We leave Los Angeles with 12 to 15 pieces of luggage filled with crafts and equipment for the games, along with party supplies to make each child feel special and loved.Īfter a 13-hour flight followed by a seven-hour bus ride, We arrive at the orphanage and set up areas where children ages 4 to 16 can create crafts, have their hair and nails done, and compete in games to win prizes. The trips to the orphanages are pretty simple in structure. We have decided that where we do encounter these at-risk children is for the long haul. That is why it is so important for us to return each year.Īs a church, we are not looking to put stars or pins all over a world map. During each visit, we see firsthand what can happen in a child’s life when they know someone cares about them and won’t abandoned them. Since then, we have built longstanding relationships with the Neya, Chesney, Soligalich and Volsky orphanages, which are all within the Kostroma region of Russia.
If you were to guess each of their ages, you would almost always be off by two or three years, which is a direct result of the lack of touch other children receive from their parents as they grow and develop into young adults. Underdevelopment is just one more thing that is part of their life. They were very lifeless, and you could see a sense of hopelessness.
We saw firsthand at Neya Orphanage what the absence of parental touch and love does to young children. Some of us can only imagine what it must be like to live the life of an orphan without that constant attention and encouragement for your life, not to mention having someone to show those Crayola masterpiece drawings to, which only a parent can fully appreciate.įourteen years ago, I first went to Russia on behalf of Capo Beach Church with Tom Davis, a friend from Children’s HopeChest, to see the work the organization was doing with orphans.
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