Visit with Olga L.

Lena recently visited Olga L. She was born in Siberia—her mother was Russian, and her father was Ukrainian. Since Olga and her mother had a bad form of tuberculosis, the family chose to go to Moldova after WWII. Olga says, “It was a real miracle, but in two years of living in Moldova, both mom and I had no tuberculosis.” However, childhood years of hunger and poverty left a sad print on Olga's health—she has had 18 surgeries in her lifetime! That was one reason why doctors recommended she not have children.

Olga graduated from college with a pedagogical/teaching degree and worked as an elementary school teacher. Then one of her sisters (Olga had two) invited her to Kyiv for a visit. While visiting, she met her husband, who was 30 years older. Olga cherishes the wonderful memories of their life together. She said, “Lena, I cannot express all the respect and gentle care I experienced from my husband.” Their marriage lasted 18 years, and when Olga was 48 she became a widow.

Olga told Lena that she felt so lonely that she decided to find a husband. She wrote to a marriage agency and soon received 117 letters. Six men were finally selected as potential candidates, and very soon, one of the six became Olga’s husband. She said she was very happy with her husband—they lived together for 12 years. When Olga was 60 years old, she became a widow and had no desire to remarry.

Before Olga joined St. Paul’s Church, she sang in the Orthodox Church choir. Olga said, “First I started singing to God and about God, and then I felt I needed to know the One I was singing to.” So, needless to say, when Olga joined our church, she immediately joined our church choir. She became an active member of all Bible studies before becoming a homebound widow. Recently, Olga recovered from COVID after spending two tough weeks at the hospital.

Thank you for supporting widows like Olga. You are bringing the light and hope of Jesus to Ukraine.