We Can’t Go to Russia, But the Ministry Goes On
And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good. ~Romans 8:28
I’ve often said that the primary reason we need to have a plan is so we know what we are changing. Well, our plans for sending mission teams to Russia this summer have certainly changed, as the coronavirus pandemic has led to the cancellation of at least six trips. This has been difficult and somewhat discouraging, but as always, God has brought good things from what we saw as a bad thing.
Orphan’s Tree has been working with orphans who have aged out of their orphanages since 2008. One of the goals of Orphan's Tree has been to develop a Russian staff that could continue to do ministry even if Americans could not travel to Russia. This coronavirus time has shown just how mature and creative our Russian staff members have become!
Our three Ministry Centers in Russia (buildings where orphanage graduates can meet and receive both practical and spiritual ministry) have been closed due to the pandemic. However, our staff has stepped up to the challenge, and the ministry has not just continued, but expanded!
Every orphan is contacted several times each week by a staff member to check up on them. Our staff has heard some orphans saying that they would rather starve to death than feel isolated, so we are regularly reminding them that they are not alone!
Food and medicines are delivered to those in need. Those single moms or families with children are given special attention to make sure their children's needs are met.
Zoom meetings are held regularly between our staff and groups of orphanage graduates to keep the orphans engaged with each other.
Many of the single grads are confined to small apartments with several grads to a single room flat. Many have lost their jobs. Our staff is making sure that they don't turn to alcohol or drugs during this time, and encouraging them to trust the Lord to see them through.
Regular online classes for our grads include exercise routines, English classes, individual and family counseling, sewing workshops, young families' meetings, career counseling, and book clubs.
Our orphanage graduates are beginning to venture out to do community service. When Uspensky Church in Ivanovo could no longer afford its custodial staff, our graduates volunteered to clean up the facility, which included the boys sweeping the paths and girls pulling weeds. Everyone wore masks and kept at a social distance from each other. Nastya, one of our grads, said "I was so happy to help at the church. It was like a breeze of fresh air to see my friends again and volunteer all together. I can't wait for the pandemic to be over so we can volunteer on a regular basis again.”
Would you like to meet some of our staff and grads personally online? We are holding monthly Zoom sessions over the summer that include our Russian Staff, orphanage graduates, and Americans. You are invited to be part of one by emailing John Smith at john@orphanstree.org.
We are looking forward to being able to once again send teams to our ministry centers in Vladimir, Ivanovo, and Kostroma. But for now, we are thanking God for bringing good out of this difficult time. As one of our staff said, “We are praying that COVID will go away soon and we will reopen our ministry centers as soon as possible. We are praying that borders will reopen and our American friends can travel to visit us again.” And that’s what we are praying for also!
