Tag: Orphans

A Postcard from Estonia — Estonian Beauty

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I am currently in Estonia researching ministry opportunities for possible future mission work.  I’m staying with John and Sara Russell, the founders of Street Cry in St. Pete who are now starting a new work in Tallinn.  Olga will join me this week before we return to Russia in about 10 days.

A few days ago I visited a Christian camp, Camp Gideon, near the Russian border.  We are hoping to be able to send Russian and/or Belorussian orphans to this camp, where American mission teams can meet them and preach the gospel without fear of reprisals by Russian authorities.  Camp Gideon is owned by the Estonian Methodist church and has hosted orphans in previous years.  We pray that God will speak to the hearts of people to serve orphans in this way.

Estonia is a special place — a mix of Russian and European culture, very welcoming to westerners, and yet a large portion of the population are Russians who were ‘stranded’ here after the USSR collapsed.   Continue reading →

In Estonia

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camp gideon 10 300x225 Estonian fact findingAfter a nice drive from Russia, I’m in Estonia looking at opportunities for ministry. Yesterday I visited Camp Gideon, the first Christian camp in Estonia. It’s been owned by the Methodist Church since the early 90s and is directed by Artur Pold, a minister who is also a congressman (called a Deputy here).

The camp is very large and has about 800 meters of beach on the Baltic. It’s snowy and beautiful there now, and it’s sunny and beautiful there in the summer. Here you can see the Baltic sea just beyond one of the buildings. It is quite a piece of property.

We’re hoping to bring orphans from Belarus and/or Russia to this camp. Perhaps American mission teams could come and meet them here. It would be very good for the kids to be in an environment where they can freely hear the gospel. The cost is about $15/day for food and housing, plus transportation.

Probably the most important thing I’m doing now is establishing and building relationships with believers here, and I’m looking to see which of those relationships God is establishing closely. We want the work to flow from our relationships, rather than have the work define the relationships.

Over the next few days I’ll be visiting orphanages and shelters, and I’ll also be looking at some property that could perhaps serve as a summer camp and ministry center.

A Postcard from Russia — Natasha

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This is an example of how God uses short-term mission trips to bring extended blessings to many people, Natasha in particular. A year ago a mission team from Wenatchee, Washington came for a short-term trip and served in Orphanage #61, a small orphanage for children with disabilities. Many of the children at #61 have conditions that can be addressed by surgery.

One of the team members offered financial help for surgeries. We discovered that the state will provide funds for most surgeries but the state does not supply money for aftercare. The orphanage had been hesitant Continue reading →

A Postcard from Russia — Teamwork

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I (Mike) am back in Russia after a great trip to Montenegro. Today Olga and I visited a couple of teams we have here in Russia. Above is the team from Oak Hills Church in San Antonio. Oak Hills has sent teams to Russia for many years, and they are always a very good team. They all told us their time here has been really wonderful — good relationships have been formed with the children in the camp, and the camps staff has also worked well with them. They sang a beautiful multi-part harmony acapella song for us. They are great! They sang at the opening ceremonies of the camp. It was a joy to be with such a happy, witty and enthusiastic group of people.

I am writing this from Elama, the camp we’re running. Today the children’s camp came to a close. About 60 kids were here for more than a week attending a Christian camp organized by Source of Life Church. On Monday we’ll start a youth camp for about 100 people. In August we hope to host a couple more camps, and we also have a few Christian families living here for the summer. It’s a real joy to see so much life here, especially when just a few weeks ago it was fairly lifeless. I’ll send an update about Elama next time.

Please keep us in your prayers as we come to mind. We have a lot going on, and we face some changes. I’ll write more about that later. Please pray that we’ll have wisdom and unity as we pray about decisions that are ahead. So many wonderful things — Montenegro, Elama, the teams in camps, the MIR staff, New Horizons — give us joy and thankfulness in our hearts, because God has allowed us to participate in His good work. 

A Postcard from Russia — Away They Go!

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It is that time of year again —

This morning (VERY early) we put 34 children and their chaperons on their adventurous flight to the States. For the next five weeks they will be staying with host families in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Virginia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Maryland, Delaware, New York, and New Hampshire.

This project has taken a lot of effort and heart by many people over the previous several months, and today after the whirlwind of activity to get them to the airport and then through security, check-in and passport control, Olga, Masha Oshkina and I stopped to reflect on what good work it is. We are very thankful and honored to be a part of this work. Le Ann Dakake and her staff in the US do a tremendous job of handling the complexities on the US side and providing all the support we need to do our part over here.

Though we do not work in adoptions, we are always very happy when a child finds a home, here or in the US. I spoke yesterday with the directors of a US adoption agency that handles many of the adoptions that result from this program. They remarked that they are very pleasantly surprised and impressed at how well the children fit into their adoptive families. It’s a joy to know that good families are being knit together and that we have a part in what the Lord is doing in these relationships.

You’ll notice if you count that there are less than 34 children in the group picture. Four children are disabled and weren’t able to get into the picture on the short notice we had. It is a testament of the Lord’s love that families from so far away would have hearts big enough to open their home’s to the ‘least of these’.

In addition to our hosting program, work continues at Elama (our camp) where we will host a children’s camp and a youth camp next month. We now have a dock on the lake! It was built on Sunday afternoon by a work team from a local church. We’re also welcoming seven short-term mission teams from the US to serve in summer camps, and I (Mike) am going to Montenegro to meet up with a mission team from Athens, Georgia. We’re starting to serve there, and it’s gratifying to see our desires coming true — helping the local church in Montenegro. We’ll be helping run a youth camp in the mountains there. My next Postcard from Russia will probably be from Montenegro!

Dasha

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[originally posted in 2001]

On my first trip to Russia, I went with several members of the Austin, Texas team to an orphanage (Baby Home #6) that houses some children with Down’s Syndrome. Before going, I was apprehensive about how I would be able to relate to the kids there. I felt, though, that I should go and play my guitar; Beth Shanklin and others encouraged me that the children need as many different kinds of stimulation as possible. So, I figured I’d play some music.

I aspire to play music that is restful and brings peace. Often I’ll lay my head on top of the guitar as I play–this way I can not only hear the music with my ears, but I feel it in my bones. The music comforts me, and it’s very cool the way the music can be both outside and inside at the same time.

As I was playing, a little red-haired girl walked by, and she noticed the vibrations of the guitar. I assume her hearing was not very good because of what happened next. She reached out and touched the guitar and let her hand move over the wood and the strings; she was slowly discovering the music I was playing. As she realized what was happening, she grabbed the guitar, pulled herself to it, and rested her forehead against the instrument and so she could hear/feel the music. We listened to the music that way for about ten minutes.

So, here was a little Russian orphan girl and an older American man sharing the beauty of God’s gift of music. It was a blessed moment. I pray that she received a blessing from the Father–an experience of peace and beauty as a gift from Him to her, through me.

Here’s an update from a year and half later: I visited the summer camp where children from Baby Home #6 stay during the summer. One of her teachers told me that she is very musical. Imagine that!

The World

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Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world. ~ James 1:27

I’ve recently been thinking about this scripture. As I work in Russia, I am called to minister the love of God especially to orphans and widows in their distress. So, I know that this is part of the pure faith that God has called me to.

But, there is more to being spiritually pure than serving the neediest among us; God wants us to avoid the pollution of the world. To please God and live by His Spirit, to be the people God has created us to be, it is necessary that we keep ourselves from being stained by the world. Other translations say that we are to avoid the pollution of the world. We are to actively turn from the ungodliness of the world. God does not want us to be defiled.

I think we all know some elements of what it means to be stained by the world, but we are often blind to the cultural pressures that are exerting force on our souls.

As I get a little distance from America, I can see that American culture presses people toward self-gratification and impatience. I was quite blind to it for many years, and now I’m seeing a little more clearly how that terrible, ungodly, force affects people in America–and many are not aware of how strong that force is. When we live in a culture, we can become inured to the cultural forces around us–they feel very “natural,” and we think that they are neutral. So to Americans (and myself) I say, begin to fight against self-gratification, make choices based on self-control and stewardship. Pray for understanding and strength to fight against it.

How else does the world pollute a person? What should you avoid so that your spirit will be able to abide with Christ in purity? Here’s a list that comes to my mind–yours may be different.

Television: TV is so ever-present that we often don’t judge the content of the programming. Most TV programming is completely Godless–it does not help us grow closer to Christ; many TV shows will at best distract us from our spiritual walk; at worst they will lead us into impurity. I tend to dissipate my life when the TV is around. O, how many hours have I completely wasted while sitting in front of the TV? This is part of what the Bible calls dissipation–our lives just dissipate without having any effect or growth as we sit mindlessly in front of the tube. Avoid the pollution of TV. “If your eye (cathode) causes you to sin, pluck it out and throw it away.” An entertaining TV show is not worth the purity of your heart.

Gossip: gossip pollutes the soul. Don’t talk about people behind their back, don’t revel in, and be entertained by, the troubles of other people, don’t judge them by speaking badly or carelessly of them. Gossip pollutes relationships at the heart level. Bless everyone, speak well of everyone, pray for and bless even your enemies. The world loves a gossip, and many people make their living by gossiping (TV shows, magazines, newspapers columns, etc.)

Advertising: this can be one of the most pure forms of worldly pollution I can think of. Most, but not all, advertising is designed to appeal to your passions/vices/weakness/lusts so that someone can profit from your desire for gratification/love/fame/respect. Avoid the lies of advertising, don’t let the temptations of advertising grip your soul. Advertising is often entertaining, but it does not have your soul’s interest at heart. It’s there to get your money.

Certain styles of music may pollute your soul; radio programs can stain us; greed for better cars/houses/possessions will pollute you; conversations, websites, and careers can also stain us. The list goes on. People will be affected differently, so it’s not a matter of being legalistic–God knows the heart, and we cannot judge people’s hearts. At the same time, some worldly things are not profitable for anyone to embrace–they are not of God and will lead to sin; they are polluted and they will defile us.

What is on your list? What is the Lord calling you to lay down so that you can have pure and undefiled religion? Do it. Avoid the pleasant pollution of the world and live to Christ. His ways will bring you true peace, purity and joy.

Paulina

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[originally posted in 2001]

I met Paulina during the summer of 2000 in one of the non-ambulatory wards at the children’s home in Pavlovsk. She is ten years old, with severe cataracts–as far as I can tell she can see when the light changes but can not see any distinct forms. She does not speak; she does not walk; she is not able to bathe or feed herself.

When I first saw her, she was sleeping, all curled up with her arms over her face–closed to the world. I sat next to her and began to play the guitar. She heard the music and was at first unsure how to respond, then she broke into a very large smile and stretched her body out in a very graceful way. I think she would have been a ballerina if she did not have her disabilities. Her response to the music was wonderful to see. Then, she reached out to me and pulled my hand toward her and held it against her chest for a long time. It was an honor and a pleasure to pray for her as she held my hand. I prayed for her spirit to be at peace, I prayed blessing on her. I prayed that she would be great in the kingdom of heaven, since she is so “low” here on earth. That is the way God has built creation: those who are last shall be first.

I went back to visit her at every opportunity. The second time I played for her, I moved the guitar so that it touched her body–this allowed her to feel the resonance of the instrument. She reached out to the guitar and held on to the instrument to feel, as well as hear, the music. God has given me comfort through this music, and I know He also comforted Paulina as I played. Even though we don’t share a language, and she can’t see my face, the music connected us–two people connected by a gift of God. This is a very holy thing.

The Austin team has provided supplies to help her as she lives in the orphanage, but just as important is our being there to serve her through human contact, by loving her. The workers there do the best they can–they obviously care for the kids, but the work is overwhelming for them, and they can not give each child the attention a person needs; we are called to love them with the love of God.

Paulina is one of 140 children in the non-ambulatory wards at the orphanage. Please pray for her.

Update: I visited Paulina three years after first seeing her. She is growing!! The nurses at the orphanage say that she loves music! She is blind and does not speak, but at least she is now able to sit in a chair and move some. When I first met her, she was bedridden. I’m not sure how much she can understand around her. Both of her grandmothers visit her, but her parents now live in New York–they’ve abandoned her because of her disabilities. To think that she’s been in this orphanage since she was a baby, and she’ll be here until she turns 18 and is sent to an adult facility.