We rode in on snow,
which was still flurrying (is that a word?), it was still -1000° Celsius,
and the wind was still cutting to the bone. Yep, it’s Christmas at
Barskoe, Suzdal region of Russia.
Christmas holidays mean
fewer kids than normal at Barskoe Gorodische Orphanage. From about 100+
during the school year, the holidays will usually drop to 30-40. Many of
the children have family of some type to spend the holidays with. It may
be grandparents, uncle and aunts, even parents. Frequently, children are
taken away from alcoholic or abusive parents. Some parents come drop them
off when they can’t, or don’t want to, take care of the children. But,
there are true orphans in the mix.
Last year, the director
gave us a secret wish-list they had compiled from the kids. We went and
bought everything the kids asked for, from greeting cards to jeans, dolls,
and remote control cars. We planned to do the same this year.
Sidebar:
It is an odd thing,
you know? Over the years, as “new” Russians join or accompany us to
orphanages, they are shocked. When Vitaly, our “main man in Russia”,
married his beautiful Alyona, she went with us to the Baby House in
Dubvoka. We had been there about ten minutes when Alyona started crying.
“What’s wrong, Aly?”
“I never knew our
children lived like this,” she said.
Orphans, like the
physically and mentally handicapped, which you will never see in public,
are the “Invisible People” of Russia. They are considered by the
government, and many others, as an embarrassment and a drain on society.
“Why do you concern yourself with our garbage?” one woman asked.
Treasures of the
Heart will not be around long enough to change Russia. One of our goals
is to help equip Russians to be able to provide long term care for these
kids. We have networked a few groups to that end. Hopefully, more will
follow. Others are taking the initiative.
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Students from a college
in Suzdal, about 20 minutes down the road, saw a TV report on the
orphanage. They didn’t even know such an orphanage was in their midst.
Their hearts were moved to action. The director gave them the wish-list
when they came to see what they could do to help. Once again, our plans
changed.
We didn’t have the list,
but we had gifts galore. Each boy and girl got a pair of blue jeans.
Cathedral’s Singles Connection provided watches for all the boys and
girls.
Another local church
provided Barbie dolls for the girls and Hot Wheels for the boys, a lot of
Hot Wheels. In fact, there were enough for all the boys to have 6-8 each.
We still had Hot Wheels. The girls were looking at the little cars. So…
the girls all got a couple of Hot Wheels. They loved them as much as the
dolls.
There were piles of
craft and school supplies on the tables. Their eyes dazzled at all the
colored paper, ink pens, map colors, and related items. The government
never provides such things. In fact, some years they get no basic school
supplies unless families pay for them.
In addition, instead of
smaller individual gifts, Treasures bought 10 bicycles, from little ones
with training wheels, to full size.
“Every summer, we watch
other kids ride their bicycles down the road. We never had one of our
own.” They are thrilled.
Oh! And sparklers!
Everywhere! We bought about two jillion sparklers. We gave those kids
enough pyrotechnics to level the joint. Well, not really, but they did
love the sparklers.
St. Jude’s Catholic
Church’s Youth Group baked sweet rolls and sold them to raise money for a
Barskoe project. They took a picture we furnished and made beautiful,
silk-screened T-shirts for the Barskoe kids.
Every time Treasures
provides a meal for the kids, we watch with a small amount of amazement,
and a lot of satisfaction, as the kids eat. The first time we brought a
feast, they ate like…well…animals. They had never seen so much food in one
place. Any food that hit the filthy floor was immediately grappled for.
They ate like they would never have the chance again. It was
heart-breaking, to say the least.
Now, we see tables lined
with well-mannered ladies and gentlemen. Diets, no, their lives, have
been changed. You did it. Without your selfless giving, none of this would
be possible. I keep saying Treasures did this, Treasures did that, but the
truth is, it’s God’s provision through you. Thank you.
Anyway, I digress…
Barskoe’s new director,
Ivan, (There is no such Russian name as Ivan. Phonetically, it is Evon,
accent on the second syllable. English transliterates it to Ivan. Just
thought you wanted to know.
J)
met us at the market in Vladimir. We shopped for chickens, eggs, cheese,
butter, oil, flour, fruit, vegetables, treats, you name it, we bought it.
Once again, Christmas dinner was a real treat for them.
Children from our home church are members
of the 4H club. This year, after selling their chickens, they
donated money to help feed the kids at Barskoe. We were able to fill
the freezer with chickens and eggs because of their sacrifice.
After all the food, all
the gifts, all the fun and frolic, the Christmas Story was presented in a
PowerPoint program.
Our parting shot, once
again, was a beautiful GIANT Christmas cake for all the kids and workers.
As we prepared to leave,
we asked the kids if they had any prayer requests. They were all too
bashful to ask for personal prayer, but several asked for help in their
education. They were most interested in prayer for access to college and
other higher education, once they left the orphanage. Interesting
priorities for those kids, don’tcha think? Some of them, at least, see a
positive future.
Once again, our task was
finished in Barskoe Gorodische, we returned to Moscow for our train ride
to St. Petersburg to visit a new orphanage.
Beslan
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