Neupokoyeva, Maria

Description

Tell about your childhood, school, family, etc.

I was born in a family of workers. My parents worked at a factory in Kyiv. In my childhood I was in daycare, then started school, went to see my grandmother in the village, went to children’s camps, enjoyed afterschool activities, sports. I had two younger sisters, whom I had to take care of. Our parents were very caring and loving, they taught us to work and be kind to people.

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

I worked at a factory as a seamstress after finishing school. In evenings I studied at the technical college. Later I became a quality controller and a designer. Work conditions were almost great – thus I had worked at the same factory all my life. Until now I stay in touch with my former colleagues.

Tell about your present life.

I am a widow now. My husband and I were married for 46 years. We could not have kids. My husband’s sister died and we adopted her daughter when the girl was 8. She finished school and college and worked as a teacher. It was terrible pain when we learnt that she suddenly died. Because of stress I developed sugar diabetes. Only faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and support of St. Paul church encourage me to keep on going and overcome all life’s hardships.

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

I believe in Christ, yes. Both my mother and a grandmother were believers – they kept all Christian celebrations, prayed and taught me to pray. When Ukraine became independent, it was possible to get the Bible. It was hard to me to study the Bible on my own so in 2015 I came to St. Paul Church to understand the Bible better. In 2017 I became the church’s member. I feel I am not alone: God and the church provide me with great spiritual support.

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

I am very thankful to our sponsors for material and spiritual support. Now I go through eyes treatment overseen by our wonderful doctor Vadim. I was supported financially when my eye surgery was needed, I got free glasses and received free test stripes for checking sugar level in my blood. It is all due to our sponsors’ help. We continue to receive food vouchers, Christmas and New Year presents: warm blanket, comfortable slippers, a kettle with a whistle – these things are necessary to us, they warm us, elderly people, up. Through these items we feel the warmth of our sponsors’ hearts. I wish our sponsors God’s protection and good health. The ministry started by Roger and Diane is going on. Now the war is going and the US is providing us with material and spiritual support needed to win this war. John 14:1. Trust in the Lord is necessary to live in this difficult hour!