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My heart is for the orphans of the world. God gave me this vision approximately 6 years ago. The compassion the Lord placed in my heart prompted me to take action. At that point I asked the Lord to show me what to do. We were quickly made aware of an organization assisting orphans in Eastern Europe. This is where I was being sent. Within six months I was boarding a plane to Moscow, Russia with my husband, and a group of strangers to participate in a short term mission trip. I wasn't trained, knew no russian, had no clue what to do, but I just knew I was sent and the Lord always equips the called. In faith we stepped on the airplane. As our plane was landing, I looked out my window at a land I had never really thought about, an ancient place, a completely different existence from these United States where I thought the world began and ended. Boy was I in for a shock!
To tell you what happened next would be too long to describe here, but the outcome was that the Lord had totally different plans for us, from what I thought I was doing there. The orphan children touched my heart. My heart was broken for them. It still is. I was forever changed, and still am, and I think about them always. Living and interacting with them in their throw away building that was over 200 years old, rotting away at the seams, was enough to leave an impression on my heart that could never be erased. Seeing the emptiness in their eyes, and the sadness in their faces was overwhelming. Reaching out to them and loving them, then knowing we had to leave them killed me. The shocking part was God showed me that one of them was my son. Although we were told it would never work out that we could adopt him, eight months later we were back in a russian courtroom picking him up. God can always make a way when there seems to be no way. The Lord has shown me His power in amazing ways. I still think about all the children living there.There are approximately a million orphans in russia and even more street kids. The ones in the orphanages are out on the streets at 16. A huge percentage of them are alcoholics by 14. Many of them don't survive. It is a sad, sad situation. This is where Children's Hope Chest comes in. They are the christian organization that allowed us to participate in the mission trip with them. They focus on helping the teens transition from the orphanages, so that they can learn skills to live independently. They have set up these homes called "Family Centers" where there are loving house parents as role models for some of the children to live in which is so much healthier than living in an orphanage. They also continue to send people out on short term mission trips to love and care for the kids. It is a beautiful ministry. They have always worked in Eastern Europe but I just found out they are branching out into Africa now! Praise God. They need people to sponsor orphans, or just write to them. They don't have anything to call their own, I've witnessed it. So, can you imagine what it would be like for them to recieve a letter addressed specifically to them? They need someone to speak hope and encouragement into their lives. You can do that by checking out their website at: http://www.hopechest.org/
I also wanted to mention Dalyn's blog and her compassion for the children of Liberia. They also desperately need people to write to them, and show them that there is someone out there who cares. You can do that by contacting Dalyn at dailywalkinfarm@yahoo.com She will give you the information on a child through the Children Concerned organization, and you can write letters to a child who will be forever changed because of it. |
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