Boys' Home Residents

Gary and Pam Austutz are from Ohio and are currently the counselors at the boys' apartment. God has truly given them a heart for orphans as they visit different orphanages and dormitories.

They also have opened their own apartment for graduate orphans that hopefully will be up and running soon. They are currently working with Natasha and Valya to get the paperwork completed and everything in order. Please pray for them and their ministry, Reflections of Hope.

There are two young men who live with Pam and Gary. Meisha is in his second year at ROL and will graduate this spring. Meisha loves to cook and dreams of becoming a chef. When I arrived on Saturday, March 15, Meisha was a part of the welcoming committee - even though he missed the annual Christian ball that was being held that evening. He said it was more important for him to meet Dustin and I at the airport (and yes, I gave him an extra hug!).

Please pray for Meisha because when he graduates he has no place to live. He has a communal apartment that is assigned to him, but his sister, her husband, and their new child, have taken the apartment and told him not to return. Our fear is that they would hurt or kill him in order to get the apartment, so ROL is working on finding a place for Meisha to live - as safely as possible. The courts could force his sister to give back the apartment, but there would be no way to guarantee his safety.

The other young man who resides in this apartment is Losha. He is a graduate of the deaf orphanage and became a Christian last fall after God restored part of his hearing. He is an amazing young man and I can see such a difference in him from last fall. Though he's a big, strong man, he is also gentle and caring for others. I know that God is going to do great things through him as he continues to study The Word. Pam said that many times she will come into the room and he is studying his Bible - so eager to learn all that God has to teach him.

Please pray for Losha as he continues his Christian growth, and that the next counselors for the boys' apartment will be as loving and caring as Pam and Gary have been.

Gary and Pam leave May 6 to return to the states. At that time, Losha will go to live with a couple from Marina Topol's church, and hopefully will be able to stay with that family until he graduates next May. It is also hoped that at least one other boy, possibly two, will also move in with this family. Please pray that God will touch the hearts of this couple that they will come to love our boys as we do.

From Russia with love,

Nancy