get the rest of the money, he simply said: ‘I don’t have the money. Take me to court if you like. I still can’t give it to you.’ Then my bank called to say that the Printing firm had taken all my money from the bank to pay for the printing costs of the book. Unless I could put more money in the bank, they would close my account. If that happened, it would take one entire year before I could open a new bank account. "I was desperate. What to do? I had two workers that I had to care for, the rent due on my office, and a possible bank closure on my account. I needed 15,000 NIS right now. So, I went "begging" for the money from clients who still owed me money. I only collected 5,000 NIS. "I had gone to everyone I knew, but returned empty handed. At the end of my list was one client for whom I had twice done work. I had to ask him. I called him. He was going to a Concert that evening, but would meet me in a hotel lobby near the concert hall. ‘I need your help,’ I said. Then I told him of my dire problem. ‘I don’t want it to be a loan. I am willing to do work for it,’ I said. "The man was silent for two or three minutes. Then, he opened his checkbook and asked: ‘How much?’ ‘I need 10,000 NIS,’ I replied. He asked: ‘You don’t need more?’ ‘No, just this amount. I will return the amount as soon as possible,’ was my answer. The man wrote out the check and said: "Here is the amount you need, but I will give it only on one condition. Unless you agree, I will not give it. The condition is this: My gift to you must be given freely. There will be no refund. No work. Agreed? You see, it is my great honor that you have come to me and asked for my help.’ "Then, quite unexpectedly, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small book. He gave it to me and said: ‘Now you have a friend.’ I thought that him meant ‘himself.’ Instead, he replied: ‘This friend ... is Jesus.’ The book was a small Bible. I did not know what to say to him as thank you. "This was a great miracle for me! He was the very last person I could turn to for help, and he helped me. I knew that God had given me this miracle. I analyzed what had happened to me and began to think about Jesus. I read the Bible. In time I returned to this man, and asked if he would baptize me a Christian. He said: ‘I do not baptize. Go to a church and ask there.’ So, I ended up coming to St. Saviour’s Church in Jerusalem, where one of the Franciscans gave me instructions. I was finally baptized on February 16, 1998, at St. Saviour’s Church. "I still visit this "man of charity two or three times a year." He is single, in his early 40's, and still doing works of charity. Now, he rents places for the poor to find shelter .. and each day, he personally brings them food to eat. He has decided that this is the vocation that God has called him to live." As Margarita told me her life-story, words tumbled out from her like a flowing, bubbling stream of God’s goodness. She ended by saying: "There are many people today who do not believe in miracles. I believe! I have experienced God’s miracles in my life. And what I want to say to everyone is this: Everyday there are miracles! But these miracles are ‘very tender.’ And it takes a ‘tender heart’ to see them." © copyright 1999 |
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