BVOV Magazine 2013 - present

Identity Crisis “Even though I’d been raised in church, I still struggled with an identity crisis,” Anna recalls. “I was born in Ukraine in the city of Odessa, and Russian was my first language. I was one of five children in a Christian family. My dad always wanted to do missions work, so he traveled and sang until the Lord told him to move to the U.S. We were sponsored by a family in Missouri, so my parents sold most of their belongings and we moved there when I was 2 years old. Dad worked in a Chinese restaurant for minimum wage. “By 1992, Dad was following Kenneth Hagin and had started doing light translations for Kenneth Copeland. Brother Copeland wanted him to do more, so that year we moved to Fort Worth. Dad taught us the word of faith and we prayed together as a family every morning. He gave us quizzes during the week and we got a nickel for every right answer. At home, Dad only allowed us to speak Russian because he wanted us to be bilingual. Unwrapping the Gift “I was 5 years old when I started attending children’s church at Eagle Mountain International Church. There I was with my strong Russian accent, big bow and old clothes. At that young age, I wasn’t aware that we were poor. I just knew we were different. My parents did a great job making us feel like we had everything we needed—I just never fit in.” Initially, music and singing were a big part of Anna’s entire family, she recalls. “I’d always known I had a call to music, but I felt inadequate, insecure and out of place,” she confesses. “But it was Superkid Academy that changed my life. Somehow, Superkid Academy Commanders Dana and Linda Johnson saw past my fear and insecurity and unwrapped the gifts in me.” Superkid Academy was like a wonderland to Anna. On Wednesday evenings, she and her siblings attended Cadet Training. Going from station to station, Anna learned the principles that she would live by for life. She learned about God, and how to worship and access His presence. And she learned about the heart of Jesus. Anna and the other kids were also given an opportunity to put what they had learned into practice. By age 10, Anna was leading worship in children’s church. Mortified to be in the limelight, she was also in awe of the opportunity she’d been given. The little girl with the big voice glorified God through praise. It didn’t matter if she sang the wrong note. What mattered to Commanders Dana and Linda was that they accessed God’s presence. It mattered that they relied on the Holy Spirit, not on the arm of the flesh. When Anna was 11, Commander Dana asked her and her sister, along with two other sisters, to record an album. Over the next few years, The Girls, as they had come to be known, made four recordings. “We sang at conferences and conventions across the U.S., from KCM’s West Coast Believers’ Convention in Anaheim, Calif., to the Southwest Believers’ Convention in Fort Worth,” Anna remembers. “We led worship and taught the children. I still had a strong Russian accent but was somehow unaware of it. I also battled a lot of shame over my weight and poor self-image. My insecurity made me wonder if I was no more than a voice. Was that all I was good for? Who was I? “I begged my parents for voice lessons, but they cost $100 an hour and they didn’t have that kind of money. So I prayed and asked the Lord to do what He does best and teach me.” Linking to the Past The sun gleamed against a sapphire sky as the airplane circled over the Black Sea. Now 12 years old, Anna peered out the window at Yalta below. Swallowing a lump in her throat, she prepared to land in Ukraine—her first visit to her homeland since the family had immigrated to the U.S. Yalta, a resort city on the south coast of the Crimean Peninsula, rested alongside the Black Sea, a little over 500 miles around the coast from her birthplace of Odessa. Still jetlagged, Anna walked out of the airport and felt a powerful connection to her homeland. Everywhere she turned, people spoke Russian, which felt like a balm to her soul. ***** article continues on next page ***** ************************************ Read Through the Bible FEBRUARY Old Testament/New Testament Wed 1 Ex. 18-19 / Mark 9 Thu 2 Ex. 20-21 / Mark 10 Fri 3 Ex. 22-23 / Mark 11 Sat 4 Ex. 24-25 / Mark 12 Sun 5 Ex. 26-28 / Mark 13-14 Mon 6 Ex. 29-30 / Mark 15 Tue 7 Ex. 31-32 / Mark 16 Wed 8 Ex. 33-34 / Luke 1 Thu 9 Ex. 35-36 / Luke 2 Fri 10 Ex. 37-38 / Luke 3 Sat 11 Ex. 39-40 / Luke 4 Sun 12 Lev. 1-3 / Luke 5-6 Mon 13 Lev. 4-5 / Luke 7 Tue 14 Lev. 6-7 / Luke 8 Wed 15 Lev. 8-9 / Luke 9 Thu 16 Lev. 10-11 / Luke 10 Fri 17 Lev. 12-13 / Luke 11 Sat 18 Lev. 14-15 / Luke 12 Sun 19 Lev. 16-18 / Luke 13-14 Mon 20 Lev. 19-20 / Luke 15 Tue 21 Lev. 21-22 / Luke 16 Wed 22 Lev. 23-24 / Luke 17 Thu 23 Lev. 25-26 / Luke 18 Fri 24 Lev. 27-Num. 1 / Luke 19 Sat 25 Num. 2-3 / Luke 20 Sun 26 Num. 4-6 / Luke 21-22 Mon 27 Num. 7:1-48 / Luke 23 Tue 28 Num. 7:49-78 / Luke 24 “Read Through the Bible in a Year Plan” written by Marilyn Hickey, and used by permission. 10 : BVOV

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