Adopted Into Hope
Twelve years ago, I arrived for my first day as a caregiver in an orphanage in Kirov, Russia. I remember seeing sweet little faces; all with the same expression of longing and desperation for love and acceptance.
From a distance they looked like any other children. But up close the expressions in their eyes were not merely expressions of longing for love, but also of hopelessness.
A few years later, I began ministering to children at the orphanages with East West Ministries. I started teaching English as a Second Language to children through stories from the Bible. This was a truly satisfying experience for me. I felt that God was bringing the hope of his love to these children through my teaching. But every time I had to leave the orphanage, I could not help thinking that nothing was changing in the circumstances of those children.
Later, I traveled to Dallas. While visiting, I learned about the adoption work that Buckner was doing to help the children in Russia’s orphanages. I became interested in the Buckner mission and a short time later, I became a case manager for the Russia program.
During my five years at Buckner, it has been a privilege and a spiritually rewarding experience to work with some incredible adoptive families and such amazing children from my own country. They have the same sweet faces as the children in the Russian orphanage where I worked 12 years ago. I continue to be amazed by each miracle that happens through adoption. Every time God brings children and families together, it is a miracle that brings hope.
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No matter how hard our life circumstances may be or how little support we may have, there is always hope with God. He brings hope to the ones who have nothing in this world and change lives forever.
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No matter how hard our life circumstances may be or how little support we may have, there is always hope with God. He brings hope to the ones who have nothing in this world and change lives forever.
Irina Shytova is the Russia and Honduras program director for international adoption at Buckner.
Prayers for the week:
- God, help us remember the hope that we found in you, when you adopted us into your family.
- God, use Buckner to find homes for many lonely children around the world.
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October 26th, 2010 at 11:04 pm
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by BucknerInternational, Ken Hall. Ken Hall said: RT @buckner_intl: Such a great testimony about our Russian adoption program http://ow.ly/2ZKEP [...]