carefororphans

Four more boxes arrived.

2007-04-30T06:08:00.000-07:00

This week fpur more boxes made it to Krasnodar. Two boxes were from the Couturier family, one box from the Millers and another one from William Bell - thank you! In May-June most boarding school will be equipping their graduates to leave the orphanages - most of what you have sent will go towards those purposes, the rest I will distribute as I see fit - especially clothes for young babies. May the Lord's blessing be with you and your loved ones.

Easter In Russian orthodox Church

2007-04-30T06:03:00.000-07:00

Irene and Jeanette were in Russia during easter week - in Russia we call it "Svetlaya sedmitsa" - Bright seven days. We were thrilled to have them worship the risen Lord with us!

Very special guests

2007-04-30T05:20:00.000-07:00

I did have two very special guests vist me back in April. Irene and Jeanette were adopted from Russia 7 and 5 years ago. This year they were back to get a closure for their stories. It was especially important now since this is their last year in school - they are on the way to college this comming fall.

First and foremost they wanted to visit the orphanage they were adopted from and it was a very sad trip. On the one hand orphanage was a much better place for them then their homes (both families were abusing alkohol). Orphanage meant security, food, care, clean bead and schooling. On the other hand, they missed individual love and attention any child needs.

It was sad to see their places taken - other kids abandoned and foresaken by their parents, in fear of future, of the need at some point to leave the security of the orphanage provision and the necessity to face the real world.

The trip to the birth places of the girls was sad and emotional too. Almost everyone in their familes already died.

Both Jeanette and Irene are responcible, loving , beautiful young ladies and I am no end grateful to their adoptive parents for making this trip possible for the girls and for giving them such a good family where they very obviously thrive.

Visit to Tenginskaya orphanage

2007-03-25T01:40:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I took some clothing and school supplies to Tenginskaya Orphanage. The day was windy and the trip took 4 hours round trip. Once again I was warned by the vice director that I can not take any pictures of the children... So I secretly snapped two shots of kids playing football and walking outside.

It is early spring here and the grass has not arrived yet. The wind rose a lot of dust from the fields into the air and sometimes driving was difficult.

Gratitude to everyone who gave towards my ministry at the orpahanges!

Mailing adress

2007-03-25T01:37:00.000-07:00

Dear friends,
my mailing adress is still the same:

Olga Spachil
P.O.Box 4003
Krasnodar 350 000
Russia

Pam, thank you for the comment. It would be great to hear from you!

International Aoptions from Kranodar region

2007-03-05T05:41:00.000-08:00

A very symbolic bill board has appeared in the center of Krasnodar. It shows two kids clinging to each other with the inscription "I am waiting for you, mama". There is all the information - the telephone numbers, etc. for those who want to adopt or take kids under their patronage.

Krasnodar Department of Education has made it a priority to put kids from orphanages under patronage of local families. Families are paid an ammount of approximately 7000 roubles per child . Today's exchange rate is 25.85 roubles per 1 US$. Some families have taken as many as 4 kids already. Most of these families come from rural areas.

The prosess goes pretty well - Krasnodar region occupies third place in Russia as far as the number of kids put into patronage families is concerned. This process is pretty new and not all mechanisms are worked out.

Orphanafe directors are not happy with the process, they think there is too much rush and theat the families are not ready, they do not really know the pecularities of institutionalised children, they expect a lot of kids to be brought back to orphanages pretty soon, we shall live and see.

There are still orphans with all sorts of handicap, international adopton was their only chance for a family. Very few of these kids end up in Russian families. International adoption is almost stopped in Krasnodar region at this point. We will see what the future has in store for all of us. But at this point I am not involved in any adoptions for the US families.

Three boxes arrived!

2007-02-25T06:49:00.000-08:00

Two boxes from Dana T.(mailed on Dec.12) and one box from Valery B.(mailed the first week of January) made it safely to Krasnodar. Thank you!

Anastasia With Her Parents - Praise the Lord!

2007-02-25T06:47:00.000-08:00

Anastasia was adopted!!!

2007-02-25T06:32:00.000-08:00

Dear friends,
I was so cought up with everything that happened at the end of last year that I forgot to tell you that sjortly before Christmas Anastasia was adopted. There were so many obstacles to that adoption that it looked like mission impossible. To crown it all the last week before Christmas a strong fog fell over Krasnodar and no planes were landing. So, the adopting couple landed in Anapa - a town on the Black sea coast - three hours away from Krasnodar by car. Once the couple was there the Lord blessed us with a very smooth completion of paperwork and three days later the couple was on the way to Moscow. It is truly a miracle but Anastasia immediately took to her new parents and was very well at home with them, though otherwise she is very shy around strangers and even afraid of them - two and a half years at the hospital with no men but only hospital personel (women) certainly took its tall.

At this point Anastasia is getting used to her family and is like another child, even trying to boss others around! Praise the Lord, I am very thankful for this adoption - my gratitude to everyone who prayed for Anastasia!

It took more then 8 (eight!!!) for 3 boxes to get to Krasnodar from the States

2007-02-01T06:41:00.000-08:00

Three boxes from Pam Miller with toys and clothes for children were sent from the State of Indiana, USA on December 15, 1998 and were picked up from the post office in Krasnodar Russia in January of 2007!

The boxes were intact - everything clean and dry as if packed yesterday. There was a letter from a director of Russian Postal Service in Moscow which "explained" everything without really explaining - a perfect example of how officials can talk without saying anything. Here is an except: " We inform you that Russian postal service received mail which was sent from the States in 1999. Since more then 7 years passed since the day evrything was mailed Russian Postal Service administration can not be held responsible for the contenet of the shipment... Accept our most sincere regrets that your mail was not delivered to you on time".

It was good to receive apologies but it is still intersting who and why and where kept the mail... People all over Russia are receiving mail from overseas sent long, long time ago.

Thank you, Pam! Praise the Lord, that toys and clothes will be used to cheer up deprived kids.

Christening of Taisia Andreevna Taraschuk, January 12, 2007

2007-01-21T19:32:00.000-08:00

Christmas with Anya and her family

2006-12-24T18:29:00.000-08:00

We have two grandchildren in New Orleans - Nicole who is turning 7 in a month and Emma who is two.

Nicole wrote an essay about us which really says it all. Here is what she wrote: "My grandparents make me happy when I see them. My grandparents love to go to Disney Land. The best part about my grandparents is they love me".

Merry Christmas!

2006-12-22T07:47:00.000-08:00

Dear friends and family! We wish you a very merry Christmas! We do have a very good reason to be merry and celebrate - Christ paved the way to our salvation and it is only up to us wether we want to fallow in His steps.

This Christmas Misha and I are in the States with family and friends. It is a true blessing to see evryone. We are very grateful that we are able to travel - thank you, Father!

Three more boxes are here!

2006-12-07T01:51:00.000-08:00

Dear Carol and Dennie,
two boxes from Carol and one box from Dennie made it safely to Krasnodar.

Carol, the content is perfect - very timely(winer is almost here). The scarfs and hats will be sent to a boarding school with lots of teenagers.

Dennie, toys are going to be part of Christmas gifts and the clothes go to todlers at one of the orphanages in my region.

Thank you again and again and may the Lord bless you abundantly.

Ministry to Teenage Girls in Prison.

2006-11-17T06:16:00.000-08:00

One of the highlights of the conference was meeting Lubov Timofeeva from Ryazan. She has been ministering for 8 years now serving girls in the prison for juvenile delinquents. Ryaznan prison is one of the three places in Russia for minor girls. Lubov comes to prison everyweek and spends time with the girls - reading the Bible with them, praying, sharing their hearts. 80 per cent of the girls in prison are orphans, they do not have anyone to write to them and of course they do not have anyone waitng for them, once they are free they have no place to go. Luba has a 72 year old brother in Christ helping her, but otherwise she is by herself on this frontline.
Lubov is a former history teacher, she is well educated, speaks English. Her commitment to these girls is amazing. I really would like to help Lubov in some way and my first idea was to post info about her and ask you to please pray for Lubov and her ministry and see if you can help in any of the areas where her biggest needs are.
1. These girls long to receive letters from literally anyone, they need penpals.
2.There is a great need for organisations and ministries who minister to teenagers in prison to help with material needs of these girls and certainly helping them once they are out of prison.
Please feel free to write to me and I will forward your letters to Lubov.

Nadezda Fund - Children's Hopechest

2006-11-17T05:36:00.000-08:00

Ekaterina Selenina, the head of Nadezda fund in Russia, shared about different forms of work they do among the orphans. Nadezda has very successful programs working with orphanage graduates: adaptation of orphanage and boarding school graduates, Clubs of support for graduates, Family centers for graduates, training orphanage graduates in Independent living skills, patronage families. It was very encouraging to see how successfully their programs work.

According to Ekaterina Selenina there are about 700 000 orphans in Russia, the 226 000 of which live in boarding schools. Their integration into the society is crucial. According to UN statistics given by George Steiner, by the year 2010 ther will be 143 million of orphaned children all over the globe. Of course these kids do need our attention, their number in Russia is constantly growing.

This picture was taken during our visit to Nadezhda ministry center in Vladimir - a safe and well taken care of place where orphan graduates come for help, support, where they spend their time fellowshiping with each other, receiving professional help from psychologist, play tennis, work out, have tea, etc. etc.

Vladimir - one of the oldest Russian cities.

2006-11-17T05:20:00.000-08:00

Vladimir is a facinating place. The monastery downtown was founded in 1191, it is known to be the place where Alexander Nevsky (a Russian statesman who later was canonized as Orthodox saint) was buried in 1263. It takes 3 hours to get from Moscow to Vladimir by bus, though with traffic jams it took us 6 hours. Though it is aleady winter there and it is pretty cold there are a lot of tourist who come to see the churches, most of which are buit in the 12th century. Vladimir is part of the Golden Ring - the ancient Russina towns and cities which surround Moscow.

Eastern European Summit for Children at Risk

2006-11-17T05:01:00.000-08:00

Russian National Network and The CoMission for Children at Risk hosted more then 200 participants representing organisations caring for orphans and street children in Russia. This summit gave an opportunity to Russian and western organisations to network, share ideas and perspectives in serving children at risk.
For me personally it was a great time of fellowship with other people who are involved in the work with kids, meet new people and catch up with old friends. The conference took place in Moscow and Vladimir (November 10-14).
I am very grateful to those who sacrifficed their time and talents in order to make this summit a reality. And I am especially grateful to a wonderful christian friend who paid for my participation - thank you!

Thank you, Dennie!

2006-11-08T23:49:00.001-08:00

Dear Dennie,
the box of toys and clothes you mailed on Augist 30th arrived last week. Thank you!

Another box arrived!

2006-11-02T09:01:00.000-08:00

Dear Barbara and the senders of boxes for "Olga's kids" a box sent on August 17 arrived yesterday (November 1). The return adress was: WIlliam E. Bell, 1007 Anniston Ave, Gulfport, MS. Thanks a lot!

A visit to Velokovechnoye orphanage

2006-10-31T06:54:00.000-08:00

It was a joy to see kids and caretakers at Velikovechnoye orphanage. They are doin well, making the most of what they have. A new computer class was pretty impressive. Kids love it. The money gift Larisa Roberts sent was used to buy a color printer and ink.

We also visited Sveta - the disabled sister of Elena Ivanovna, the director of Velikovechnoye orphanage. Sveta is cared for by her parents. They were happy to hear from Larisa and they have the fondest memories of Larisa's stay in Velikovechnoye. Couple of years ago Larisa spent her summer at Velokivechnoye. She brought tons of supplies and worked 24 hours 7 days a week. She kept 100 (!) kids buisy. Something nobody in Velikovechnoye forgot. Talk about lasting impressions!

Clothes for Afipsky orphanage

2006-10-31T06:46:00.000-08:00

The clothes and shoes Barbara Smith and her team is sending keep comming! Here are the director of the orphanage and the orphanage doctor with the boxes. The boxes will be opened later when the lady responcible for clothes comes and is ready to make a list of the new donnations.

Steve in Krasnodar

2006-10-31T06:42:00.000-08:00

Steve and Olga in front of the monument to Kossaks in Krasnodar on October 24, 2006.

Steve Bellamah in Krasnodar

2006-10-31T06:03:00.000-08:00

I met Steve Bellamah abouth three and a half years ago at a conference put together by Nadezhda fund (Hopechecst for Children). I was floored - an educated, handsome american left his home in California and came to live to an orphanage in Solotcha (a little place near Ryazan) and has been living there for ten years now! As a single dad Steve adopted two girls from Solotcha orphanage and gave them opportunity to live and receive education in the United Kigdom. Nina, his elder girl, got married last year and has a family of her own. Masha is in her last year of college in England and is on the verge of many important decisions.

I know first hand how difficult fellowship with needy kids is, how easy it is to get depressed and overwhelmed by the needs of the orphans. Steve gets very little help and still he has different programms at Solotcha orphanage, teaches English and is there to encourage and support ANY child who is ready to receive help, orphanage graduates included. Amazing, unbelievable!

If there is any person whose life influenced my life it is certainly Steve's. I am truly happy the Lord brought us together. Lord willing, Misha and I will be going to Solotcha this comming spring break to spend time with kids at Solotcha. This fall we had the privilege of welcomming Steve in Krasnodar.

Misha presenting spices at Krasnodar restaurants.

2006-10-31T05:15:00.001-08:00

Misha - the husband of mine!

2006-10-21T04:33:00.000-07:00

Since this is my personal blog I thought I should tell you about Misha ( short Russian version for Michael) my husband. We got married back in 1977 and on March 26, 2007 we will(Lord willing) celebrate our thirtieth anniversary. All these years Misha has been with me through my ups and downs, through my difficulties and struggles.

Recently I read the personal blog of my daughter in law ( http://iampetra.blogspot.com ) and her second post, after the first one explaining the purpose of her blog, was about her husband. Good for you, Petronia, we do become one flesh and our spouses are in one way or the other part of evrything we do. I felt ashamed - I have never ever acknowledged my husband's role in my life, in my ministry, though he has been the one whose home was always populated by missionaries, orphans, street children, homeless old ladies, etc. I would bring people from the street into my kitchen without any doubt that mu husband would understand and approve. He would come home to an empty refrigerator or to a house full of guests and he would always smile and tell them that they were welcome. It was only my pride which did not let me see his part in my ministry. I never admitted his part, never thanked him publicly or privately, so I thought I would put together a post about Misha as a way of saying: "Misha, you are part of everything I do. I love and appreciate you. Thank you."

Misha and I met when he was 14 and I was 15. He fell in love and I wasn't even looking at the boy who lived next door. But he gradually worked his way into my life and we became friends, special friends. We got married when he was 20 and I was 21 and we soon had two children - a girl and a boy (our children are long since married and we are blessed with three (!) beautiful grandchildren). Misha was trained as a surveyor and he worked as a surveyor for a while. Then it turned out that Misha has an exceptional art tallent. He received a MA from Kuban State University. Misha's watercolors were very popular and there were a lot of people who wanted to buy them.

In 1997 Misha and I started a desktop publishing and printing buisness. The Lord was good to us. Misha survived a plain carsh and had to stay in bed for a year, the good part was that he learned to use computers and became an expert in computer programms. Through Max Hatfield friends from Oklahoma donnated a used prining press to us and we were able to start the buisness which supported our ministry and family.

"Vest"( the name of the buisness) is doing well and is still generating some income. Misha has become one of the most influential designers in Krasnodar and the printing press is still very well used. These days Misha is more and more interested in restaurant buisness. After Misha and a friend of his have become legal representatives of TONES spices in Russia they have brought a container of spices to Krasnodar and these days Misha is going from restaurant to restaurant persuading chefs and restaurant owners that good spices makes 90 per cent of all of their success.

Cooking is a great break from sitting in front of a monitor of a computer and Misha is very enthusiastic about his new project. Misha has always liked to cook and my family and all of our friends enjoy the benefits. So we certainly wish and pray for all the success. Misha has always been a very generous supporter of his wife's ministry, or should I say OUR ministry to the children?

Babies at Krasnodar Hospital

2006-10-18T08:05:00.000-07:00

There are 30 abandoned babies in Krasnodar city hospital. There is room only for 30 babies and when one of these kids gets adopted or transferred to an orphanage the place gets immediately filled with another child. Some kids are really sick and need hospital care, others have "scaring " diagnosis since these kids were born of mothers with AIDS, syphilis or have hepatitis B. There is still another group of babies who are waiting or undergowing surgeries such as cleft palate or heart problems.

The hospital staff does the most with what they have. They are committed to the babies, though the job of a nurse does not pay well, but still there are women who care and do way more for these kids - pray for them, love them and bring them all sorts of goodies from home.
I try to do what I can for these babies - provide them with toys, baby food, diapers. Some of the donnations I get from families end up here. Just wanted to let you know where the money goes.

Babies at Krasnodar Hospital

2006-10-12T10:18:00.000-07:00

Babies at Krasnodar Hospital

2006-10-12T10:15:00.000-07:00

Babies at Krasnodar Hospital

2006-10-12T10:12:00.000-07:00

Boxes for "Olga's Kids"

2006-10-12T09:27:00.000-07:00

Carol Glover who adopted two children from Krasnodar region was the first to send boxes to Krasnodar. Carol wanted to help and she started putting together boxes of used clothes and toys and shipping them to Krasnodar via mail. Barbara Smith liked the idea and together with her husbans Bill Smith started sending boxes as well. In their methodist church Barbara and Bill started a goup called "Olga's kids" and put out a huge box for donnations. The box would quickly get filled with clothes, shoes and Barbara abd her friends from the church would pack everything into special made to order boxes which would hold maximal allowed weight.

Differnt people started giving for shipment and the flow of boxes continues non stop. Over the past few years Barbara and her friends from the church sent over 800 boxes. The box #700 was decorated with pictures of those who packed. Most of the enthusiasts were older people and certainly it was a lot of work for them to pack, lift huge boxes at the post office, wash clothes, sort them, etc. etc. May the Lord reward each one of the participants of the project. May He certainly reward Bill and Barbara Smith who turned the front room in their house in jackson,MS into a storage a packing room. may His blessing rest upon the pastors of this chuch and upon the congregation!

Russian authorities are strange and unpredictable. Customs strted giving me hard time since nobody believed I was not selling the used clothes for profit. I presented all the possible proofs - letters from the orphanages, pictures, lists of donnated clothes, etx. but nothing helped. At this point I can receive only a few boxes without causung problems with customs.

You would ask if Barbara and her team gave up? No, certainly not. Tthese days the boxes from Gpd's children in Mississippi get sent directly to orphanages, thus saving me the trouble of sorting the clothes and taking them to the orphanages myself.

Other people learned about this ministry and send boxes with books, toys, materials for crafts. I want to thank each one of you, my dear friends. My most cordial gratitude to Lori and Jeff Couturier, Beth and Craig Jones, John and Twila Kulp, Dana and Chuck Tamburo, Hope Missionary church (Hartsel family), Valeria Vesselova and Eduard Bykoff, Dennie and Carrie Hester,Laura Tomas Millers (two families) and many others whose names I do not remember right now.

From now on I will try to make sure and post information on senders once I receive boxes. Lately I have received three boxes from Dana Tamburo and two boxes from Valeria Vesselova.
The used clothes go to orphans, needy families in my chuch, juvenile delinquents (kids under 15 who are kept in Krasnodar detention center, street children. My vocabulary is too poor to express all the gratiude and of course our Lord is the only One Who can reward all of you. Thanks again and again!

Meeting the birthmother.Part 2.

2006-09-28T09:57:00.000-07:00

The Kulps, Zhenya and Katya and Natasha in the park. The difficulty was not so much in not being able to communicate - I was translating. Th difficulty was in the cultural differences, in the different attitudes towards adoption in both countries, in different mentalities. For the Kulps it was OK to share the fact that Natasha was born in Russia, that she crtainly had a birthfamily and they were grateful to the Lord for letting them raise Natasha. The Kulps were sincere and open - they wanted nothing but frienship. They wanted Natasha to know that she was accepted by her birthfamily as well, but Zhenya was not able to raise her (due to economic reasons in her case) and they were happy tj be her parents.

For Zhenya giving the child for adoption was connected with shame, it was one of the biggest secrets and worries in her life. Nobody in her family, except for Zhenya's mother who passed away, new of the child she left in the maternity hospital. Zhenya never shared her feelings about this with ANYONE and obviously meeting Natasha in person was too much.

The Kulps planned to spend several days with Zhenya, maybe even to visit her home. For Zhenya this was completely out of the question since she lives in a little village near Krasnodar and the appearance of US family with her daughter in that little place would be discussed and gossiped about as long as anyone who knows Zhenya or her family stays around.

In Russia we do not discuss these things, we are not ready. So, for one day I asked questions to the Kulps and to Zhenya and translated the answers to both sides, thus keeping the conversation. My heart was going out for Zhenya who was obviously very tense and stressed.

The next day Natasha and the Kulps were waiting for the phone call form Zhenya, she did not call. They waited for two more days and then it was time to leave for home.
Misha and Zhanna with whom the Kulps were staying were good hosts and tookthe Kulps out for the barbeque. They enjoyed their stay in Krasnodar. Natasha did cry after no phone call came from her birthmom or ner newly found sister, then she was OK.

I really wonder now - was it worthwhile? Your opinions and comments are MOST WELCOME I really would like to form an opinion of my own and will wire on this topic again.

Meeting the birthmom.Part 1.

2006-09-28T08:41:00.002-07:00

Natasha and Katya

Meeting the birthmom.Part 1.

2006-09-28T08:41:00.000-07:00

The american family was on its way, they have emailed me in advance and told me that they have been in touch with the birthnother of their beautiful Russian daughter. Natasha was adopted from Krasnodar 8 years ago and the family was excited about letting Natasha see her birth country and meet her birthmom.

Before Krasnodar the Kulps visited Moscow, StPetersburg and Sochi and Krasnodar was the highlight of their trip. We looked forward to seeing Natasha who left Krasnodar 8 years ago and now was a beautiful 9 year old girl. John and Twila are pareting three boys and one girl and they are truly wonderful parents - honest, loving, hardworking. Christ is the center of their lives and their children are happy and enthusiastic about life. John and Tila were raised in good christian famiies and they look it - smilling, healthy and beautiful.

Zhenya - the birthmother - was supposed to meet me downtown and I was supposed to take her to the family. Zhenya was a very petite 45 year old blond lady. She was waiting for me holding the hand of her 14 year old daughter. Both were tense and nervous. From the conversation with Zhenya on our way to the Kulps I learned that she had also has an older boy, who is now 20. Zhenya, her daughter and the son live together. Zhenya's husband was an alkoholic and passed away 5 years ago. Zhenya's mother died of cancer several years ago and she also has to take care of her aging father who is now 80.

Zhenya looked very pale and malnourished. She told me she has to work every day without any days off. Sha works for a wine packing buisness. And they get a day off when equipment breaks or needs to be stopped for some technical reason. This comming January all the equipment will be stopped for couple of weeks for check up and all the workers will get time off. In order to come for the meeting Zhenya had o ask her friend to work for her - just one day.

I also asked Zhenya about the church in her place - she was not sure if there was one. She said she had no time to attend chuch, she did not mention God in her conversations and was obviously not a believer, which meant in her situation that she was abttling agaist life on her own (without help from the Father) and she looked exhausted.

We rang the bell and the owner of the apartment opened the door for us. Natasha unexpectedly ran out of the room and literally got herself in front of Zhenya. Zhenya got pale and I noticed she had difficulty breathing. We went into the room and sat on a sofa. Zhenya was almost fainting and I had to go and get her some medicine. In a little while she said she was OK and was ready to continue the visit.

Twila and John were open and friendly, they showered Zhenya with gifts which were carefully prepared with lots of love and care. Zhenya was speechless, she did not say anythin, she cried once in a while, said "thank you" and then cried again. John, Twila and I were keeping the conversation alive, I kept translating everything to Zhenya to make sure she does not feel left out. It was pretty draining and stressful - very emotional plus with Zhenya keepin silent and not sharing ANY of her emotions... Zhenya never asked one question about Natasha or the Kulps, she kept crying as Twila was flippin the pages of Natasha's adoption book - no comments or questions.

Katya, the 14 year old Zhenya's daughter was happy to find out she has a sister. She put Natasha in her lap and held her. They could not talk to each other, though and were watchig a cartoon on TV. Natasha was obviously thrilled - she has always begged Twila for a sister and now it turns out that she does hsve one. The sisters looked very much like each other. Katya did not ask any questions either, thouogh she was polite and answered my questions about her life, her school, etc. which I kept asking and then translating the answers and the questions.

Thank you, Laura Thomas!

2006-07-19T08:24:00.000-07:00

Back in March I received a money gift from a seventeen-year -old US teenager I have never met. Her name turned out to be Laura and she was a cousin of one of the kids who were adopted from Russia. Back then Laura wrote: " Last summer I started a project called "Beads for Needs" in which I sold handmade bracelets. The enclosed check constitutes all the money I made through the project - I truly hope that it can be of some help to your orphanages - even if it is only enough to buy a few new toys for the children".

The money did buy some toys and I was really touched by this sincere expression of love , a true example of how one can make a difference in trying to make our countries and the world in general a better place. Recently I received a box of baby clothes and stuffed animals - which Laura put together. I am truly impressed by this young lady and I thank her and of course her family - they do have something they can be rightfully proud about. Thank you, Laura!

Feodorov Icon

2006-07-13T05:57:00.001-07:00

One of the most ancient icons is visiting Krasnodar these days. Feodorov Icon of theMother of God was known since 12th century. In 1613 first Russian tsar Mikhail Feodorovich Romanov was blessed with this icon when he was annointed for the throne of Russia. Ever since then this was a special treasure in the family of Russian tsars. The icon turned black on the day when the last Russian tsar and his family were slaughtered in Ekateringburg in 1918. The ico0n spent three days in my chuch and it was certainly very special to know that Russia is recuperating after all the damage done to it by communism.

Krasnodar (Ekaterinodar) Kossaks

2006-07-06T08:08:00.000-07:00

Krasnodar is the name given to the city after the October revolution of 1917. Our city used to be called Ekaterinodar - literally translated as the gift of Ekaterina (Katherine the Great), the communists who were also called reds hated cossaks for their loyalty to the tsar and monarchy and first thing they did was rename the place, so now the name opf the city is translated as "the gift of the reds".

Kossaks who lived in this area for more then 200 years now were subjected to cruel extermination by the reds (communists) and it is only now, after the fall of communism (or whatever the social system in the USSR can be called) that cossaks are back and they are restoring their traditions and rituals. these pictures were taken in Krasnodar this past June when cossaks were led in prayer by Fr.Sergey Ovchinnikov before they marched along the main street of the city.

Olga holding Tatiana on the day Tatiana was accepted for the adoption

2006-07-05T08:01:00.000-07:00

Adoption completed

2006-07-05T06:38:00.000-07:00

On Monday 19th we had a cour hearing finalising adoption of little Valeria. this was the first adoption this year and I hope that others will follow.

I was so happy for Valeria - she ended up in a beautiful family and hopefully she will start catching up and making up for the two years she spent without love and attention in the hospital, where she was abandoned at birth.

Another referral was accepted this past Friday, July 30th. Now I am working on getting this adoption completed. Little Tatiana was accepted by a single mom from Florida. Tatiana was born with a very serious heart condition and had a major open heart surgery at the age of two months. Presently she is feeling pretty well and even within the weeks when she was visited by her parents- to-be showed more and more emotions, became more animated as she experienced special attention, even her motor skills improved. Human babies are meant to be raised in a family, they thrive on love, as in fact everyone does.

Valeria was 203rd child placed with my help and I have to remind myself of the figure since I do have the tendency to rather think of those who are left behind, those babies who stay in their cribs in orphanages and hospitals and most of whom will never be adopted.

There is another family from the USA who wants to adopt from Krasnodar and I have their dossier ready to be submitted to Krasnodar regional Department of Education for the adoption.

So, please pray for the successful completion of Tatiana's adoption and the acceptance of the new dossier for the next family.

Starting a Journal

2006-06-26T10:45:00.000-07:00

Recently I have received a letter from Rebekah S who was adopted from Russia several years ago and here is what she wrote: "I wasnted to say thank you forwhat you did to me and getting me here with my mom. And one day I will be comming back to Russia. I want to see what is happening over there and see what you are seeing every day..."

Rebekah's words confirmed my desire to start a journal and maybe you will get to know more about life of orphans, life in Krasnodar, in Russia in general if you had a glimpse of what I see everyday.

Anyway, I will start and your comments will help me see if I have chosen the right direction.

Care for Orphans is back!

2006-06-02T11:55:00.000-07:00

Dear friends,
it has been a while that my web page has been down. I am so glad new tecnologies allow me to keep communicating with you under the same name but in a slightly differet format. This blog is much easier for me to use.

I am recuperating after a long season of being really down. Sowehow my expectations were too high. When my friends and I created "Friendship and Good News" back in 1992 I really hooped that we would be able to introduce real changes in the lives of orphans and orphanages in Krasnodar region, make a difference. More over I hoped that the number of orphans will decrease and we will work ourselves out of job. Well, today, 14 years later the situation with orphans in Krasnodar region got even worse - orphanage number 40 (!) was opened a year ago and the number of kids who are raised without parental love constantly increases.

Of course some positive things have happened as well. Within this time I have been working with 3 adoptive agencies - Bethany Christian Services, Christian World Adoption , Adoption Associates Inc. and there were 202 kids placed into loving families. The figure looks impressive. All the cases were special - no two were the same and all the children are thriving. Of course the children and the parents have had their share of all sorts of problems but overall the lives of these kids changed for the better - no doubt. Some adopted kids chose to leave their US families when they turned 18 and the lifestyle they chose is not the lifestyle their adoptive families would choose for them but it is their right to make their own choises and they will have to reap the consequenses. Majority of the children, though, is doing really well.

The format of a blog allows everyone to post their comments and adoptive stories, so you are welcome to share your experiences and adoption stories.

The sad part, though, is that I could have done so much more. There have been so many families who want to adopt and there are all these children who need homes and still Russian laws and regulations are making international adoptions more and more difficult to my dismay and frustration.

I have resumed working with adoptions again, but the process is VERY slow and certainly discouraged by the officials in every possible way.

Parents and extended families of children adopted from Russia keep being a blessing for those who was left behind in the orphanages. Barbara Smith and her church group, Carol Glover, Lori Couturier, Tamburo, Miller, and many other families, over these years have sent more then 1000 boxes with clothes and toys which were donnated to the orphanages in Krasnodar region.

The ministry for orphans (Bible classes, christian camps) which got started by Friendship and Good News is now continued full time by Bethany Church in Krasnodar. It is not easy to get into orphanages. It ia a Catch-22 situation: you can not get into the orphanage without a written permission from the Department of Education, but even if you apply a month before Christmas you do not get the permission in time for Chiristmas celebration. They do not say "No", they say "Later" and that later never comes. So a lot depends on my personal relatinship with orphanage directors, but then, of course, I can not openly share in the internet which orphanage was visited. Very similar to christian ministry among muslims - how stange and frustrating!

Hope what I shared so far explains why I felt low and ready to give up. But then your faithful giving, prayers, letters and cards, words of encouragement meant so much to me and the Lord's message was clear - you do your part and I will do Mine. So, I am back again and I will try to keep you updated on what I do on my part.

Once again thank you for your faithful friendship.
Yours in Chirst Jesus,
Olga