When you trust, God removes obstacles

My name is Svetlana Kostenko, I live with my husband in the village Kamyanyi Brid (Cherkasy region). Now I help the cook in the school dining room, I run an accounting department. A man works at a school as a teacher of physical education. We have two twin kids, Valya and Vital, they are 15 years old.

With his future husband, Stanislav Kostenko, met at school, he was a teacher of military training. We just just chatted, exchanged gifts for holidays. When I graduated from eleven classes, Stanislav began to go to church in our village and explore the Bible, then he realized that the truth was in the Adventist Church. At that time I studied at the Uman Agrarian Academy. He wrote a letter in which he told him that he was going to church. When I read it, I was shocked, because this church was considered a sect in the village. I wrote to him the answer that I would starve until he ceases to go to that church. The Lord did so that it was on Friday. Saturday and Sunday I stayed in a hostel because I had to write a course work. It was these days that the lights were turned off in the hostel and I could not cook myself. So my promise was fulfilled, I had three days left.

When Stanislav received my letter, I arrived and met me on Monday after classes. He opened the Bible, began to read the Ten Commandments, and asked what I disagreed with. After the fasting, I realized that everything in the Bible was right, and wondered why and with which I did not agree. Stanislav offered to visit the House of Prayer in Uman on Saturday. He arrived on Saturday and we went to the House of Prayer together, I really liked it. Pastor Alexander Didenko made an announcement about the beginning of the program at the House of Culture and invited everyone to come to listen.

It was 1995. I agreed with my girlfriend to go together on the program, it was really interesting. A week later, we were given questionnaires, where we answered "yes" or "no". I agreed with everyone, and my girlfriend was still surprised: "Are you going to go to this church?" I replied that I really liked it here. So I started going to our church. When my mother learned about this, she wrote to me a letter, came to me in Uman, saying that she would not allow it, but I did not stop going to church. First, he was baptized by Stanislav in 1999, and on April 16, 2000, I was baptized.

In June, vacations began and I came home. The church should have been Supper of the Lord and I, secretly from my parents, went to the local community. My mother saw that I was not at home and ran to pick me up. But the Lord did so, that when I went to the House of Prayer, I sat down in the back row and the people who came to me did not notice me. Mom told those who were on the street to call me, they went to church, looked around and said that I was not there. After serving, when everyone was going to go home, people were surprised that they did not see me in the church. The Lord did so, that they really did not see me.

When I came home, there was a big scandal, my mother thought that something was "done", several times hired a car to lead me to a grandmother-fortuneteller. As we rode, I prayed all the way, and three times it was not at home. Mom was going to take me the next time, and it was a little Saturday. I knew about this, after serving, I just stood near the church and did not know what to do. The mother of pastor Svidenko Peter came to the door and asked me what happened to me. I replied that Mom wanted to take me to a grandmother-fortuneteller and that I did not want to go home.

She took me to her and I lived in them for several days. When I came home, all my belongings were packed and stood in a suitcase on the door, and my mother said that my legs would no longer be at home. I appealed for help to Stanislav, and he suggested marrying. We submitted a statement to the community, and Peter Yakovlevich repeatedly turned to my parents, traveled to them to reconcile us, but the parents refused. The wedding was scheduled for September 10th. It was raining all week, even on Saturday. Mother Slavik was very worried, because on Saturday did not do anything, did not prepare for the wedding. We came after the ministry, and she stands at the door and asks: "What do you think, tomorrow is a wedding, but nothing?" Thanks to the brothers and sisters of the Lisian community, they prepared all the food for the night, they all prepared for the wedding, and the very next day from the very morning was very good weather, the whole day was sunny.

Unfortunately, my parents did not have a wedding. Three months later, we went back to my parents, though now they were reluctant to accept us. Parents did not want to go to contact, we had a complex relationship, but eventually everything went by. At first, we lived with Mother Stanislav, later found a house in the center of the village and my mother helped him buy it. We began to live in our house, and so our relationship with parents was fine. Three years later, we were born two children and it was also a miracle.

When I went to the doctor to register, I was told that for three weeks, as the child had stopped and had to undergo surgery, it was scheduled for the next day. I arrived home very upset and pray all night, then the thought came from the Lord: "Why in this hospital? If there are no side effects, turn to another. " I called my mother at night and asked her to go with me to another hospital. And we went. It was not a professional ultrasound, but when I came, the senior doctor looked at me, put my hand on my hand, and said: "Do not worry, baby, you'll be fine." For me it was a sign from God.

With my husband

On the third day we went to Cherkassy, on a professional ultrasound and there was said that everything is fine, only we have to go to storage. I returned to my hospital and went to another doctor, told him everything and lay down for preservation. A week later I needed to do an ultrasound again, but I did not want to go there myself, I was afraid that something bad would tell me. My doctor took one more, two nurses and I went to the ultrasound. When the doctor looked at the monitor, he said that something was wrong. I was scared, and everyone rushed to the monitor, and saw that there was not one child, but two. Everyone was very surprised, because they said that there would not be one child, but then there were two people at once. The boy was born 2kg 100 grams, and the girl 1kg 700 grams. But, thank God, they are alive, grew up and we take them with us to church. Children are dedicated to tracking. As they were two years old, we constantly go to the camp services in Cherkassy, and in the place, never miss the divine service. We just rejoice in the miracles that the Lord has done for us and tell people about the love of God that we constantly feel. At first, bringing up children was difficult physically, but the husband always helped me. We want our children to be spiritually rich, so educate them on the books of Helen White and try ourselves to be an example for them.

I always give the power of God's promise: "God will erase every tear from their eyes, and there will be no death." No sorrow nor shout nor pain will be any more, for the first has passed!"

Revelation 21: 4

And my greatest dream is to be with my family, with all my family and friends together in heaven with the Lord!

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