Beketova, Mariia

Description

Tell about your childhood, school, family, etc.

I was born two years before the outbreak of World War II. Therefore, I spent my entire childhood and adolescence in the difficult postwar years. My father was killed in the war. We stayed with my mother and 2 sisters. Despite the difficult postwar years, we had enough to eat. We lived in a village, my mother had a cow, chickens, pigs, and a vegetable garden. Our school was located seven kilometers away and we walked there and back every day. I went to school until I was 14.

Where did you work? Was your work good? Were you happy with your job?

When I was 15, I started working in a sewing factory. I worked there for four years. Then I moved to Kyiv and worked at a building site. It was very hard work, but I couldn’t find any other job at the time. I lived in a dormitory. At the age of 27, I got married. Together with my husband, we bought an apartment on credit and paid for it for 15 years. I gave birth to two children. A boy and a girl. We always lived hard, always lacked money.

Tell about your present life.

I am now retired. I am 84 years old. I live with my husband. He is blind. Two years ago I was diagnosed with blood cancer. To help me with my treatment, my daughter quit her job abroad and came to live with us. Now she is not working. We live on our two small pensions. It’s enough to pay the utilities and buy food.

Have you accepted Christ? How long have you been following the Lord?

I am a believer. I read the Bible. I pray to God every day.

Tell about one thing your sponsor needs to know about you.

I would like to express my gratitude for accepting me into the program at the Mission. This proves once again that God cares and He is always with us and will not leave us in trouble. I also want to thank my sponsor for his help. I will pray for his health and for his family. Many thanks to you and the people who created this mission.