They arrived in America with carry-on dreams and student visas—Val, 40, and Marina, 39—exchange students from different corners of Russia who met by chance in Pigeon Forge. Nineteen years of marriage later, their story winds through classrooms, night shifts, children’s soccer sidelines, and Saturday mornings filled with hymns and handshakes.
After studying together at the Tennessee Technology Center in Knoxville, they graduated nursing in 2010. Val went straight to Morning Pointe of Lenoir City, discovering the rhythm he still loves: caring for the whole person—body and spirit. He later earned a Bachelor’s in Theology (2023), deepening the ministry he brings to the bedside.
Marina spent those early years at home with their growing family, then walked through our doors in 2017 to volunteer—and never really left. She became an LPN, then a part-time Activities Assistant (2023–2024), and in October 2024stepped into her calling as Life Enrichment Director. Her favorite moments are the quiet ones—one-on-one visits where stories unfurl like photo albums and residents feel seen.
Together, at the end of 2021, they began leading Saturday devotions for residents. Word spread. Soon teenagers and elementary kids from Knoxville and Lenoir City church communities were joining in—reading, singing, listening, serving. The circle widened; the Saturdays stuck.
Home for Val and Marina is loud and lively: Elijah (14), a freshman at Grace Christian Academy; Ava (13); Gabriel (11); and Liam (6)—all four playing with Emerald Soccer Club. Between practices and prayer, charting and calendars, their weeks are full—but not rushed. They move with purpose.
Ask them what Morning Pointe means, and they’ll smile the same answer: “It’s our second home.” Two nurses who crossed an ocean found a community where faith and work meet, where care looks like conversation, and where every Saturday feels a little like church.
