Butko, Tamara

Description

Tell about your childhood, school, family, etc.

My father took part in WW II and later worked as a vet, my mother was forced to go to Germany to work there. I was raised in the village where my parents taught me to do all kinds of  village work.  My parents wanted me to become a vet, but after one year of studying I had to quit since I realized it was not something I would want to do.

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

So I entered Trade College and then spent 37 years working in trade which I enjoyed. Work conditions were good. It was a big mall with 360 workers. It was great time for everyone: there were machines, a good restaurant for our staff, timely vacations (usually we would go to the sea or to visit our parents). Now there are many unemployed people and people who make minimum payments, while everything is so expensive in stores. It is hard to survive for everyone except rich people.

Tell about your present life.

I have no joy now. I live in a beautiful place with lakes and woods. Irpen and Bucha is close to the part of Kyiv I live in. For three months we could hear well all the sounds of battles taking place there. We could hear shelling, the lights would go off, the house would be shaken. There are power generators by stores. The government takes care of use. All basic goods are available in stores but they are awfully expensive.

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

I believe in Christ. I pray a lot and have read the Bible. The Lord hears our prayers and will lead us out of this horror. I used to work with a woman from the West of Ukraine who was an Orthodox believer and told me a lot about faith. I got interested. She invited me to her church. It was over 20 years ago and I am very thankful to that lady.

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

When the big war started my son and a granddaughter moved in with me. My daughter-in-law went to Poland. My granddaughter did not want to go with her mother. Ukrainian men are not allowed to leave Ukraine. We are living in fear of losing our lives and housing. We have two beautiful cats. Pray for us, our church and Ukraine. We believe in the coming peace and our victory. The Lord is on the side of the truth.