Voice of Ukraine

From Lyuda (Day 255): Dear brothers and sisters, Our day was nice yesterday. The weather was warm and sunny and there was no alarms during the day, we had only one alarm late in the evening but nothing happened and the night was peaceful. We hope to have a peaceful day today.

Yesterday our church members were cooking food for soldiers and had a lunch in the church together. Sergey had some individual meetings with some people who wanted to talk to the pastor.

And there was a detective story we all were involved in. It was about the woman I wrote before who began to have some problems. This woman came to our church about a year ago and she looked like a person with a very rough past and the signs of being addicted. But she responded so well to the love she felt in the church. She became actively involved in the church life serving with her gifts, she made friends with our ladies and we all accepted her as a sister. But something happened this last month, she became withdrawn and people from the church often saw her walking with a strange-looking man who looks like someone who has something to do with crime. Yesterday she didn’t come to cook in the church and our ladies began to call her but her phone didn’t answer and we all began to worry for her. We were afraid that something bad could happen and we began to make plans how to find her and help her. Then in the evening she called back to one our church lady and told that she wants to be alone. Sergey called her right after that but her phone was already turned off. It looks like she has a problem with drugs. Please, pray for her with us. She needs help.

Walking down the street yesterday I ran into my cousin Valentin. I was so glad to see him. He was bravely fighting from the first days of the war. In spring his group was keeping watches on our sea shore and resisted the landing of enemy navies from the sea. They gave them no chance to do it. Then their group was sent to the southern direction and they were fighting near Nickolayev. Last month he got to hospital with a serious shell-shock.He had bad headaches and felt dizzy for a long time. After he was discharged from the hospital he began to struggle with PTSD. He couldn’t walk in the street because all people who simply were walking around made him angry. He couldn’t stand music, and when he saw people laughing it made him mad. He went to western Ukraine where he had some rehabilitation in the mountains. Now feels much better. The talk to him made me think about many other soldiers who go through the same hardship coming back and we will have many-many people with such problem when the war ends. This is another big area for the work of our center.

In the afternoon Sergey and I worked in the yard. We collected leaves and enjoyed the last warm sunrays.

We wish you to have a good weekend!

In Christ,
Lyuda

P.S. There are photos of a city charity fair in support of the Armed Forces.