During my Russia Mission Trip in 2008, our team faced several challenges. One of them being that plans seemed to always be changing. We had planned to stay at one orphanage in the country for an entire week to visit with 60+ children. However, when we arrived there were only about 20 kids there - the others were either away at camp or visiting relatives. While we were a little disappointed at not being able to meet all the kids, we enjoyed the fact that we had more one on one time with the kids that were there. Well, after only a few days we learned that about half of those kids would be leaving in the middle of the week to go to camp. For a variety of reasons , it was decided that we would leave the orphanage a day early and spend 1 1/2 days traveling to several different orphanages in and around St. Petersburg.
I was thrilled at the possibility of being able to interact with more children and being able to visit different orphanages in different places! However, I wasn't prepared for the impact it would have on me emotionally - seeing so many children in such difficult circumstances and only being able to 'visit' for an hour or two. First, we visited the Baby Home in Lomonosov - hosting 90 children...infants (only a few days old)to those about 5 years old with some of the children being known to have AIDS. We weren't there very long as it was nearing the time for their lunch. For several on our team this was the most difficult place to be - seeing so many little bitty babies, who just needed to be held and not nearly enough arms and laps for them. The next place we visited was #15 (the hospital) in St. Petersburg. This is where children are first brought to be 'processed' when they are placed in the orphanage system. They receive medical testing here and stay until they are placed in an orphanage. Some of the children had just been taken from their homes or had been brought back by their newly adoptive parents...so you can image their resistance to want to 'make friends with us' or sometimes this resulted in them attaching themselves to us. But it was a nice day and it was great fun to play all kinds of games and toys outside with them.
This brings me to the final stop on our 'tour of orphanages'. We went to Orphanage #2 on Friday afternoon. This was in the middle of the city and was one of many 'apartment' style buildings in this area. We never went inside the orphanage, but instead spent about 2-3 hours on the playground with the kids. This is where I met Misha.
There were lots of kids that day, most of them were preschoolers. We learned that most of the older kids were away camp. However, there was Misha - an 10 or 11 year old boy who was very small for his age - but for whatever reason we became friends that day. He and I started playing on the monkey bars and then we got in trouble by one of the caregivers who told me had been sick and should not be playing like that. But who could resist that great smile?
So, we found ourselves a picnic table and started coloring. At first, I didn't think a boy his age would enjoy that - but he did! And thank goodness for our great translator (and incredible friend to many orphans), Ismail. He was able to help me have a conversation with Misha as we colored. Right now I can't recall any specific thing we talked about but I know that I thoroughly enjoyed our time together and was upset when we were told it was time to leave. Before I left Misha reached into his coat pocket and handed something to me. It was one of those little plastic containers that you get from a 'gumball' machine. Inside of it was a precious little gift - a purple plastic frog. I imagine that had been a gift that was given to Misha by someone (like me) on a mission trip who came to visit. Or maybe he had spent some of his own money and bought it at the store. It really didn't matter to me - because he was choosing to share something that he owned with me. And that was absolutely pricess! He has no idea what his gift really means to me
When we returned home and people began to ask me about the trip, all I could think about was Misha. I printed the photo of the two of us together and placed it in a frame in my office at church. This was a great conversation starter and I could tell many people about Misha and others like him in Russia - who need people to share love and time with them, who need a family, who need to know the peace and hope that only God can give. It also served as a great reminder to me to pray for him.
LAST WEEK
I knew that a group of Russian orphans had recently traveled to Texas to participate in a program called "Angels from Abroad" with Buckner International. They are placed with Host Families and spend a little over 2 weeks doing all kinds of great things with Christian families - a real vacation for a child who has no family. These children are able to be adopted and some of the host families are ready to adopt. I decided to check their web site (www.angelsfromabroad.com) and read about the things they did. You can imagine my surprise when I saw this picture...
This is MISHA and his sister SONYA with their host parents! I can't believe that my Misha was in Texas and had been loved and cared for with the Angels. I immediately sent an email to the lady who had helped coordinate the program and let her know my story - asking her to pass it along to the host family. I was thrilled on Friday to be able to talk with Lisa Lee and hear all about Misha and their experience with him. And I was ever more elated to learn that she and her husband Greg are wanting to adopt both Misha and Sonya! Lisa was glad to know that someone had been there to share some love with him at one point. It reminded me that God has a big plan and we get to be a part of His story - in such small ways like changing our mission trip plans and visiting orphanage #2 for a few hours....so that a potential adoptive mom could know something about her adopted son.
I am asking you to join me in prayer for Greg & Lisa - they have been approved to adopt and are finishing their dossier (a pile of paperwork) and then they wait while it gets translated. They are also waiting anxiously to hear if Misha and Sonya do want to be a part of their forever family. (They shared their desire with the children while they were here. But it is now the children's decision if they want to be adopted. She said that 12 year old Misha was very excited but his 10 year old sister Sonya was a little resistant to the idea. Apparently they have an older brother and a younger baby sister in Russia - although they probably have little to no contact with them. Both Misha & Sonya have to give approval - they won't let just one of them be adopted.
I hope one day to be able to visit Greg & Lisa in North Texas with their children. I will tell Misha about how he stole my heart in the summer of '08. I will share with Him abou the amazing way God works - connecting people from different places so that only He can receive the glory. And yes, I'll even give the purple plastic frog back to him!
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