| by Victor Akhterov 
"WHEN I WAS FIVE, my parents and I went through a cleansing ritual where a doughy substance was smeared on our bodies. After it dried, it was scraped off and burned. That night everyone in our village got drunk to celebrate our forgiven sins."
Irina, a university graduate and newlywed, recently shared this story with me. Growing up in the Buryat Republic, north of Mongolia, she lived in parallel worlds. In one, people practice a mixture of Buddhism and shamanism; in the other, they deny their Buryat heritage and embrace secularism. The death rate in Buryat exceeds the birth rate, and entire villages are dying out from rampant alcoholism.
Dependent on the Demonic
It’s not surprising that most Buryats live in despair. Irina told me of a family who spent years trying to appease the demons killing the young men in their family. I stopped her: what did she mean by demons killing their young men?
She explained that Buryats have an intimate, ongoing relationship with evil spirits and submit themselves to demonic control. They often go from one spiritual leader to another to determine what type of animal sacrifice the spirits want: is it a goat, or maybe a young wolf?
Many have a persistent fear of death, which drives them into deep depression. They become ecstatic when they can pay a spiritual leader to spit vodka in their face and declare them forgiven--for a while.
A Leap Into Freedom For the first half of her life Irina's parents lived "under the heavy weight of religious bondage," she explained. "They had no hope.”
But after decades of seeking absolution, they finally found lasting forgiveness. "When they accepted Christ in 1999, I saw them leap into freedom," says Irina. "They became new creatures in Jesus: joyful, active, and hopeful. There’s a sense of triumph over darkness that fills their lives to this day." "However, most of my relatives are still in the claws of death, and that’s where most Buryat people are as well."
Irina's own process of accepting Christ took time. One day she realized that Jesus was her only real friend, and made a commitment to Him.
Immediately following her commitment to Christ, Irina met an American Christian serving in Buryatia. The two women began prayerfully seeking a way to reach the Buryat for Jesus, and radio seemed like the perfect medium.
Victorious Love
Most of Irina's friends have left the region, looking for better opportunities. Irina herself has traveled in Russia and even worked in the U.S. for a while--she speaks excellent English. But she is excited about her life in Buryat: "I know this is where I’m supposed to be," says Irina. "We’re here to share Christ’s victorious love. We use both Buryat and Russian in the program, which is typical of Buryat society. We interview local pastors and believers, touching on current problems, and targeting issues both spiritual and everyday."
Reaching young people is Irina’s passion. "It hurts when your parents are alcoholics; it’s overwhelming to see only the dark part of the spiritual world, and it’s tormenting to be young yet have no hope or purpose."
Irina seeks to show teens how they can have freedom in Christ. "Their future can only be hopeful in Christ. If we connect with them through radio, we’ll be able to touch them with the love of Jesus."
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FEBC is producing programs that will influence an entire generation of Buryats. The programs will be disseminated through the radio, the Internet, and on CD.
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