Fimiam Baptist Church

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Ella Yakovlyeva

My name is Ella and I am 34 years old. I was born and raised in Lutsk. My grandmother raised me along with my sister who is 5 years younger. She loved us and forgave us for everything, which I used. At the age of 15, I began to go to discos and to smoke and drink. My life was going downhill even I did not realize it at that time. I quit school after the 8th grade. I tried to visit evening school several times, but wine and friends helped me to quit school completely. I worked at the kindergarten and at the factory, but not for long.

In 1992, I had an argument with my relatives and my friend suggested trying drugs. I felt bad after drinking beer and after the conflict with my family, so I decided that it could not be any worse. I knew about drugs. I even saw people who experienced shake. I lived with my grandmother and my aunt, who was addicted to drugs. I remember promising her never to use drugs. I promised because when she felt bad she asked me never to try it. When my friend suggested one shot to me, my aunt was in prison. Everything began…first shot – I did not like it; second and third…everybody was telling me that I should feel a drive. I felt. When shake appeared I wrote a letter to my aunt asking what to do. She told me later that after reading my letter she became grey-haired. It was too late to go back. My life was like a hell on earth. The only thought in the morning was, “Where shall I get drugs?” The question was just the same in the evening. Every day I felt more and more addicted. It was disgusting. I did not want to live and I did not want to see anyone. When I was not on drugs, I suffered. It was always the same schedule.

One day, I quit drugs and tried to return to a normal life. In September of 1993, I got married. I thought a family would hide me from drugs, but I was fooling myself. We drank together and when I drank I wanted to use drugs. I began a search. This continued in the same way until I learned that I was pregnant. In 1994, my son, Roman, was born. My husband drank and we quarreled. When my son was 4 months old, I began to use drugs again. Everything began from the very beginning. The only difference was that I had a little son, and a husband who was an alcoholic. I remember that I would hold my son outside in the winter, waiting for drugs. It is hard to believe that I acted that way. My grandmother did not let my husband live with us because she had heart problems and could not stand our quarrelling all the time. We always called an ambulance for her. My grandmother died in 1999 and I was left with my aunt and little son. Nobody cared about us. We were drug addicts. My aunt went to prison again and I lived with my son on Stanislavskogo Street 50. Drug addicts, alcoholics and the militia came to my home. My home was a den where we brewed drugs, used them, smoked, took pills and drank alcohol. The time came for my son to go to school, but I did not want to do anything at that time because I was under drugs. My legs were swollen and my arms were cracked and bleeding. I was not a person, but a zombie. My sister Marynka took my son from me.

Then I took treatment at the hospital for drug addicts. Tanya Grytsyyjenko, a sister in the Lord and a former drug addict, told me about a rehabilitation center in Novovolynsk. I decided to go and my sister was supposed to take me. But I found other drug addicts and left the hospital first. In a month, I surrendered to my sister and she and her husband drove me to a rehabilitation center in Bilychi village. They weighed me and I was 108 pounds with my winter clothes on. I could not speak because of difficulty breathing. My legs and arms had many wounds. I wanted to run from the rehabilitation center, but I did not have enough physical strength. I stayed, but I did not like the Christian lifestyle. I did not understand why I could not I go to bars, smoke…no, that life was not for me. It seemed to me that they were all in a box and I did not want to be that way. I wanted to live my life my way. I wanted to be free from drugs and just visit church occasionally. But I could not live the way I wanted: sometimes with God and sometimes without God. I began to use drugs again. I lost my health and the person I lived with. On January 4, 2006, the whole world changed. When my husband died, I asked God to save him and I promised to serve God even when he died. I knew that was my last chance and used it.

On January 29, 2007, I went to the rehabilitation center “Transformation,” aiming to change my life completely. I completed the rehabilitation course and was baptized. I have been helping at the rehabilitation center for a year. I live with God and for God. I still have problems but it is easier to solve them. I know that God is faithful to His promises. He will not give me more that I can handle. I love my Savior and want Him change me. I want every minute and every breath to bring glory to His name. Glory to Jesus Christ for His blood and His long-suffering to me!