-- First of all, people approach because of family concerns which have arisen. Mothers approach when a child is sick, or if he has some problems, or if he has been sent to prison. Some approach who are planning to be married in the Church. Unfortunately, it is very difficult now for families. There are many divorces, sometimes there are lawsuits. One woman approached me because she is suing her three sons for alimony.

-- Once in the marketplace a man approached me. For a long time he walked around nearby, seeing that a sister was standing there, but did not approach. And finally he approached me and suddenly revealed all his sorrow to me. This man had absolutely nobody to talk with. It turned out that his wife had given him reason to suspect a betrayal. And he left the family. I asked him, “Are you certain?” And I prayed silently, “Lord, what can I say?” And I remembered a situation from the life of the elder Silouan: one of his fellow servers needed to go home and was sitting quite sad. The elder approached him, “Why are you sad?”, and he answered, “I received a letter informing me that my wife has had a baby.” The elder thought for a moment and said, “And you, how many times did you go to the “institution”? And she, perhaps, made a mistake once. Forgive her.” And so, he went home. His wife had hidden herself somewhere with the baby, her parents were sad. And he bowed to the parents and embraced his wife. He went about the village saying, “Hello, I have come home, and here is my baby”. There was such joy in the village. I told the man in the market this story. And then after some time had passed, I saw him in the marketplace with family. His wife went further and he approached me and placed a contribution in my box and thanked me. After all, the Lord was merciful.

-- Of course, we pray. Standing, I pray “Our Father” for somebody, then, at the Sisterhood and on the prayer slips.

Of course, if a sister is standing somewhere in a store and nearby there are people working, she will pray for them…everybody has needs. And eventually a sister becomes a member of that group of people. Not long ago, we blessed a supermarket. And it was very touching to see everyone together – nuns, sisters, workers. After all, there were even people who didn’t even know that the Church exists, but prayer sanctifies all, and how do we know, perhaps even God’s grace touched that person. As it is said, it is necessary “to sow, and the Lord gives the growth.”

-- I passed by foot from Victory Square to October Square with my collection box on my chest and couldn’t find a single place to stand. All around there was a crowd and everyone was in some strange way. I clearly realized that I wouldn’t find any place to stand. It was a dead end, I couldn’t do anything. I put my back against the wall of a building. It was near the Department Store. And suddenly out of the blue three boys approached me, putting money in my box and giving me carnations. I stood all day in that place with those carnations.