Dear friends, I’m pleased to announce that our blog team has grown and from now on you’ll be hearing not only from myself but also from George, Rebecca and Shawn. I hope you enjoyed George's great post from last week as much as I did.
George is, of course, the President of our ministry. Eighteen years ago when I still lived in Russia and thought that orphans were only the product of the capitalist West, George introduced me and my friend Katya* to the Russian orphanages where we helped distribute My First Bibles. Talk about a life changing day! The sight of those precious children, in need of shoes, nourishment, and so much more, including and especially the kind of hope that only Our Father can give, but also in possession of such great potential, led directly and quickly to what has become a burden on our hearts and a life's work for all of us.
* Katya still heads Nadezhda Fund, one of the two Russian organizations (the other being Together Fund) that Orphan’s Tree is working through in Russia.
Rebecca has recently joined the Orphan’s Tree team as Partner Relations Director. Rebecca first went to Russia when she was George's 17 year old daughter and of course became a great supporter of the ministry. Her husband, Josh, has been on the Orphans Tree Board and recently led a construction team to Kostroma earlier this summer. I thank Rebecca and Josh for their great support and now am glad to have Rebecca on the team. Just look at the fresh new look of our blog! I can't wait to see all that she's going to bring to the table.
Shawn went to a camp in Ivanovo in 2004 and since then he’s been following the kids he met there. You can find their stories on Shawn’s personal blog. Shawn is currently in Russia interviewing them and we’re looking forward to reading about it in future posts. Thank you, Shawn, for joining out blog team!
I'm especially thankful for their support in this as I prepare to travel back to Russia for the next month to help lead a "Life Skills" conference and to look in on all our great efforts there. I hope you'll look forward to my report on it later.
And I'm also thankful to you all, our friends and supporters, for your love and care for these precious young people. I hope you'll join us in keeping them in your thoughts and prayers, remembering their great need... and even greater potential!
Jenya