It was the spring of 1975 and Lida, twenty-four years of age and a committed believer, was working as a nurse’s aid in a maternity ward. Across the street abortions were performed routinely. As it was not uncommon to perform abortions very late in pregnancies, occasionally babies were born alive. In such situations, the newborns were carried across the street to where Lida worked. Lida was appalled to discover that no special attention was paid to these premature victims of abortion. Often, they were simply left to die.
On March 31, 1975 a baby boy was brought in — the victim of an abortion in the seventh month. Contrary to all expectations, the little boy lived, even though for days he was barely cared for. Lida took pity on the boy and obtained permission from the natural mother and hospital authorities to adopt the child. An official birth certificate, which I translated, listed Lida as the mother of the boy Lida named Aaron Vashchenko.
Aaron survived, then thrived in the warmth and love of the large Vashchenko family. There were already thirteen children, but the generous Christian family made room for one more precious child from God. However, certain city officials were not pleased when they learned that the Vashchenko family, with whom they had had conflicts for years, had adopted a child. Plans were made to deprive Lida of her “parental rights”. This was a tactic that the Vashchenkos understood all too well. The memories of what had happened to Lida, Lyuba, and Nadya in the 1960’s were still fresh.
The authorities were absolutely unscrupulous in their efforts to “save” this little child from the clutches of believers. They compelled the natural mother to say she feared that the Vashchenkos intended to “sacrifice” Aaron. Faced with the prospect of losing Aaron by force, Lida went into hiding. When she eventually returned home, authorities broke in, beat her, and stole Aaron. Aaron was in perfect health on July 17, 1975, when he was abducted. It was the last time the Vashchenkos saw him alive.
When Chernogorsk officials informed Lida that Aaron had died, she was driven by an indomitable will to find out if this were indeed true and, if so, what had happened. Lida and her father visited the local cemetery. To their great sorrow, they learned that a few days earlier the authorities had brought a little boy in for burial. He had reportedly been found in a field, abandoned by his parents.