Voice of Ukraine

From Lxxx (Day 178): Dear brothers and sisters, It’s a nice day, quiet and sunny and there is a hope for a good weekend.

Yesterday we had a meeting with the counselors and at the end we prayed with a serenity prayer. I started this day with a serenity prayer, too. When we surrender to His will He gives us peace and serenity.

We talked about different topics that our counselors deal with when they work with clients. One major topic is marriage relationship. A very serious problem for many families today is separation. Wives with children left the country and husbands stay in Ukraine. It’s very hard and the level of anxiety is high especially for those women whose husbands are in the army now.

There are some stories of our clients:

Natasha: “My husband is in the army and I an in Poland with my son and with my mother. It’s very hard to be so far away from my husband. The internet connection is not very good here and we can’t talk, it breaks a lot. I worry that my son can’t communicate with his dad. Sometimes his phone doesn’t answer and when I see that he is not in the net I panic. I think of going back to Ukraine, but my friends who are there tell me that it’s not safe. I don’t know what to do, I can not be away from my husband”

Larisa
“My husband lost his job before the war and we lived for my salary. We began to argue because he didn’t try to find a new job. When the war began I left Ukraine with our two children and my husband stays at home. I live in Belgium and it’s very nice here. My children will go school in the fall. Volunteers provide us with everything we need – food, clothes. Each time I call my husband we argue, he doesn’t want to do anything and stays in depression. Last time we talked he said; “ I admit that I am not a good husband, because I can’t take care of you and children. But what can I do?” My future is very uncertain, I don’t know what to do May be I should settle here in Belgium and try to start a new life here alone or may be I should return to Ukraine and try to save my marriage?”

Marina – lives in a small town not far from Kiev: “I had a big shock on Friday, my husband told me that he is going to the front line. It became dark in my eyes and for several minutes I heard some strange noise in my ears. Last time I felt like this several months ago when my city was bombed. I am a volunteer and when I work with other people I feel Ok, but when I come home I cry a lot. I can’t stand the sound of a microwave because it reminds me of the sound of flying rocket. I am constantly worrying for my husband because he is a soldier, but after he told that his detachment is moving to the front line I have no peace at all…”

Irina 18 – from Kharkiv
“I feel guilty because I left my country 5 months ago. I live in Germany now, I try to adapt, but I can’t. What worries me is that my life does not depend on me in any way, it generally seems to have stopped at one moment. All my plans are ruined. I am ashamed that I cry because I am not in such a dire situation as others. I planned to become a doctor. But distance learning is not an option. I think about entering the university here, in Germany, but I don’t know the language and I will lose a lot of time while learning to speak German…”

Please, pray for our clients and for us as we work with them.

In Christ,
Lxxx