Dear Friends,
now that Tonya is back home safe and sound, we're about to leave on
another trip together. Tonya and I will go to Moscow for a "Russia
Without Orphans" conference (if you read Russian, you can read more
about it at http://rossiabezsirot.ru/
). We will leave tomorrow and spend two packed days in the
meetings. Several Russian members of our ministry team will be
coming with us. Please pray that we will learn a lot, make good
contacts with other ministries, and become even better equipped for
the Lord's work here in Khabarovsk.
The last couple of weeks have been filled with unexpected ministry.
Anya attended our life skills classes last year. Last summer she
graduated from high school (and her orphanage) and was planning to
enter a technical college to become an architect. She didn't pass
the entrance exams, but hid that fact from her teachers at the
orphanage. At the age of 18, the orphanage stopped receiving
government funds for taking care of her. They asked her to get a
job, but instead she left the orphanage. When she left, she stole
4,000 rubles (about $135.00) from a teacher. We didn't know
anything about this at the time. Later, two other students in our
life skills class came to us telling that Anya was in trouble with
the police and needed help.
For more than a month we've been staying in touch with her (sending
packages to the jail, trying to find a helpful lawyer, one of our
team members got jail visitation rights and saw her). It was quite
an adventure to Tonya to discover how the Russian criminal justice
system works. Tonya attended two court hearings and found out that
there are other cases against this girl. On the 22nd of March she
is to be released on probation. We've made arrangements for her to
stay at a local rehab center. Please pray that Anya would start
walking with the Lord, would stay at the rehab center, and stop
stealing. We praise God for team members that will meet and help
Anya when she is released, since Tonya and I will be at the
conference in Moscow that day.
Also! Galya is a 23 year old who graduated from an orphanage seven
years ago. Several months ago she told one of our team members - Katya
- that she is pregnant with no husband and no place to live. Galya
said she wanted to keep the baby, but felt she might have to give the
baby to an orphanage because of her living conditions. Katya got
some help from her church, and by their help she was able to get a
government provided dormatory room for Galya. Katya even moved into
the room with Galya to help her take care of the new-born baby boy.
After a week of them staying in that room, a criminal group began to
threaten the girls. They wanted to take the room and furniture that
the church had provided. So we had them come live in our home for a
week while some of the men from their church tried to deal with the
criminal situation by "talking" with the gang (yes, things
work a little differently here that what you may be used to). It
was our joy to see Galya growing as a new Christian and a first-time
mother. Our kids also learned a bit about taking care of a little
baby.
Please pray for Galya. She has never had a role model for
motherhood. She is trying so hard, and doing well so far. Please
pray for their safety as well.
We'll try to send photos when we get back from the trip.
Blessings,
Cecil & Tonya
