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| This is the KGB's Most Wanted Man and also, my hero. |
There are many truths and values I hold near and dear, and they are ones I believe that I will never forget, never compromise and never be afraid to wear on my sleeve or boldly proclaim. A phrase we often hear from a young age is “Always stand up for what you believe in” or “Never compromise” or something along those lines. Those are great phrases, ones that have been told to me and ones I have told others. It’s great advice but sometimes, it sure is easier said than done. Sometimes our beliefs and values are challenged or put to the test. Sometimes these battles are easy and sometimes these battles have us a loss for our voice. We know what to say but at the given moment, we retreat, either out of fear or discomfort, or even embarrassment. I’ve been there, I am a flawed person and sometimes I fail myself. I fail my own convictions and I fail to do the right thing.
We far too often forget to remember, that at least if you’re
living in America, you have the freedom is say what you want to say and believe
what you want to believe. People may disagree and go as far as to argue and
come up with a vast array of names for you, but despite some verbal adversary
you may face, we’ve got it pretty good here…. And yet we still can’t always
manage to stand for what we believe in.
But what if it wasn’t just some name calling or brief
debating on the line? What if your everything was on the line? What if your
education and employment opportunities, family, financial security, home and
literal life were on the line? As much as I try to process that, I don’t think
I will ever fully grasp the extent of what that feels like, and I all too often
forget that there are those who still very much face that reality today. People
are still dying, simply for the beliefs and values they hold true.
In 2009, while participating in a pageant, I was asked the
quintessential pageant question of “Who is your hero and why?” My immediate
response was my grandfather. And if asked that question today, I would without
a doubt give the same answer today.
My grandfather, Joseph Bondarenko, will always be my
greatest hero. I am fortunate beyond words that my grandpa is still alive and
well today. He has this zeal and zest for life that I can only hope to one day
possess. He dreams big and passionately, he lives each day full of drive and
fire and joy that cannot be dimmed. You would never suspect that for many
years, he was one of the most wanted men by the Soviet Union’s military police
– the KGB.
My grandfather, asa young man, was involved with the
Christian church and church ministry in the former Soviet Union. The label of
“Christian” in the iron grip of the Soviet society put the ultimate target on
your back, and since he was a pastor, that really put the gun to his head.
