Dear Friends.
I have a number of Internet friends who are not well: some are in Zorpia others in Yahoo, and one I know personally; some I have met in person, others not yet. But all need prayers to help them get through their problems.
I won't mention names but just describe their problems.
1) A personal friend I have known since 1960's. She was 16 when I first met her. Till about 6 years ago I had no idea of what she had really being going through. She poured it all out to me when I visited her one day. But she was then with four daughters, and living in her own damp house and was now suffering from ME. But what I didn't know before was that her father had physically abused her with physical punishment, and that her mother was in total denial, at that time both her parents & sister were still alive. She was still living with this fear within her of her father. But I rang her on Christmas day this year and she was too upset to talk, because her mother had recently died and she was exhausted from helping deal with the funeral, and when you have ME anything can be exhausting. Her father I believe had died a few years ago.
She needs to have proper treatment and to live in house that is not constantly damp.
I pray that she can cope with all this, and come through and now begin to live.
The next 4 are from Yahoo groups I was in and helped run.I have known all of these dear young ladies since 2000/1
2) The older one I met in a depression group. She was in her mid 30's then, had had recently become suicidal through letting her childhood horrors flood out. When she was still a baby her mother was murdered. Not long after that her father was found dead. The authorities, at that time, were of the opinion that Native children should be brought up in White households. She was Native American, and was fostered in what was potentially a SAFE home: the man was a church minister. BUT his wife was a racist. She mentally and physically abused her from the ages of about 6 upwards (She and her brothers had been in a home till then, and had been well cared for.) But then her foster mother took over her life, and made it a living hell. The father lived in denial about all the wrong doings. But my friend managed to survive and was mentally very intelligent, and kept all the hurt, insults and beatings to herself. She was well educated and had good jobs, then when she was about 29 she started talking to a friend about her childhood and everything started pouring out. And she became depressive and a cutter, and suicidal. She was getting medical treatment & counselling, but everything became too much and she lost her job, which she enjoyed. She had a boy friend at the time I first knew her, and he was also a depressive. After a while they found they really could not cope living together after all, and separated. A year later HE committed suicide, and ever since then my friend thought it was HER fault, and every anniversary she goes through a crisis and is hospitalised. She does now live with a lady friend and they are a loving couple, and this has helped my friend have a more stable life. I use to spend hours most mornings listening to my friend and helping her stay sane via Yahoo Messenger. I was able to meet my friend for a few days on my trip.
3) This friend I have known longest of the internet friends; she was 16 at the time I first "met" her. We had similar interests (Vegetarianism, ecological and nature etc) She was the first person whom I felt as though she was a daughter - we just got on well in the Yahoo groups and talking on Yahoo Messenger.
It was after about 6 months that gradually I found out that things were not quite right, and over the next year in particular more and more came out about her b/f being extremely jealous and demanding that she should leave the Internet etc. Then later she complained about how he made her cry in class by being rude in lessons to her, then she suddenly ended up in hospital after stabbing her arm badly with scissors. Then she started telling me how she had been molested by two school teachers when she was about 13 /14, and had started cutting herself then, but had managed to stop by the time I got to know her (The teachers had been prosecuted I gathered). Then she was often having crises at home, and had had to go into a SAFE house for a few weeks. She told about having bad dreams, and depression and later was diagnosed some kind of epileptic. After finishing school, with excellent exam results, in spite of her troubles, she got a job and kind of just kept in touch occasionally instead of daily. She had volunteered to type out on the computer several of my father's plays which I wanted to try and get published. I thought she was going to do this in the few weeks before she started university, as she is an excellent & fast typist. But that dragged on for over 18 months, and it was nearly two years later she actually got them done. I paid her about £350 for the work. But I never expected it to take so long. She never explained why she did not get on with it. But I knew she suffered from depression. On several occasions she said would get started and get it done in no time. When it was done she told me she did not want payment at all, as she had taken so long. BUT I knew she was needing money for being at university and paid her all I owed her. She tried to leave her abusive b/f, several times but each time he got her back with threatening suicide if she didn't. I know he physically hurt at times too. She had another problem too that she found she was Bi sexual, and the b/f was angry and abusive to her, so she had to pretend that she was talking about a friend. The other problem began to come out not long before she did finally leave the b/f, that the mother was abusive too. I knew that there was some kind of problem there, with the mother, but not quite in this way. Then she finally DID leave the b/f and found a new one who treated her better. Then she "vanished" for 6th months and when I "found her again" she was not quite the same. I never did find out quite what the matter was. But eventually I did meet with her on my trip, and she explained in emails and when we met how she now suffered terrible back pains, headaches etc and was in need of possible dangerous surgery to her spine. She apparently suffered an injury when young on a trampoline. A year on and she still has not had any surgery, but many visits to doctors and specialists. She is still having a terrible time with constant pain and pain killers.... It is this that I want people to pray for her for. Her own mother apparently is more interested in getting support from her daughter than giving it.....
4) This Mother was abused by her mother all her life, and father was in denial. About three years ago her elder son murdered her younger son whilst she was in hospital for depression. The younger son was her darling, not perfect, but a good sort. The elder was alcoholic. He is now in prison for the murder. My friend is totally torn by this, and it certainly has not helped with her own feeling of inadequacy and the love of a son who murdered a much loved son. She needs all the prayers she can get.
5) This young lady has been through so much it is just a catalogue of disasters, it is worse than some soap operas. If anything can go wrong it has for her.
She was taken away from her real parents because of their abuse, and fostered. The only person whom she seems to have any affection for is the foster mother.
She had a son by the foster father, when she was about 14 (I Think)! The son lived for 3 years and was killed in an accident. That tore her apart as she loved her son so much. She seemed to get involved with the wrong sort of "men" all her young life, rape, and alcohol, drugs etc all seem to play apart. She has very low esteem of her self, and has tried suicide several times. Her health is in terrible shape, she smokes, eats badly. Now she is pregnant again by the foster father.
She needs prayers to get her self cleaned up and to have a higher self esteem. I have been listening to this mid 20's old lady now for about 5 years.
The next two are more recent friends
6) This lovely young lady was sexually abused by her father, and brother, and is almost certainly going to find it difficult to fully trust a man, and have children. She needs prayers to help find her way in life and to enjoy life in the way she ought to.
7) My last friend in this list of people with serious problems who need prayers, is my most recent friend. I have still to learn much about her childhood yet, but I know she never knew her father, and the father of her son didn't want to know. She has been living with her mother till recently. She has things in her past which she regrets, and is now in some kind of rehab. I can only guess what she is in rehab for, but it must be for some kind of addiction, from which she wants & needs to get off. I know she is having a very tough time, and is hardly in contact, and is I know suffering depression, and needs therapy and medication and has been there now for 5 months. Contact with the outside world is strictly limited, even with her mother. She needs prayers to give her the strength to have the will power to complete her treatment so that she can soon return to a normal life
I am sure that most of us have friends who need paryers too. I have many friends with lesser problems, they too need to know that they are loved.
To all in any kind of Distress I pray & hope that 2008 will be a better year for you.
And we here in Zorpia have only yesterday been told of one friend who was suddenly taken to hospital. Payers are need for her her too
*SMILES* & *HUGS*
Chris
