Stephanie Cartwright
Her disability didn’t stop her from serving the Lord
Elnara was desperate for a new start – deaf, unable to speak, spiritually lost, and a single mom raising two children on her own in Kazakhstan. It’s a place where more than half the population is Muslim, Christians are persecuted for their faith, and churches have been closed. Mission Eurasia’s School Without Walls (SWW) program reached out to Elnara – and her life hasn’t been the same. She shared, “I am 27 years old, and Tatar by nationality. I am also deaf, so I can’t speak. About two and a half years ago, sin reigned in my life, and my family broke apart.” After Elnara and her husband divorced, she rembered feeling “very broken” inside. “I had always called myself a Christian, because my mom and I went to church on holidays, but I didn’t live a Christian life,” she said. “When I was older, I worked as a model, and my entire life was filled…
Lidia’s Story: Thankful for ‘miracle’ wheelchair
Lidia, 81, lives just outside of Zaporozhye, Ukraine. She has lived in the same village her entire life. She loves it there, despite the violence that erupted when the ongoing conflict broke out in 2014. She knows nearly everyone in her village and is well-loved by her community. Lidia’s husband passed away 11 years ago. Her daughter Tamara is married and is close to her mother. Tamara shares, “My mother has always been kind to everyone and she gives very generously. She used to stay as busy as possible and even though she couldn’t do as much when she got older, she still picked apricots and other fruit, which she would sell at the market so she could buy tea and cookies to give to the people who visited her. She also used the money to buy things for people in need.” In recent years, Lidia started losing her sight….