Portion for Orphans Newsletter

October 31, 2005

Psalm 146:5-9
“Happy is he… whose hope is in the Lord his God, Who made heaven and earth… Who executes justice for the oppressed, who gives food to the hungry... The Lord watches over the strangers; He relieves the fatherless and widow…” My hope is that each of you are blessed to take part in reaching out and visiting orphans with us. It is such a blessing to be a part of what James calls, “Pure and undefiled religion...” and to have the opportunity to express love to the children here, to contribute to their overall well-being, and to learn how we can be more effective at what we’re doing. My greatest joy is that all of this is done in the name of Christ. We pray that we may cause all those we encounter to look towards Him that they may discover His magnificence and splendor as well.

Today is our last day in Yaroslavl, Russia, this time around. :) We’ve been here for 3 weeks visiting Internat #9. I am so thankful for what we’ve seen, learned and been able to accomplish during this time. During the last week, we’ve spent time visiting with different family groups within the orphanage. In each group there are about 12 children of similar ages and 2 mother figures that care for them around the clock. All of the staff, caregivers, and teachers here seem to consider these children their very own, working hard to raise them up as successful and well-rounded individuals. They could never replace a mother and a father, but they are doing a great job trying! The overall environment is very peaceful and the children have a lot of freedom to… just be kids. We sang songs with them, taught them a few English phrases, played twister and jenga, made friendship bracelets and were even allowed to talk about God and pass out some Bibles. “Little things with lots of love.” Since lack of spirituality is considered by many, even Russians themselves, to be a main cause of the darkness and deterioration of their society, it is very exciting that they are open to listen and learn. In another orphanage that we visited, the living situation was more like a college dorm and the directors were not as open to teaching the children about God, mainly because of having been reprimanded in the past by city officials who fund their work.

This week we made several contributions to the orphanage. We spoke with the Head Director, as well as the directors of the sewing program, the music program and the pre-school program, in order to determine how we could be of help. It brought me great joy to see the portions that you all set aside going directly towards the children here. We donated some items that I brought from home to the sewing teacher and we also took her to a store where she bought lots of materials for the children to use. She was thrilled! She’s a single woman that has devoted herself to the children at Internat #9 for over 30 years. We donated a guitar and some small percussion instruments to the music program. They have formed a band and even had a concert just before we arrived. Soon they will be traveling to a competition in another city. The head pre-school teacher made a list for us and we went and got everything we could find that she requested. Being a pre-school teacher myself, I am totally amazed at how well they have implemented all of what I was trained to do in the classroom. I did not expect that, but after seeing their dedication and the joy that they and the children express as they sing and dance together, I was so happy to contribute to their work. We donated everything from colors and coloring books, puzzles, children’s music tapes, activity kits such as magnets and paint, and all kinds of books about animals, dinosaurs, letters and the world. We also gave some books that will help the teachers to plan for even more creative, stimulating activities to do with the kids. After our first donation, the teddy bears, one teacher said, “Oh, you are Christians.” “Yes,” I said with tears in my eyes, “We are.” They are just so used to being forced to believe in their government and not in God that it makes me incredibly happy to express the love of God freely, and to show them that we are not being forced to do so. Hopefully, they can see straight through us. :)

If you have any questions, suggestions or comments, please let us know. There are many other aspects to this trip and I wish I could share about it all… a new language, a new culture, new friends, our babushka, new food, new COLD WEATHER, and just what it is like to live in Russia… but I’m trying to keep the updates focused on our main purpose here. We are thankful to God that we are safe and happy and that our first leg of the trip has been successful. Tomorrow, Sunday morning, we will take a train to Moscow for a few days and then a 6 day train trip through Siberia and Mongolia, thru The Great Wall of China and into Beijing. So, for the next two weeks we’ll be exploring. On Nov14th, we’ll begin working at an orphanage in Beijing through http://www.chinacare.org. Please check it out to see the faces of the children that 100% of your contributions will impact. Thanks again for being a part of this journey!

Please pray that every aspect of our lives would reflect the light and love of Christ and that we would take full advantage of every opportunity we’re given. Also, for the children at Internat #9, that God would be a Father to them and that Christ would return quickly for their sake as well as for all those who are suffering in any way.

If you weren’t able to see the pictures in the last update, you can check them out here.

"Be the change you wish to see in the world around you." - Gandhi <><