Often we believe that there are certain categories of people whom we should help and there are some who are hopeless in our eyes. We believe that if we can’t change anything in a person’s life, our efforts are useless. By measuring somebody’s life by our own criteria we forget that God is able to change life and circumstances of a lost person.
We met the Gaidash family in the front-line village of Zaitsevo, Donetsk region. Vladimir, Anna and their three sons lived in a crumbling house in constant danger to their lives. The children weren’t attending school and were spending their time gathering shells in their garden.
Anna had had a stroke and couldn’t do anything at home. Her reactions were somewhat inappropriate and she could say some rude things. The woman was only 38 but she looked much older. She said she would not leave her house and she was afraid of everything.
«When I saw Anna for the first time, I thought to myself that I wouldn’t want to help her. She made me think that it was a waste of time and resources», shares Sergey Demidovich.
However, seeing the constant danger of living right on the fire line and despite of all of Anna’s efforts to stay where they lived, we decided to help them move out of Zaitsevo. People from all over the world donated finances for a new house and some people helped them in Ukraine. We were able to purchase a new house for them not far from Slavyansk (Donetsk region). Thanks to pastors of the «Good News» church Peter Dudnick and Sergey Demidovich, the whole family and their livestock were evacuated to peaceful territory.
On the picture – New house of the Gaidash family
After helping the family move to the new house, we visited them several times bringing them useful things for their new household. At first they couldn’t really believe that they really owned the house. It was really hard for them to get accustomed to new living conditions. As time went by, Anna became more relaxed and happy at their new home. She was open for talking and she shared much of her difficult experiences as a child. The boys helped their Mom as much as they could. Vladimir got a new job at a plant and he appeared to be a very capable and efficient worker.
But our most emotional experience was when we saw the whole Gaidash family at a church service at the «Good News» Church. Anna changed both inside and outside. She was flourishing! Holding her Bible, the woman talked about her new life with the Lord. She asked to forgive her for all of the bed words she had said. Anna spends much of her time at church and she can’t wait for another Sunday to be able to come to a church service.
«After her words I felt like hugging the whole world and making everyone hear this: let’s believe in miracles and save people, even if we feel that it’s not worth it! Since I couldn’t hug the whole world at the time, I hugged Galina Kucher, the person who was able to see in this woman lost to alcohol and sickness a wonderful soul loved by God. This is a real miracle worth living for and even dying for, if needed», shares Sergey Demidovich.
On the picture (from left to right): Sergey Demidovich (pastor of the “Good News Church” of Slavyansk), Anna Gaidash, Galina Kucher (Coordinator of Humanitarian & Relief Projects in eastern Ukraine) and Peter Dudnick (Pastor of the “Good News Church” of Slavyansk)
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