The Destination

by Oxana Eliahu

The Kaminsky family lived under Communism and behind the iron curtain for generations. Vita and everyone she knew thought people who believed in God were ignorant and primitive. She hated being a Jewand despised the idea of going to Israel. In the late 1980’s, when Perestroika allowed Jews to leave Russia, she had big dreams for success. Looking for love and wealth, she left Russia for America, but nothing went as planned. Her life was a wild ride—and an amazing testimony to the incredible power and persistence of the loving God she refused to acknowledge. For years He let her live in the messes she made, each time rescuing her at the last minute, until she finally called out to Him.Vita’s journey of transformation with dreams, wonders and miracles, dramatic relationships, divorce, and death ends with a divine love story that brings her to Peculiar, USA. You will never forget her story!Here is the trailer for the Wasn't My Idea To Write This Book. Many times, after sharing my testimony in churches and congregations, people had asked me if I had the story of my life written in a book.At first I didn’t pay attention to those questions about the book, but as people continued requesting, I prayed and asked God if this was His idea.I am like Gideon, always trying to make sure that I hear the right voice. In my prayer I said, “God if this is your will, please give me another direct confirmation. Please let someone say these exact words to me, ‘Oxana, you need to write a book of your testimony.’”A few weeks later, we did a revival service in Butler, Missouri. I had only forty-five minutes to share and sing, so I couldn’t even share my whole story, just a little part of it.At the very end, when almost everybody had left, a woman approached me and without any greeting, with no “hello” or “shalom,” she said to “Oxana you need to write a book of your testimony.”Wow! I had goose bumps. This surely was the confirmation. I knew I had to take it seriously now.How in the world could I write a book? I even have an accent in every language that I speak. It just seemed to be a huge giant that I would never be able to fight.Finally, I pulled myself together and wrote one page of the book. I felt very proud of myself and even showed my first page to some friends. To my big surprise, they said they liked it, but I couldn’t go any further. It just was too hard for me. I felt like Jonah, who didn’t want to go to Nineveh.One day after ministering in a Russian church in Oregon, one young lady came to talk to us. She wanted us to go together for dinner. At the restaurant she asked Boaz and me to share a story about how we met, and we gladly told her our love story.The next day she wrote me on Facebook that our story really touched her heart and also gave her hope and encouragement.Well, I thought to myself, why should I write the whole story of my life, it’s so long and complicated? Why not to start with a shorter story?I felt like I found a solution. I would just create a love story novel, which was also a great testimony and had a message by itself. I even had a catchy title for it, “How I Met My Boaz and Ended Up in Peculiar.”I started writing, but still struggled. So I decided to take a writing course online. I also read a book called Writing Life Stories by Bill Roorbach and signed up for critique writing groups.When I brought my writings to the critique group and read the first chapter of my love story, they said to me, “You can’t just start the story like that. You have to give us some background.”I wrote three pages of my background and came to the writing group again.I read my new pages with the condensed and compressed story of my life, hoping that now I would be done with the background and will be able to concentrate and continue with my love story again........ But it didn't fly....

236 pages, Paperback

Published July 25, 2016

Reviews

[Kingdom]

Oxana Eliahu shares her incredible autobiography in her book, The Destination. With dreams of making it to America to find wealth and success, her story is captivating. Born in Leningrad, Russia (now Saint Petersburg), Oxana was a Russian born Jew. Confused about her identity as a Jew, Oxana at one time became a devout Communist, which was the expected norm within Russia. Growing up in a Communist country, as the reader will experience, was not a walk in the park. Some days they had to wait in long lines for hours just to get a few bananas, some berries and some decent clothes. In regards to the subject of religion, Oxana was brought up in a secular atmosphere where there was no talk of God in her household. Believing in evolution, her opinion was that people who trusted in God were primitive. Her only exposure to God was through old books and pictures she saw in museums. God in His sovereignty reveals His unending love for Oxana and that becomes an unforgettable journey of redemption to her God-given destiny.

Then in the 80’s Jews were beginning to be released from Russia. She found herself in Italy as a refugee, seeking a country, but no country would have her. Russia considered her a traitor and Italy would not allow her to work or gain citizenship. Her Visa to America was denied and she found herself hopelessly lost with not enough money to survive. Her story is incredible, filled with anticipation, as she describes her experiences, the persecution, her resolve through the doubt and the heartbreak to The Destination, and how she was once a Russian citizen, a Jew, now without a country or place to call “home.”

Throughout her powerful testimony, the miracles of God become evident, as she discovers Yeshua (Jesus) and begins to find faith through Him. Her story does not end there. God led Oxana to Canada, and then to Israel, and finally to America where she now shares her faith that represents a loving God to readers as He guided her into her purpose as a worship singer and songwriter.

This book comes highly recommended as one of those rare gems that allows readers to look into the lens of history’s past that encompass the great plans of the Almighty weaved in a tapestry of true-life overcoming, that just makes you want to shout for joy! Oxana’s narrative of her story will overwhelm you and encourage you with the presentation of the goodness of God. As you will see, Oxana’s story is a triumphant one!