The Best Bottle of Pop...Ever!

This is the story that I had ready for the blog a few weeks ago before my accident.  But, it's such a great story that it's worth waiting for, one that is 10 years in the making.  Keep reading.

Those of you who know me will know that I am a very staunch Coke drinker (regular flavour).  Rarely will I drink any other kind.  However, this is the best bottle of pop I have ever had.  I'll get to why it is later.  Forgive me but this might get a little long.

This is Sergey.  He is 55 years old and in his younger days he was a diver in the Soviet navy.  He is now a resident of the Iskra Men's Disabled Home and as far as I'm concerned he is not disabled.  (In the former Soviet countries disabled homes are for mentally and physically disabled.  They are usually placed on the outskirts of town or in another village out of sight and away from general society.)  On October 13th - Thanksgiving Sunday - I was witness to a huge event in Sergey's life.  But first I'll have to give some background.

Sergey was married and had 3 children, a boy and 2 girls.  This would end up not being a good marriage as his wife by all reports was...well...evil.  She was into some kind of satanic worship, drank and would beat their children.  She threatened them if they told their father that she would beat them again.  She also made Sergey stay in the barn and would beat the children if they took him food.  Ten years ago another man came into the picture and she had Sergey committed to the disabled home to get rid of him.  She tried to tell the children that their father was dead, but they were old enough to not believe it and they weren't letting go.

So for the last 10 years Sergey has been living in the disabled home cut off from most of society and his dream was to find his children.  They were looking for him too.  Thanksgiving Sunday was the day that they were all reunited and what an amazing day that was!

Larissa and Tanya do a lot of work at the men's home and they as well as some friends from their church had been posting notices all over the internet on various sites trying to locate the children for Sergey.  Finally on Classmates.com the youngest daughter saw their notice and a photo of Sergey and made contact.  They told the daughter to come to church on Sunday that they had information on her father.  Little did she, her brother, and Sergey, know what was going to happen.  This is where I ended up being involved.

The night before Tanya called me and asked if I would like to go to their church with them in Bishkek for their 22nd anniversary service.  She said that they were bringing Sergey and asked me to bring my camera and wanted to make sure I had room on it for video.  She didn't say anything else.  So the next morning they picked me up and while we're driving Tanya was explaining to me in English what was going to happen after service - right there in front of Sergey.

So after service the moment finally came to bring them all together.  We were all in position with cameras ready and then sprung the surprise.  It was one of the most amazing things I have ever witnessed in my life.  There was lots of crying and hugging as well as a lot of smiles.  Now the oldest daughter was not at church so there was a frantic call made telling her to get to the church.  She didn't believe what she was being told but was coming any ways.  She would later say that it was the longest taxi ride in her life, compounded by the fact that the taxi driver didn't know where he was going.  So about 45 minutes to an hour later there was a second tearful reunion with the oldest daughter.  Sergey was finally reunited with all 3 of his children after 10 years.  But there was more to come.

We all went to a cafe for coffee and dessert and it was so touching to watch the family interact.  They could not keep their hands off of each other.  At all times they either had their arms around Sergey's shoulder or his waist or were touching him in some way and they would walk along arm in arm.  They were not going to let each other go.  They had a lot of catching up to do.  The kids are all grown now and have families of their own.  They said that they don't want anything to do with their mother as she has tried to ruin their lives too.  Sergey then got another shock in finding out that he has 11 grandchildren.

After the cafe they invited everyone to one of the kids' house for tea in true Kyrgyzstan hospitality and here Sergey got to meet all of his grandchildren and the kid's spouses.  Sergey was so excited he couldn't eat but his daughter in true babushka fashion said:  "Papa eat!!" and wouldn't take no for an answer.  During this time one of the spouses said that when they were searching for Sergey they found that the government had him listed as dead...they blamed that on the mother.  So we spent the entire afternoon watching this amazing event unfold, complete with photo albums from the past and a worship time with prayers of thanksgiving.  We now have new members in the eternal family.  The fact that it was Thanksgiving weekend made it even sweeter.

When it was time to take Sergey back to the men's home the tears started again, but this time it will be a much shorter separation. When we were driving down the street the whole family stood motionless in the middle of the street and watched the van until we were out of sight.  There are so many other wonderful details I'd love to tell but it would likely take several blog entries to write them all.  It is a day that I will not forget soon and I am so humbled and honoured to have been a part of it.

So...back to the bottle of pop.  While we were waiting for the oldest daughter to get to the church, the son was sent across the street to the store to buy pop for a few of us.  Imagine, with all of that going on the kids still thought of being hospitable to us strangers.  So with the events of the day, this story of a father and his children who over the years would not let each other go, and who the pop came from, that is why it is the best bottle of pop ever.

You can watch the video of the reunion with Sergey and his youngest daughter and son here.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCvfImmYgRs

To all you parents and children:  keep holding onto each other and never let go.  Till next time...Я люблю вас!!

In the church lobby after the 1st reunion with the youngest daughter and son.

The family with some of those who did the search and arranged the reunion.

The 2nd reunion with the oldest daughter and her son who is the spitting image of Sergey.

Like the bottle of pop I think this is the best Thanksgiving meal I've ever had.

Sergey and his whole family.

Sergey in his younger days when he served at Vladivostok.