Growing up in a family where your dad is addicted to drugs is worse than you can ever imagine.
He took all kinds of drugs for many years. We needed his love so much, but I don’t remember him ever being kind to us and I still struggle to forgive him for that. He often abused my little brother and me, as well as our Mum. In 2015, everything got so much worse. Mum lost her job and we didn’t know how we would survive. I was a teenager by then and I felt depressed all the time, wondering how our lives could ever change.
I was invited to Mission Without Borders’ summer camp, and I agreed, despite being anti-social at the time. What I experienced there turned my world upside down. It was like suddenly being able to see everything in colour, after you've only seen it in black and white. I felt so accepted and welcomed; I made true friends there. That was only three years ago, and so many things have changed since then. I believe in God and know he is my kind and loving Heavenly Father. My mother goes to church and even my dad is doing his best to overcome his addiction at the Christian rehabilitation centre. I thank God for my present and my future. He has given me his heavenly perspective. And although I still feel the pain of my past sometimes, now I know that forgiveness is the only way to have peace.
Kateryna, whose family are sponsored as part of our work in Ukraine
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