Hello once again! By my best estimate, it’s been a little less than a year since you last received a letter from me, if you got one that is, and this one (I must admit) is somewhat similar to the previous one.
I’m going back to the orphanage in Russia this year. I’m going for a number of reasons, the main one being that the kids asked me to come back, although they were more telling than asking ?. And for that and many other reasons I am (along with 16 others from my church) on my way again to that orphanage in the middle of nowhere in the dead of winter, on a cramped plane and an even more cramped bus for a total of around 25 hours of travel, to play with kids that speak little (if any) English for 8 hours non-stop, and then get too little sleep, in uncomfortable beds only to get up and do it all over again. And I wouldn’t trade it for the world.
Just seeing the smiles on the kids’ faces when we get there is enough to keep me going for the whole week.
The kids in the orphanage are aged from 6 to 17, and are there for many different reasons. Some of the kids are victims of abuse, put into the orphanage because their parents (who are usually alcoholics) abused them, and either they ran away or the government stepped in. Some are true orphans, put in the orphanage when their parents died. But some are there simply because their parents can’t afford to take care of them; sometimes just one or two children from a family are put in an orphanage, while the rest continue to live at home. In fact, the majority of kids at the orphanage have family, and many of them go home during holidays to be with their families.
The kids are taken care of by dedicated and loving caretakers, who act as parents to the children and treat them as they would their own. The orphanage also has a teaching staff, which teaches grades 1 through 9. Unfortunately, this education is not enough for the “graduates” to go to college. Speaking of graduates, the kids are more or less kicked out when they turn 17, and called graduates.
It used to be that the vast majority of the graduates ended up on the streets or in jail, with many of the girls becoming prostitutes. But since we (my church) have been going to this orphanage, the number of graduates ending up on the streets or jail has dropped dramatically. Now, with the education & life training programs we (with your help) began, many of the graduates are going on to trade schools, and some are even going to universities! With your support, we are giving these kids hope and joy for a future that they previously didn’t have.
When we go to the orphanage, we are putting on a camp for these kids, and doing our best to show them that they are worth something and cared about. We play with them, talk with them, comfort them, and just spend time loving on them. We give them hope and joy, not just for the week that we are with them but for the rest of their lives. We provide them with a positive outlook on life in a place where it’s hard to see anything but the negative. And none of it would be possible without your help. Seriously, you play as big a part, if not bigger, in making these kids’ lives better than anyone else. And yes, I’m talking about your donations (even if you haven’t made any yet :).
Unfortunately, a trip like this takes a huge amount of time and money. Plane and bus ride, clothing and gifts for the kids and caretakers (who are even less well off than the kids), and games and crafts all cost money. Without the planes and buses it takes to get there, we wouldn’t be able to go to the orphanage. Without games and crafts, it would be nearly impossible to put on a decent camp for the kids. Without the clothing and gifts that we bring, the kids would have nothing and the caretakers have nothing to bring to their children.
But more importantly, without all these things there would be nothing for the kids to look forward to, nothing to bring them hope.
So I ask that you give a donation, something to help bring joy and love into these kids’ lives.
Together we can change the lives of these kids, giving them something that they have never had before; hope.
The experience of bringing hope and joy to kids that don’t really have anything to be hopeful or happy about is something that changes your life. And I’m inviting you to experience it vicariously through me.
