“You came . . . and with you, came God”
Three years ago, we met a family whose life was hanging by a thread. They were living in a small summer house on the outskirts of town—a temporary place they had rented for a short time. But the owners told them they had to leave soon because the house was going to be demolished to make way for new construction.
When the time came to move out, they had nowhere to go. Winter was approaching. The cold grew harsher with each passing day, and the family suddenly found themselves out on the streets, without warmth, without food, without hope.
The family consisted of the mother Olga, a father, and three children—Alina, Oleg, and Nastya. The father, sadly, has problems with his legs and has struggled with alcoholism for many years. When we first met them, Olga herself was also drinking heavily. Alcohol had become her way to escape the pain and hopelessness. Because of that, the social services were planning to take the children away to an orphanage.
The mother cried in despair, terrified that she was about to lose her children. Her documents were outdated. She still had an old Soviet passport and she couldn’t apply for any official help or support.
“If you hadn’t come that day,” recalls Olga with tears in her eyes, “we wouldn’t be together anymore. The children would have ended up in an orphanage, and we might have simply frozen or starved to death. But you came . . . and with you, came God.” We helped them find a place to live, paid the first month’s rent, bought clothes, shoes, groceries, and coal for heating.
That was the beginning of their new journey. Step by step, through God’s help and through the kindness of people who cared.
Since then, much has changed. Yes, the father is still struggling with his addiction, but Olga has changed. She rarely drinks now. Life is still hard, but those destructive days of heavy drinking are behind her. She works in seasonal fields and orchards, and in winter she looks for any small jobs she can find to keep the family going.
“Now I want to live differently,” she says. “When I see my children going to church, praying, singing, I want to be near them. I can feel that God is changing us.”
The children have truly become part of our church family. The youngest, Nastya, now sings in the children’s church choir. “I thank God,” she smiles, “that now I know the gifts He gave me. I love to sing and praise Him!” Oleg, the teenage son, joyfully attends the football ministry every Sunday, “I’m happy that I can play sports and listen to Bible stories. They help me become stronger and kinder.”
Alina, the eldest daughter who has a disability, has also found her place. In the church, she feels accepted, surrounded by love and care. Now, in this home, there are no more shouts or quarrels—only songs. “Every day I hear my children singing Christian songs,” says Olga. “And I’m so happy that they’re not out on the streets or in bad company, but in God’s house.”
Even their teachers have noticed the change. They say the children have become more focused, calm, and attentive. They asked, “What happened?” The answer is simple—God came into their lives. With each step, with each prayer, more light, more hope, and more faith fill their lives. This is a story about God’s love—stronger than cold, poverty, or the past.
It’s a story of how one act of kindness can become the beginning of a whole new life.
Please remember Olga, Alina, Oleg, and little Nastya, as well as their father, in your prayers. Pray that their faith continues to grow, that the father finds freedom from addiction and personally encounters Christ. Pray that one day this whole family will fully belong to Him and that their home will be a place of warmth, faith, and new life.