Pluzhnyk Valentyna

Опис

Tell about your childhood, school, family, etc.

I spent my childhood in the village for my dad was a vet. My mother was a house-wife. I had three sisters. We had a small farm. I was the oldest daughter so I had to help my mother with the farm and my sisters. In 1970 I finished school. I was a good student. Then I entered an economics college in Dnipro and became a book-keeper.

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

I worked as a book-keeper at the big metallurgy plant in Mariupol. I left when my daughter was born. Then I worked at the ship-repair plant for some time. Then I became a chief book-keeper at the labor union. My last job was at the resort place that belonged to the metallurgy plant – I was a top manager there. I was pleased with every job I had. I was respected by people I worked with.

Tell about your present life.

Unfortunately, I am not happy with my life now because of the war brought to our country by Russia. I had to leave my native town. I spent my life there, graveyards of my parents and family are there. The war took everything from us – our home and everything we made and earned. Along with thousands of people I had to flee from bombs and measles. It is very hard to remember that month I had to spent in the basement with no power, water, heat, food and water, under bombing. It was hard to leave the city occupied by Russians. I stayed at different places before I made it to Kyiv. Her in Kyiv it is not peaceful either with measles attacks and air raids. Rented housing is hard to find and expensive. I broke my hand and had a surgery. Then I broke my legs.

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

I believe in God and Christ. I would not have made it without faith. I have always prayed and the Lord helped me. My believing mother taught me a lot about faith. Before it was forbidden to believe in God, many churches were destroyed. But our mother always taught us that we were to believe in God with our hearts.

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

I remember losing my husband in the city during bombing. Our town is big – 400 thousand people. Terrible things were happening. Everything is being destroyed, according to the information about 80 thousand people had been killed by then. Bombing was everywhere. Phosphorus bombs were the worst – they made even soil burn. I was rescued by miracle and prayed all the time for my husband to be alive. I just prayed and the Lord heard me. It would take long time to share what my husband had gone through. Only at the end of September 2022 he could be sent to Kyiv. He arrived sick and skinny. He would often have heart failures and we had to call the emergency. Eventually his heart was operated – he spent much time in the intensive care after the surgery. It was in winter. Once when I was going to the hospital to visit him I fell and broke my leg. It was hard to live through that experience. I was in cast for two months. Ladies from our church went to visit my husband. Now both my husband and I are on expensive medication. We want to return home so much – but we have no place to live there and the worst is the town occupied by Russians. We are expecting the victory of Ukraine in this war, Our Ukraine is not able to overcome the enemy with its power only, we need support from other countries. Russian has been killing civilians – kids, old people – until now.