(Happenings in February 2020).
My maternal half-brother, E. [and his wife D.], visited Ukraine to see family they have not seen in six years! E. said that it was very unusual coming back to visit Gorlovka because it has been torn by war. He says there is no work being done and there are no sustaining jobs. He said that the sad thing is people who once lived prosperous lives are now used to living in it. E. and D. have been visiting all sides of their family and friends they grew up with. It is hard for me not to be there celebrating with them. Natalia did say this to me, “Though you are farthest from me, you are closest to me! I do not know how it can be...”. This meant a lot to me, but it is also very sad to me. The entire family met up to have a family picnic. They were going to include me in on this through skype, but I ended up having a severe muscle spasm and could not skype unfortunately. Apparently, I was not the only person feeling crippled at that time. The family messaged me and said that the picnic went well until Natalia slipped and fell and broke her arm severely. She has to lie in one position in a hospital/clinic for an entire month! Her bones are very fragile and she has broken her hand four different times before, in other ways. This time she broke her elbow. They may need to do surgery on her. E. and D. only have two days left in Gorlovka before they leave back for Russia. Grandma N. has already taken two weeks off on vacation from work for E. and D.'s visit so she cannot take care of Natalia who cannot do anything for herself at this point. I messaged S. (a lady from Natalia's c-group and told her what happened. She knew that Natalia missed her c-group because of the picnic and she encouraged Natalia to spend time with her son, because the possibilities of seeing him again soon are slim and very uncertain. I hope and pray that E. and Natalia were able to bond a little as mother and son over this short time after so long being apart. S. called Natalia and the family to offer help and comfort. She understands that this would mean so much to Natalia if the people from the c-group would come visit her and bring the hope to her. I thanked S. greatly and told her she was like a guardian angel. S. told me that she believes in a God of love, grace, mercy, compassion, and power. That God has done miracles in our family and that His mighty work is not over yet! This could be a huge testament to N. and the family. They may include me in on skype calls when they visit her. I hope I'm able to communicate with Natalia soon and that she recovers well! I am very interested to see what all comes of this...
