In the fall of 2009, Last Bell staff accompanied graduate Masha Segarova as she visited her parents’ home, her baby orphanage, and the orphanage where she grew up. On video, she explains why life was so tough growing up, and what she has found at the Shelter. Please watch to learn about Masha’s life as an orphan.
Masha repented in the summer of 2008 at the Shelter. In August of 2009, she was baptized in the Teteriv River in Zhytomyr, along with three of her peers at the Shelter. Pastor Dima from Loving Community Church asked each of the kids why they had decided to be baptized. Masha’s response: “I chose to be baptized because I am ready to suffer for Christ the way he suffered for me.”
She graduated from trade school in the spring of 2010. On September 26, 2010, Masha began Youth With a Mission’s Discipleship Training School, doing three months of study and three months of practical service. Part of her schooling was paid for by generous donations from Last Bell supporters; Masha paid the other part herself.
Here’s what Masha had to say about her time at YWAM DTS:
“I learned how God is always with us and faithful to the end. That is the biggest thing I took to my heart from my time at DTS.
“I was also glad to learn how to help people during our three months of service. We worked with gypsies, handicapped people, and orphans. I liked seeing people understand they are needed and cared for. I enjoyed telling them about God and bringing them joy.”
While she was at DTS, Masha felt a calling from God to serve Muslims, specifically in Azerbaijan. Masha spent a month in the city of Ternopil with friends from YWAM, praying for God to show her what to do next. At church, her friends laid hands on her and prayed. An hour after that, a Last Bell staff member called to say they had found an opportunity for Masha to work with a team in Azerbaijan.
In the summer of 2011, she was able to go on a short-term trip to work with the team in Azerbaijan. She feels called to return to Azerbaijan full-time and can’t wait to go back.
“God is always with us and faithful to the end.”
Chris Cambell, an intern with World Next Door, wrote an article about Masha in 2010. You can read it here.