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The following article by my
wife Lyudmila was published in "The Fletcher Family
Directory" in 2008.
WHAT FAMILY MEANS TO ME: by Lyudmila
Fletcher
I was born
on October 13, 1975 in the city of Kremenchug, Ukraine. My
father Peter M. Krivulia was working at the time, at a big
agriculture organization in Kremenchug. My mother, Olga A.
Krivulia was working at a shoe factory. Since my parents
worked five days a week, they decided to hire a nanny to
take care of me while they were at work. I was a very little
baby, and I can’t remember my nanny. My mom told me that my
nanny was a very nice old lady, who loved to take care of
me. At the time I was born my father and mother were renting
a cozy little house. When I was five years old, my mother
and father bought a nice apartment. I remember when we were
moving into our own home that my mother was pregnant. Daddy
of course moved all the stuff with help from his friends.
Dad always talked to me, and told me that it was a good
thing to have a baby brother, but I always wanted a baby
sister. On March 7, 1980, my brother arrived in this world.
I have to admit that he was a very cute baby. Later in his
life his hair started to get very curly. He was such a cute
baby, that many times people would talk about how adorable
he was. In 1982 I went to elementary school. I was making
all A’s and I was very active in choir and Ukrainian culture
dances. Our dance group was called Sweetanak. We received a
lot of trophies, which were 1st and 2nd
place. In 5th grade I was elected class
president. I continued to hold the position until I was in
the 8th grade.
Through
middle school and high school I had been selected to
represent the school in track. I was a fast runner and won 1st
and 2nd place in my school district. When I was
sixteen I was selected as the school beauty queen. In 1991 I
went to Kremenchug Professional School of Pedagogy.
When I was
18 years old, a very big tragedy came to our family. My
father died. I realized after my dad died, more than ever
how important my family was to me. We missed him so much. I
remember a time when my mom was grieving all the time. She
struggled to pay bills. She finally sold daddy’s car and
that helped some. I finished Pedagogy school in 1995 making
A’s and B’s. After I finished Pedagogy school, I started to
work teaching in elementary school when I was only 20 years
old. I worked as a 1st grade teacher. Two months
later, I received an offer from the government to continue
my education in college for free. I gladly accepted and in
1995, I started to attend Poltava State Pedagogical
Institute. I married when I was 21 but the marriage did not
last long. Ana was born one year later, which meant that I
had to work and go to college while taking care of my baby.
This was a very difficult time in my life but God helped me
through it. I did not have any financial support from my
ex-husband. My mother and I together paid for everything and
our income was very small! After my divorce, I thought I
would probably never re-marry. My uncle Andrey and his wife
Valentina always encouraged me and gave me hope. They were
born again, Spirit filled Christians, and they were always
telling me how good God was and witnessing to me about Jesus
Christ. They gave me many books and materials by Kenneth
Hagin, which I read in the Russian version. I was raised in
an Eastern Orthodox Ukrainian Church. I had never had a
personal relationship with Jesus Christ. One day, I decided
to give my heart to Jesus Christ. Only now do I understand
that while I was reading Kenneth Hagin books and studying
the Bible, my future husband, Rusty was attending Kenneth
Hagin’s Bible College in Oklahoma and personally listening
to Kenneth Hagin teaching him daily.
I started
to attend a Spirit filled church in the Ukraine. One day I
had a dream. I dreamed I was in a boat, on a lake, and the
boat was slowly sinking. I started crying out loudly for
help. This dream was so real I can remember it vividly
today! Suddenly I saw another boat coming toward me. There
was a single man in the boat, I could not see his face and I
did not know his name, but I knew he came to rescue me. He
gave me his hand and put me in his boat. When I received
Jesus Christ in my life He assured me I will never be alone
any more and anytime I need help He will be there with me!
In January of 2001, I
began to communicate with Rusty through the Internet. In
July of 2001, Rusty and his parents came to visit me in the
Ukraine. While Rusty and his parents were in the Ukraine,
God gave me another dream. In my dream, Rusty came into my
bedroom and took all the old sheets from my bed and put new
clean sheets on my bed! I believe God was showing me that
Rusty was going to marry me and we would start a new life
together. On October 10th 2001 Rusty and I were
married in Kiev, Ukraine. On May 15th, 2002 Ana
and I arrived in Texas. On November 13th 2003 God
blessed us with a second beautiful daughter Kellie Ethelene
Fletcher.
Today I am
very proud of my family and I thank God for finding me,
saving me, and putting our family together! I believe that
God’s greatest gift in this life is a family. I can’t
imagine life without my family. My husband and my daughters
inspire me. I love listening to my children laugh and seeing
them when they are playing. I love spending time with them.
I am proud of their accomplishments at school. I realize how
important it is to enjoy each day with my family. Each day I
hold Kellie, knowing that she’s growing very fast. I cherish
each moment with Ana, Kellie, and Rusty because I know I can
never relive that day. Together we learn how to go through
good times and hard times, how to be thankful, and how to
rejoice in the Lord. We teach our children that family and
church is
the most important part of their lives. Their school friends
may be part of their lives for a season,
but family will always remain the same. |
