Luba’s spirit was broken. The deaths of some of her dearest friends had left a mark on her soul, and she couldn’t soothe her wounds. That night, she poured herself a strong drink.
The next night she cried again. She poured herself another.
Quickly this temporary effort to soothe herself spiraled out of control. Before she knew it, Luba was binging multiple drinks at a time-only leading to more pain, remorse, disillusion and problems. But she couldn’t stop.
“I was like a tiny ship in the ocean,” she said, “suffering shipwreck caused by my sin and problems. It seemed I had no hope nor the ability to change the circumstances in my life and take a step forward. Life had lost meaning. I had lost everything… my good name, respect from my friends and family … everything.”
Luba felt alone. There was no one around who could really help her, no one who could solve her problems. People tried to give her advice, but it fell flat.
“And in my darkest hour, God lent me a helping hand through an unknown woman. This woman told me about Jesus Christ and how she met Him … how her life changed after she chose to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. She invited me to a group based on the ‘Rivka’ series.”
Together, Luba and her new friends would watch “Rivka” episodes weekly and then discuss what they learned about God’s love. With each lesson Luba began to see this was the solution to her seemingly unsolvable problem. God was able to calm the ocean waves in her spirit that her emotional ship repeatedly crashed into.
“Lesson by lesson God worked in my heart, changing my life and me. He took away my fears, anxiety and pain, just as He had done for the ‘Rivka’ characters and for people from the Bible. Today I can share this joy with my friends who don’t know Jesus yet. I believe God will save them too-just like He saved me!”
If you feel led to contribute to towards opportunities that allow others to find hope like Luba, you can choose from a variety of projects here.
