The large family of Natalya Shipilov live in the small frontline village of Talakovka, Donetsk region.

This tiny woman Natalya is a widow and a mother of six. Two of her older children already left her home while she still has to care for 4 younger kids on her own.

Three years ago, Nataya became a widow and her life changed as the family lost their father and their only provider. Natalya had to care for the kids and work, and she couldn’t keep working in the garden anymore which used to give them additional food. Moreover, it has become extremely dangerous to plant vegetables in the fields filled with bullets and shells.

The family’s income totaling to less than $100 per month could barely provide the family with food. Nevertheless, the woman managed to save some money for school. Unfortunately, Natasha had to take all the family savings out and spend them for her hospital treatment last summer. After experiencing two weeks of terrible pain in the side accompanied with high fever, the woman was urgently taken to the hospital in Mariupol, where she was diagnosed with paranephritis (purulent inflammation of the paranephric body) of the left kidney.

Natalya had an urgent surgery to remove infected fluid which cost the family $300.

Having spent all of the family’s savings for the surgery, Natalya realized that she couldn’t go to hospital any more with four children at home and no money left. Therefore, when 3 months  later her scar began to fester, Natalya did not go to doctors. She tried to clean her wound and do dressings on her own. The woman suffered from unbearable pains, high fever, severe intoxication and vomiting. All this could end very tragically, had there not been a real miracle.

About a year ago, Natalya met a couple of Christian ministers, Vladimir and Oksana Zavadsky.

“Natalya’s daughters, Vika and Natalya,  had been attending our classes at the village school on Fridays. This is how we met Natalya’s family”, shares Vladimir Zavadsky.

One day, Vika and Nastya fell ill, and Vladimir and Oksana decided to visit the girls at home and Natalya shared her problem with them. Vladimir and Oksana realized that Natalya could not cope with this on her own. On the same day they started praying for Natalya and making phone calls trying to help the woman.

“I did understand that the situation was really complicated, and that I could die without going to doctors. I was losing weight too, and weighed 47 kilograms at the time. But, you know, I did not want to live. It was a dead end for me”,Natalya recalls.

After a while, Natalya participated in the medical project organized by CBN-“Emmanuel” with the financial support of the “Pope for Ukraine” Initiative. The project is being implemented at Medical Mobile Clinic in Kiev.  At the clinic, Natalya was able to undergo her initial examination. The results of the patient’s ultrasound were shocking – a large stone was found in the left kidney, which grew directly into the kidney. Because of its sharp ends, the kidney ceased to function and began to rot creating a constant source of infection in Natalya’s body.

The situation was not just severe, it was critical! Natalya was urgently referred to the Institute of Urology in Kyiv, where the best surgeons performed an operation to remove the left kidney. This was the only way out in this situation to save the life of this mother of six children.

The operation was successful and Natalya is undergoing a period of rehabilitation and recovery. Natalya’s doctor Alexander Sergeevich shared after her surgery: “Had Natalya not come to our hospital, she would have been able to live  no longer than two months…”.

In the photo: kidney stone extracted from Natalya’s kidney

Six children were at risk of losing their mother and becoming orphans due to the lack of money in the family! Unfortunately, such situations are not uncommon in our country, when people simply refuse to go to doctors, making an uneasy choice – risking their own health for the well-being of the family.

We are grateful to God, because with Him there is always a way out of a difficult situation! God is merciful. He sends His people, opens their hearts and gives wisdom to doctors at the right time. Each person in this chain is playing their important role in saving other people’s lives.

“I clearly realized that the Lord was invisibly present in this whole situation. And I’m deeply grateful to people who are able to hear His call and help people like me!” – Nataya shared with a smile on her face.

On March 12, in the hospital ward, Natasha prayed to invite God into her life!

Many people contributed to Natalya’s salvation employees of CBN-Emmanuel  and “Pope for Ukraine” Initiative, doctors of “Medical Mobile Clinic” and Institute of Urology, Christian missionaries serving in Talakivka village and Catholic Christians from all over Europe and many others.

Together we can make a difference!