Glimpses into Their Lives

As I hear the testimonies of the believers here, I am overwhelmed with gratitude for all that God has done for me. All of my life I have been surrounded by Christians...Christian parents, in-laws, relatives, and now a husband. I grew up in a "Christian" country, where we had freedom to learn about God and HIS creation. For many of these people, they have a completely different story to tell. They have been brought up in an atheistic society, or a religious, orthodox church. They have been taught evolution since birth. What they have seen in their lifetime, I can't even begin to comprehend. Even now, I can only imagine how difficult their lives are. They need your prayers! I would like to share a few of them with you, though I know that they would be much better at telling their stories than I am.

Let me start with Valentina. She was the first person we saw get saved when we came to Ukraine. Though we did not play a role in her salvation, we have seen God work in her life greatly since we have been here. She is very dear to our family, and is like a grammy to the girls. She is one of the sweetest people you will ever meet. Right now, her son, his wife, and his wife's son live with her in her house. Both her son and his wife drink. Her co-workers are all Jehovah Witnesses and pressure her constantly. There is not a single person in her family, that I know of, that is saved. Every single day she is forced to put up with drunkenness, sometimes beaten, sworn at, and told not to talk about her God and Jesus. In her own home she has no peace, no place where she can run to and seek the Lord. Her only room has no door. There is constant noise from the four tv's in the house. When we were in Poland, she watched our house for us. What a difference we saw in her. She seemed so relaxed and at peace. Please pray for her and her family. She greatly desires to see them saved.

I'll close with Lina. Lina was the church translator even before we arrived and has been saved for a while. She did not grow for quite some time after she was saved though. Early in her salvation, she met a man who was not saved and fell in love with him. Against the advice of Christian friends, she married him anyways. It is now a daily thorn in her flesh. Her husband has allowed her to teach their son, Max, the Bible and bring him to church. Praise the Lord that Max has believed in Jesus because of this. Her husband is now very involved with some type of new cult and communicates with them daily through the internet. Sometimes he forces her to sit and watch videos of his beliefs and of evolution. They live in a one-room apartment. There is no where for her or Max to hide from the shadow that is placed on the home. Please be praying for her, her husband, and for Max.

Pray for us as we not only try to reach the lost, but also try to minister to the few believers here.