ight of Hope” (LOH), and it immediately touched my heart. As I shared her email with my fellow church members at Emmanuel Baptist in Ruston, we all felt touched to try to do something special for these young women. I am so blessed to be a part of a church that truly feels God’s call to missions – a church family that is always willing to go the extra mile, even during these tough financial times, to give a little extra for someone in need on the other side of the world. I love y’all so much!!!Anyway, I brought extra money to help provide clothing for these young women and their children, and to help support this new ministry. I didn’t know who the ladies were or how old they were; didn’t know any of their names or the names of their children or how old the children were; but I knew that God had laid their needs on my heart and the heart of my church, so I just came, ready to help in any way I could during my short time in StP.
On Tuesday, April 20, our team visited at the Life Shelter for Street Kids a
t their new home. I had met their director, Irena, last year when they were living in a very old apartment and were constantly being harassed by the landlord and were unable to meet the demands of the fire department because of building code violations. But now they are in their new home and it is beautiful!! – a brand new apartment complex where they have been able to purchase a 3-apartment suite and turn it into one large “home”. A special treat was meeting a social-worker-trainee named Tanya (3rd from L), who is also assistant counselor at LOH.Tanya shared with us her testimony that went something like this: She was addicted to drugs from a very young age and had her first child, a boy, when she was a teenager. Her mom took the boy to raise because Tanya was in no shape to do it herself – luckily through forgiveness and love, her mom is now allowing Tanya to reestablish her relationship with her son. Tanya continued on her downward path, had a second child, a little girl, and reached her “bottom” when she became so ill she almost died, and was diagnosed with HIV. During her hospital stay, a ministry team came from a church, and through their efforts and God’s great miraculous power, Tanya was saved. She quit drugs, got her daughter into school, attended church and through that church met Alla (the counselor at LOH) who gave her a room to live in at her own home while Tanya gets herself ready to truly be a mom and productive member of society. During this time of “new life” Tanya has had to show how much God has changed her, as she struggles to reclaim the family she lost during those years of drug addiction. As she shared her story, we cried, she cried, and we all felt deeply how God can take a life of ruins and turn it into a bright, shining example of His work, His power, and His commitment to each of us, His children.
It was a wonderful surprise to meet Tanya at the Life Shelter, to hear her testimony, and then to know that we would see her again later Tuesday evening at LOH. And what an evening it was!! This ministry was begun by Alla, who is the mother of three older children who still live at home, but whom God has called to full-time ministry with these young mothers – and not only has He called Alla, but her daughter Nastya as well – this is a family committed to sacrificing to meet the needs of others God has placed in their lives!!! And Alla has opened her home to Tanya so that she can be used by God as she shares her story with these young moms – many of whom share Tanya’s past struggles.
The LOH apartment is on the 5 floor of a walk-up in downtown StP, and has been heavily damaged by the large amount of snow that accumulated this past winter. The electricity is out in the entry way and front bedroom (in which 3 mothers and their 3 children stay), and there is rain damage to many of the walls of the apartment. There is one other large bedroom which also has 3 mothers and their 3 children (2 of whom are in baby beds), and one smaller bedroom where Alla stays. Then there is the living room and kitchen/dining area. It is a large apartment, but in very bad condition, so Alla is hoping it will only be temporary for them.
I’d like for you to meet each of the moms and their children who live at LOH:
The LOH apartment is on the 5 floor of a walk-up in downtown StP, and has been heavily damaged by the large amount of snow that accumulated this past winter. The electricity is out in the entry way and front bedroom (in which 3 mothers and their 3 children stay), and there is rain damage to many of the walls of the apartment. There is one other large bedroom which also has 3 mothers and their 3 children (2 of whom are in baby beds), and one smaller bedroom where Alla stays. Then there is the living room and kitchen/dining area. It is a large apartment, but in very bad condition, so Alla is hoping it will only be temporary for them.
I’d like for you to meet each of the moms and their children who live at LOH:
One of the first sweeties we saw was a little dark-haired toddler named Dasha. She was running around and when Alla picked her up so we could say “Hi” to her, she began wiggling her eyebrows up and down and blinking – that’s “sweet eyes” in Russian!!! Of course we all immediately fell in love with her!! Dasha’s mom is currently in the hospital and is in the final few months of her pregnancy with her second child, so I think we each got a chance to hold her. She is pictured here with Marina, the director of Road of Life Family Homes.
Vika was a resident at Dorm 35, but I had not met her on former trips to StP. She has a 14 month old daughter named Vera. We didn’t hear Vera make any sounds during our whole evening at LOH and I can tell by looking at her that she probably has several mental and physical problems, possibly as a result of Vika’s former drug/alcohol problems. We did not get a chance to hear Vika’s story, so much of this is assumptions made by the team by our observations (as is the case with several of these young women).
One young woman who did share some about herself was Tanya, who has a son who is 8 years old and lives with his father in Finland. Living with her at LOH is her daughter Sofia who is 3 years old, and Tanya is pregnant with her third child that is due in October.
Another darling toddler was Victoria, soon to celebrate her 1st birthday on April 23. Of course we all loved her sweet, chubby face, and her curly hair – the hair reminded me much of my daughter Rebecca’s hair at that age. Victoria’s mom is Larissa.
One young woman who did share some about herself was Tanya, who has a son who is 8 years old and lives with his father in Finland. Living with her at LOH is her daughter Sofia who is 3 years old, and Tanya is pregnant with her third child that is due in October.
Yulia (in her late 30
's and married to a drug addict) is the mom of the only boy we met at LOH, Fedya, who is 3 months old. Yulia was very quiet during our visit, but I could see that her eyes followed me and watched me very closely while we were there, and especially while I lead in a short devotion. After we had finished with the craft project that Anne had brought for them, Yulia came up to me and presented me with a gift of a necklace with a pink heart pendant. It never ceases to amaze me that these “orphans” are always willing to give away their possessions to me – it may not have much value with regard to money, but this is a gift that I will always treasure, because it was a sacrifice for Yulia, the giver.
The final resident at LOH is Svetta and her 5 year old son Dima, but they were not at home when we were there, so we missed getting to meet them, and we have no pictures of them.
We were also excited to get to meet Tanya’s (assistant counselor) 3 year ol
d daughter, Eliza, who is a real cutie. Talk about a ball of energy, that’s Eliza. Again, we’re not sure if it is a result of Tanya’s drug addiction when she was pregnant with Eliza, or just hyperactivity, but Eliza is a live wire and very destructive. She had to be taken from the room twice during our visit to be disciplined. (I think maybe God is telling me I need to read more on the results of drug-addictive pregnancy so I can understand more about its affects on the children born during that time.)
On Wednesday we met Alla and Tanya to give them the money donated by Emmanuel and to begin shopping for the food, clothes, and items for the apartment that they need. At first Alla didn’t want to take the money, but wanted instead to shop and let me pay for evening so that I would have a receipt. But I explained to her that God had called her to the ministry at Light of Hope and that just as her church and her pastor trusts her with these young lives and their welfare, I trust her to use the money donated to help with the needs of LOH and its residents. As I said to her, “We give this money to you for you to use for God’s work. So you don’t answer to me for how you spend it, you answer to Him!” Alla gave me a final hug and again said how grateful she was to our church family, and asked that we pray for each of them every day; and I promised her that we would!
From Russia with Love!
Nancy
's and married to a drug addict) is the mom of the only boy we met at LOH, Fedya, who is 3 months old. Yulia was very quiet during our visit, but I could see that her eyes followed me and watched me very closely while we were there, and especially while I lead in a short devotion. After we had finished with the craft project that Anne had brought for them, Yulia came up to me and presented me with a gift of a necklace with a pink heart pendant. It never ceases to amaze me that these “orphans” are always willing to give away their possessions to me – it may not have much value with regard to money, but this is a gift that I will always treasure, because it was a sacrifice for Yulia, the giver.The final resident at LOH is Svetta and her 5 year old son Dima, but they were not at home when we were there, so we missed getting to meet them, and we have no pictures of them.
We were also excited to get to meet Tanya’s (assistant counselor) 3 year ol
d daughter, Eliza, who is a real cutie. Talk about a ball of energy, that’s Eliza. Again, we’re not sure if it is a result of Tanya’s drug addiction when she was pregnant with Eliza, or just hyperactivity, but Eliza is a live wire and very destructive. She had to be taken from the room twice during our visit to be disciplined. (I think maybe God is telling me I need to read more on the results of drug-addictive pregnancy so I can understand more about its affects on the children born during that time.)On Wednesday we met Alla and Tanya to give them the money donated by Emmanuel and to begin shopping for the food, clothes, and items for the apartment that they need. At first Alla didn’t want to take the money, but wanted instead to shop and let me pay for evening so that I would have a receipt. But I explained to her that God had called her to the ministry at Light of Hope and that just as her church and her pastor trusts her with these young lives and their welfare, I trust her to use the money donated to help with the needs of LOH and its residents. As I said to her, “We give this money to you for you to use for God’s work. So you don’t answer to me for how you spend it, you answer to Him!” Alla gave me a final hug and again said how grateful she was to our church family, and asked that we pray for each of them every day; and I promised her that we would!
From Russia with Love!
Nancy
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