English lessons

We're in the midst of trying to raise support for a year's worth of English lessons for the kids at Sovietsk. During our most recent visit, Katya told us that she wants to learn to speak English so that when she grows up she can be a translator. We realized that she probably came to this conclusion because she really looks up to her discipler, who also serves as our translator. This is not a far fetched goal. There is a young lady working for Nadezhda Fund (the Russian arm of Children's HopeChest) as a translator who is also an orphanage graduate. Because she took English lessons at the orphanage and proved proficient at the language she was able to continue studying at university, eventually earning a college degree. That is not something that many kids in her situation are able to do for myriad reasons, but we want to give them options and opportunities. English lessons can make the future wide open for the kids through employment, education, and confidence.


$43 pays for a week of English lessons for all 29 children at Sovietsk Orphanage! We already have two weeks paid for, but we need more. Please consider helping us meet our goal. If you look to the right hand column on this web page you will see a badge through which you can donate for a year of English lessons. It's really easy to do.


Please designate funds towards Sovietsk English Lessons. Thank you!

Now the green blade rises

As I write this, I'm sitting at the table in my kitchen and looking outside to see what's shaping up to be a beautiful spring day. Spring is all about new life, new growth, new blades of green grass peeking up through the ground after the dormancy of a long winter. It reminds us of the kids.

This September will be our third trip to see our friends at Sovietsk. When we first visited it was for only a very brief time, just a couple of hours. We felt this was the right place for us to begin building relationships as sponsorship coordinators. But there was, as you will find at most every orphanage, a sense of heaviness and sadness there. The children didn't talk, and I don't remember a single smile. The director, Galina was very kind at our first meeting and she does a very good job with the children, but one got the sense that she would be glad for the help. Not because of us, of course, but because a burden shared is a burden divided.

On our second trip, over a year after sponsorship began, we could already feel a difference. We were glad to see Galina and she was glad to see us. And some of the kids remembered us, especially Sarah's friend and pen pal, Katya. She latched onto Sarah during the first visit. Then, she didn't smile at all and showed little emotion except when we left and she cried. The second time, she was shy at first, but soon latched onto Sarah again. She was much more gregarious this time and seemed to like having fun. She was described by Galina as "complicated," and understandably so. When you're rejected by those who are supposed to love you, things are bound to get complicated. But even though her life is tumultuous, she actually smiled and laughed genuinely during our time together. She's like a little blade of grass that's trying to grow after a long, dark winter. Our job is to make sure that she and the other kids there continue to grow and blossom.

At Easter, we sang of the green blade rising as Love lives again. We cannot wait to see what it's like at Sovietsk the third time around.

The List is Shrinking!

I am pleased to report that we now have sponsors for over half of the kids at Sovietsk!

This good news means the list of kids in need of sponsors (look to the right and down) is shrinking. We would love to eliminate it completely!

Who/what are sponsors?

Sponsors commit to send $34 a month, or $408 a year, to Children's HopeChest. This money provides for physical care for the child, additional education

opportunities, medical or other issues that may arise for the particular child. It also, very importantly, contributes toward resources for the orphanage in general. It provides for tutors, supplies, and a few fun events for all the kids. It pays for Lena, our discipler, to visit Sovietsk regularly and invest in the kids there. Lena is kind of a mix between a mentor and a youth pastor, for lack of better description. As Galina put it, Lena knows everything about Sovietsk. We'll share more about her later.

And, Sponsors write letters. The kids know who their Sponsors are. While we went to visit ALL the kids at Sovietsk, everyone knew we were Sergey & Katya's Sponsors, and that relationship carries significance to them. (Another reason we'd love to have some travelers join us next time!) Sponsors invest in one specific child for at least a year, and they can maintain that relationship as long as the child has access to HopeChest programs (whether at Sovietsk or after graduation). Sponsors can become like family.

Here's a cool sponsor story: On our 2007 trip, we met a woman who had been sponsoring the same girl for 10 years. After 10 years of letters, visits, prayer and encouragement, this girl had become a young woman who was graduating university and engaged to a kind young man with a wonderful family who accepted her fully. Her sponsor was invited to dinner with the family, and I believe she returned for the wedding. In a society where 'orphanage kids' are severely threatened and stigmatized, this is a WONDERFUL story. I wonder where my Katya will be in 10 years.

So, if you are interested or have more questions, contact me. I can send you everything you need to get started.

A good Christmas gift, maybe?

:)

Ah, Consumerism

Everyone claims to not be a big consumer. Ben and I certainly try not to be. We drive old cars. We don't have cable or fancy gadgets. We live below our means. We basically try to minimize the stuff in our life and spend our energies on what we think is important.

But we're still American.

We pack light when we travel--1 carry on and 1 checked bag max between the 2 of us. We pack, pare things down, and pack again. But, we think, it's still important to be prepared. For our trip to Russia, we brought clothes to span many occasions (though I must say we weren't prepared for rock climbing in the village). For footwear, I brought a pair of flip-flops for inside the orphanage, some sneakers for physical activities, summer canvas shoes for every day, and a pair of nicer shoes for Moscow. All, I thought, pretty reasonable.

On the day we went to the history museum, Katya came in my room. She noticed my Moscow shoes, then investigated the rest. She counted . . . "Adeen, dva, tre . . . chetirye?!?" Four?!? she asked me. I was mortified.

It's not so much that I wish Katya had more shoes (though I am sure it would be nice). Russian culture is rooted in collectivism, much like the disciples in Acts who shared what they had. The orphanage has a shoe-shelf, and kids grab a pair as they need them. This is their culture, and it works, to a degree. (Notice Stas's shoes in the photo above--they're two sizes too small and purple.)

But Katya makes a point--no one really needs four pairs of shoes, let alone the ghastly number most of us have in our closets. While we can easily justify buying them, and different cultures have different requirements, this illustrated the fundamental excess and entitlement that is a part of our culture.

I see it in the way we give as well. Americans love to give stuff--I do. And, with our place at the top of the world market (at least for a time), this is good--we have a responsibility to share what we have. But abandoned children don't crave stuff. They crave human contact, committment, someone to look them in the eye and tell them they matter. They yearn for deep and abiding love.

Among all the wonderful gifts we brought to the orphanage, nothing brought more excitement than letters. Thankfully, the most primal needs of food, clothing, and shelter are met at Sovietsk, though that isn't true everywhere. Still, times are tight, and the staff was thankful that we eased some financial burden by bringing both necessities and extras. But they were absolutely delighted to hear that each child received 3 letters.

I can't exagerrate what your love can do for these children. Financial generosity is wonderful, and very much needed, and everyone is grateful for it. But the love in and around the giving goes so much further.

What a Difference a Year Makes

On our trip, we gained some perspective on what our sponsors and donors have done for the kids at Sovietsk.

Thanks to Sovietsk Supporters, we delivered:

-A year's worth of school supplies: notebooks, pens, clay, paints, drawing pads, craft paper, glue, markers, and more

-A year's worth of hygiene supplies: shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste, more

-Important life-enhancing and educational items: a globe (featuring Indianapolis!), a guitar, soccer balls, volleyballs, puzzles, games

-Some fun: movies, cake, and ice cream :)

-Enough extra $ for bikes and skis--transportation and exercise

-Home supplies for recent graduates: tea kettles, pots and pans, desk organizers

-Thank you gifts to the wonderful orphanage staff

-Handmade, personalized hats & scarves--2 for each child!

-THREE LETTERS for each child! This was by far the most exciting delivery.

Over the course of the last year, based on sponsor support:

-Over half of all kids at Sovietsk have sponsors who provide financially and write regularly.

-Two older boys have obtained driver's licenses and have even worked and saved to buy their own cars. Their job prospects are now exponentially higher, and they are very proud to be 'members of society,' as Galina has said.

-One girl has spent the year traveling to Kirov City for special classes. She has just entered medical academy--unheard of for an orphanage grad!

-Sovietsk students have succeeded in soccer competitions and music competitions, lifting self-esteem and building relationships with children beyond the orphanage.

-The children have new tutors and learn new skills: cooking, gardening, cleaning, maintenance. They have extra adults in their life and are now better prepared for the outside world.

-The orphanage gained a psychologist and speech therapist to assist the children. Insitutionalized children have often experienced great trauma and loss in their little lives, and they are often severely delayed. Galina shared a story of a 9 yr old boy who came to the orphanage last year with severe Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, often dissociating into a catatonic state or melting down in certain situations. By the end of the year, he had found a home at Sovietsk and greets Galina with a huge hug when he sees her. There are still strides to go, but they have come so far.

So, THANK YOU, from the kids. Your impact is greater than you will ever know.

Katyusha

I first met Katya in March 2007, when we spent about 2 hours at Sovietsk during a tour of Kirov orphanages. She had just come to the orphanage a few months earlier. She didn't talk. She didn't smile. But she stuck by my side, and when it was time for us to leave, she ran looking for me.

I promised I would write to her, and I did. When we became sponsorship coordinators for Sovietsk, I immediately searched for Katya's profile. I became her sponsor, and we write to each other regularly. She sends me pictures she draws and tells me about her interests--gymnastics, boxing, school, or the orphanage animals. Her letters are a bit reserved, but always a little bit funny--full of spunk.

When we arrived at Soviestk in August, I met a different Katya. The caregivers told her I would be coming to see her, and she was watching for the bus to arrive. When she saw us, she snuck over to our group and hid behind a caregiver until I saw her and called her name. That was the last time I saw a shy Katya! She ran over, gave me a huge hug, and was joined at my hip from that point on. It was such a joy to hear her laugh, to see her smile, to watch her confidence and adventurousness throughout the week.

Katya wasn't staying at Sovietsk when we were there. She spent the summer at a caregiver's home within walking distance from the orphanage. Every morning, our bedroom door would fly open, and there was Katya! She brought me fresh milk--still warm--and berries from the home she was visiting. She played guitar and volleyball and introduced me to the cats and helped me find mushrooms and showed me how to flip blini and laughed at my horrible pronunciation of the Russian ы vowel. At dinner time every day, it was hard to send her home.

I was so amazed to see what a different girl Katya had become in the last year and a half. I am not naive when it comes to children living in institutions, though. The survival skills these children develop are quite sophisticated--if a child has the resilience to capitalize on her strengths, she will use that to her advantage in an institution. It is easier to be gregarious than it is to be vulnerable. Befriending the adults in the room has its advantages, and I have seen her exert her 'leadership skills' over the other children. As the director put it, Katya is 'complicated.'

Katya is 10 years old, a point when girls start learning how to be young women. This is yet another crucial time when a girl needs a mother.

Katya got a letter from her mother while I was visiting. I gently asked her what she thought about this, but she didn't say much. As the week went on, I wondered . . . . I'm 28, and Katya is 10. I wonder if I am her mother's age.

I wonder if I am anything like her mother.

Katya has so many wonderful qualities: she is hilarious, smart as a whip, a natural leader, brave, beautiful, strong, and kind. But even bright and spunky and clever girls need a mother.