More on Maxime

Maxime playing a little PlayStation

I just thought I'd give a little update on the life of Maxime for those following what is happening in his life. We have been in a three week quarantine period because of the flu epidemic reportedly sweeping through Ukraine. This has meant no school for Maxime, so he has been spending his time in the village where his grandparents own another home. Maxime has spent very little time in school since his father died, putting him even farther behind than he already is.

On Wednesday, Maxime's mother Vera came over and told us what happened while Maxime was away. She said that his grandmother, Luda, took her by the hair and dragged her into the street and told her never to come back that she was going to be Maxime's mother from now on. Vera left with only the clothes on her back from the "home" she has lived in for the last 14 years. Vera is now living with her parents and disabled sister. She is trying to get a job and get her life back together again. We are helping her with the cost of replacing Maxime's legal documents. The grandmother is insisting that his passport and other documents were stolen and has been lying to Maxime about the whereabouts of his mother and the reason she left.

Thankfully, today we saw Maxime talking to his mother outside, but his grandmother has done all she can to separate him from his mother. Edna and I agree that Vera needed to get her life together, but Maxime's grandmother has turned out to be a very cruel person. She gives Maxime money to buy candy and lets him stay home from school whenever he wants. For now, Maxime thinks that life with his grandmother is much better and has no desire to be with his mother who he believes has abandoned him. Maxime is also no longer allowed to go to church with us because his grandmother took him to an Orthodox church where he was supposedly baptized and is now a member of that church and no other. She also took away the Bible and children's Bible that we gave Maxime. She has replaced them with an Orthodox Bible printed in Old Church Slavonic, which of course he can't read.

Please pray for Maxime and for Vera. We know that God is using this situation to bring about positive change in their lives. We hope that Maxime will come to know the truth of what his grandmother is doing and that Vera would put her faith in Christ to give her strength.