From Fear to Freedom
Family Patrol:
“Today we can help. Tomorrow it may be too late.”
Our team visits families who are going through crises. We call this work “family patrol.” Patrolling means checking in regularly with individuals and families and responding quickly to problems.
It is crucial to get there in time to help. Tomorrow may be too late.
When our team members were asked if they get tired of serving and attending to ones in need, they respond:
– You only grow weary if you lose the vision for your work and never see results.
– And have you seen the results?
– Yes! (All team members answered heartily together.)
From Fear to Freedom
Sveta and her four young children know all too well what it means to live in fear. They’ve survived a nightmare with a husband and father who made home a frightening and dangerous place.
In high school, Sveta had fallen in love with a handsome, athletic classmate. After graduating, they married and were looking forward to a bright future together. But the physical and mental abuse Sveta was subjected to at the hands of the man she loved shattered those dreams.
For eight years, she endured cruelty and humiliation from a jealous husband. He was strong and very scary when he was in a fit of anger.
Sveta had been planning to escape for a long time. When her husband went on a two-day business trip, she summoned her courage, collected essentials and important documents, and left with the children.
Sveta and her children ended up more than 900 miles away in a city where Mission Possible has a shelter home. She approached a local charity which partners with us in ministry, and they contacted our team.
We met Sveta and her children and determined how to help
them start a new life. In addition to regularly providing groceries and other necessities, we enrolled the three older children in primary school and invited Sveta to church services.
“I couldn’t explain why I decided to come to this city, but now that I have met you and have heard about the Savior, I am sure it was God who led me,” Sveta said with a smile.
She cherishes her new freedom from fear and violence. She is full of energy, looking for a part-time job, and grateful for all the care she has received. The church has become very important to Sveta; she is happy to attend services with her children and to be part of a much larger family – the family of God – with a Heavenly Father who loves her dearly.
In order to protect ones who are at risk, we have changed people’s names in certain stories, and we have not identified specific locations.
