There is hardly a human need stronger than the need to belong. We were created this way. Every one of us came out of a womb screaming for warmth and companionship. Everyone knows this feeling because everyone has had the same experience once – being so close that our mother’s heartbeat was a constant presence.
When we look in the eyes of a Russian orphan, what do we see? These beautiful children suffer from lack of love, poor education, inadequate clothes and nutrition, and painful pasts, which leave them hurting and ill-prepared for life.
Russian orphans are alone, forgotten, waiting indefinitely to move on from a “temporary” shelter. In most orphanages, children are bathed together with no hot water available. They dine on porridge and bits of chicken with no fresh fruits, vegetables or red meat. They sleep in wards of typically 12 children on old mattresses with ragged blankets. Many of these facilities are under heated and toys or other tools to stimulate a child’s mind are scarce. Their mental, emotional and physical development often seriously stunted.
So many orphans need the hand of a friend who cares and that is why Russian Missions is caring for these children. It is inspiring to see the difference love makes in the heart and life of a lonely orphan who is struggling for the most basic needs. A typical Russian orphanage shelters about 250 children who face great challenges and have a tremendous vacuum, missing the love and care of a family. Typically about 20% are orphans whose parents died and 80% of the children are social orphans. Social orphans come from abuse, violence and abandonment, with parents who were drug addicts or alcoholics. The stories are tragic, and without a doubt, have had a tremendous impact on their lives.
The cost to the life of an orphan is hard to grasp unless you experience it firsthand and realize the needs of the children. You can start to appreciate the depth of their needs, the hurt and often despair, when you meet Oskana and Denis. They are from the city of Elista, Republic of Kalmykia and have been living in the Yashulski orphanage for many years.
Our missionary Tatiana Koloskova writes, “If only you could see how beautiful these kids are in so many ways. They live with the impact of a loss beyond their control. We have the power to make a real difference in their lives. The more time we spend with them, the more you love them and have compassion for them.”
When Denis was only 10 months old, their mother abandoned both children. The little ones were left in the care of their father and grandmother; both were heavy drinkers who quickly took them to the orphanage.
All their lives the children felt a deep sense of loneliness; they rarely had an adult to share their problems with or watch as a role model. They thought that their mother had died when they were very little. They fantasized about her…truly missed her…although neither child could actually picture what she looked like. They always believed that life would have been so much better had mother lived. These thoughts blanketed them with comfort and some explanation as to why they were not like other “happy” kids who had families that loved them.
It is the policy of the orphanage to send children to their closest relatives for the holidays. Spending one such weekend at their father and grandmother’s house, they were approached by a “kind neighbor” who told the kids that their mother was actually alive but was busy raising a new family.
Now, these rejected children live on the hope that one day their mother will remember them and come to take them away into her new family.
Right before Christmas, our missionary, was teaching Sunday School at the orphanage. She spoke about God’s nature—particularly that Jesus, His son, knows everything. “He knows and loves every orphan; He knows your joys, sorrows, dreams and needs.”
She was saddened to see Oksana’s hesitation to believe. “I don’t think Jesus cares about us. And I don’t want to go to father and grandma’s house. They don’t care about us; they never bought us one single treat.”
On Christmas Eve afternoon Tatiana’s team stopped by the family home. The kids were playing outside and greeted them with big smiles and lots of instantaneous hugs. Before leaving, one of her team quietly went into the house and left two big gift bags. Each bag contained new clothes, sweet treats, fresh fruit…and a note “From Jesus” telling them how much He loved them.
Without love, real help, and the light of Christ in these children’s lives, these kids will become tragic statistics. Russian Missions has a great team working in the Yashulski orphanage, with a passion to see these beautiful children’s lives saved from heartbreaking ends. As James tells us, a mark of true spirituality is to “visit orphans and widows in their trouble” (1:27)
Pastor Vitali Yuchkovski