My name is Olena. I grew up in Kramatorsk, Donetsk region. In February 2022, my husband and I were expecting our second child, a little boy. Our daughter was four and a half.
On February 24, we woke up to the sound of war. A few hours later, the city was under heavy shelling. All my friends were sent home from work.
A month of fear
We didn’t have a basement, so there was nowhere to hide from the rockets. For almost a month, we lived in complete fear, hiding with our daughter as best we could, sleeping in the corridors and in bomb shelters. Three houses on our street were completely destroyed.
At the end of March, my doctor told me they were no longer accepting patients and I’d have to look for a maternity hospital in another city. Volunteers took us out and brought us to Poltava, about 180 miles away, where our baby boy was born. It took almost all of our savings to relocate.
A child leads the way
About a month later, we were invited to the local church. For several months, we came solely for humanitarian aid. There were always people there ready to talk and support us, but we never took them up on it.
In May, my daughter and I were invited to a children’s club. We began attending these events from time to time, but all these stories remained mere fairy tales for me.
It was our daughter who became most interested in God. She always asked questions about Him and wanted to watch cartoons about God. I didn’t know much and couldn’t answer her questions, but when we were invited to a service last winter, my husband and I went together. Our child was given a New Testament – the Treasure Hunt Bible. It was written for children, but we were very interested in reading it ourselves! It had lots of questions in it that we could all think about together.
The most valuable treasure
Our daughter made us pray and read this Bible with her every day. I thank God that last autumn, my husband came to faith, and in the winter, so did I.
In this new town, we found the most valuable thing – faith in God! It all started with a children’s book, but now our lives have completely changed.
You sent this Bible to Olena’s family!
Do you remember our 2022 Christmas appeal? Many of you gave generously to send Treasure Hunt Bibles, newly-translated into Ukrainian, to children experiencing their first Christmas as refugees. Olena’s little girl was one of them. A £5 Christmas present has changed the lives of her whole family forever. Thank you so much from Olena and us!
To support this ministry and others like it, you can give a gift here today.
