Wishing blessings to you all! Thank you so much for your prayers!!
Hugs from us
Alina
Danik and Anastasia

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2. Hello my dear friends!
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Besides he was going to enroll to a dance school but because of his age they said he wouldn’t fit. Danechka was upset for a while and decided not to try this again. On the 5^th of October he is starting sports classes.

Not long ago we also got a guitar. Danya really wants to learn how to play a guitar and he has some potential and can develop his musical skills. He is  glad that right now he can lead a normal life of  a teenager, and to dream and try to do things that he really wants. We are all happy that he has so many perspectives and things he may be able to realize.

Nasya is doing quite well indeed. The teacher at school said that Nastya has become calmer and less conflicting at school. We still have to work a lot to get better and better at school. We visited the neurologist and did some tests. The doctor prescribed some medicine and some exercises for her.  We are working hard to improve Nastya’s health and her studying.  Please pray for Nastya so that  she would catch up on those things at school that she missed in the past years and that she would do well at school.  With God’s help we were able to enter musical school, and this will be free of charge for her, plus she started to attend classes in a dance school.  Nastya is also very glad to her new life.

In general we are getting well with each other  though sometimes not all is easy. Danik, Nastya and I we are very  thankful to have each  other in our lives.

I really would like you to pray for our financial situation without which things would not be working for us. Not long ago we got a onetime allowance from the government. We can live with no problems through September and October. But in November we can have some difficulties and in December I even do not imagine how we are going to pay for rent for the apartment.  The family from America, that was helping us in the past right now experiences financial problems. They have not been able to do that for several months already, and I do not know when this will change. Please pray for them. Unfortunately we will not be able to pay for the rent without any support from the outside. The minimum we need each month to be able to survive is 10000 rubles (that is half of what we pay for the rent in one month).

Again I am very thankful and Danik and Nastya are very thankful for you and your friendship, prayers and support! We appreciate that we know you and that we can share our news  with you!

We pray for you for blessings from God for you!

Thank you for your support!

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3. Hello my dear friends!

Danik and Nasya would like to share with you with their impressions:

Danya:

Hello to you all!

I would like to say thank you so much for your support. With your help I was able to go to the Black Sea this summer, to rest and get health and strength  for the new school year.  We had plenty of fruit and veggies.

I got lots of new impressions. This summer was  great! Thank you very much  for all!

Anastasia:

Thank you very much for all your help. This summer we went to the seaside. We jumped from the  deck to the water , rode a paddle boat, ate fried skate fish, and drank the best drink in the world that, called kvas.

Also went camping for one day.

Alina: I also had a great time with the kids. Had a good rest and gathered strength for the upcoming school year and winter.

It was extremely important for me after a very hard and tiring past year and before the new period in my our life living together. It was also very important for me that after we came back from the trip we were able to get all necessary things for Danik’s and Nastya’s school. Thank you all my dear friends with God’s help and your help it was all possible! Alina .

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Praying this letter will find you well!  

I have written you recently sharing with you about our new life together. I am grateful to you for you prayers and support. With God’s grace and mercy we are surviving. Unfortunately, we  are not getting the support from our sponsors in July and may be in August.

With God’s help I was able to pay for the flat this month. As I understand we will have to be able to provide the money for the rent for August and that will be the largest amount of our monthly income. We were planning to go to Ukrainе for three weeks starting from 22nd of July. You all know that the climate and ecological situation in StPetersburg is very bad. We need 15 thousand rubles. In order for us not to cancel the trip and ti have the travel in economy way.

We would like to ask to help us financially and we need your prayer support always! Please write us and we will gladly share with you our news and how the kids grow, how Nikita, the eldest brother of Danya and Nastya, is doing. We stay connected with him  and we have good relationships.

We believe God will not leave us and please join with us in prayer as we stand for our children! We pray that God bless you families and your homes in every way!

Your in Christ

Alina

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Dear Friends!

O, happy day! I am the legal guardian of Nastya and Danya and we are living together in our new apartment.

I am so thankful to all who were praying for me and helping me while I was collecting papers. I should admit this was quite a difficult period of my life, but in spite of all the hardships the Lord was with me by many miracles He has performed.

Danya has finally decided he would like to get trained as an interpreter. He is really gifted in foreign languages. He speaks English fluently. My friend tutors him and he comments on him being one of the brightest students she has ever had.  The main thing is he enjoys it a lot. He’d like to learn French, German and Italian. He’d like to enter a prestige university with Italian as a major. He is now passing entrance exams to enroll into a very good secondary school.  His last exam is going to be in August. Please pray he passes the exams. Along with the language studies Danya would like to either do dance classes or sports.

Nastya is not doing so well at school but in spite of that she is very talented and creative. She’d like to continue her piano classes and I’m going to hire a professional piano teacher. She also does well in drawing and would like to become a cartoon multipticator  (like me). This is why I do think she would benefit from going to an art school.  She was one of the best students at choreography class she attended in the orphanage.  Now she has an opportunity to do more of the type of dance classes that she likes and do it more professionally.

I would love for Danya and Nastya’s dreams to come true, but we need a budget for that. If not for the expensive rent of the apartment, we could have afforded the afterschool classes without any additional support. We spend 25 000 rub monthly on the rent.  We have sponsorship support from the American family that was hosting the kids in USA, but this is quite a bit of money and not always they can help us. We ask to continue praying for this situation to see if God leads you to support us. We are blessed beyond what we can imagine.

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Alina participated in MIR’s New Family program a few years ago.  Alina is partially supported by donors in the US, a family that hosted these children as part of MIR’s hosting program.

This is one example of how we help others do what they are called to do.

From Alina:

My name is Alina. I work at a movie animation studio. I’m a Christian. God put on my heart to take part in the lives of orphans.

In 2008 I met three children (two brothers and a sister) and I began to take them on weekends and holidays from the orphanage to my home. [The picture at top left is from one of their first meetings.]

They have a mother, but she has a schizophrenia; she visits them, but they cannot live together.  Also for some reasons, they cannot be adopted by a foreign family.

I want to arrange care for the two younger children, to take them into my home. The older boy turns 18 soon and it isn’t possible for him legally to be a foster child.

We have become very close to each other and now we are like family. God blesses me so and gives insight into how to build relationships with teenagers and how to help them in the process to growing up. We love each other.

I believe it’s a miracle and a great blessing from God that the staff of the orphanage opened their heart for these relationships, they did not hinder our acquaintance and they support our fellowship for these past three years.

With the children we attend a church, go to movies, go boating, learn to cook, do homework, read the Bible and much more.

This gives children a sense of family life, that they are loved and cared for.

Nastia was born in 1998. She is a very nice and talented girl. She loves to draw, sing and dance. My friend gives her piano lessons at the church we attend.

Daniel was born 1996. He’s a very sweet boy. He studies physics and mathematics, almost perfectly. He loves the Lord. When we first met, he repeatedly told me that they have didn’t have any relationship with God, so I began to take him to church. I feel a special anointing on it. Now he tells his friends about God. He, like Nastia, draws very well and sings, and loves pets.

Nikita is the eldest, born in 1993. He attends the same physico-mathematical lyceum, preparing to go to university to study physics. He loves to play sports. I pray for his spiritual growth, and that God would give him faithful friends.

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3. …”The Rest of the Story”

We thought Andrey wouldn’t make it to the States. It almost seemed like nobody would. The newly made regulations about orphans travelling abroad gave a good excuse to the municipal boards to say no to the hosting program this Christmas, but two orphanage directors really saw it as a chance their disabled children couldn’t miss, so we were getting fifteen through the border December, 13.

I didn’t know I was going to get stuck in Munich with Andrey. The flight to Chicago got cancelled and his host family was waiting for us in Denver.. Andrey didn’t know about delay too, so he kept running up and down the moving escalator, showing me tricks and not saving his energy for the many hours of wondering in the airports of Germany. We shared the yogurt with muesli and fruit and I didn’t have a joy of feeding someone from the spoon in a long time. He liked the whip cream on my latte and would make sure I got to try all the fruit in his bowl.

I should have known that the arrangements that a smart UA manager makes in Munich actually require a transit visa to get to Frankfurt. Well, Andrey had fun playing with my cell while border guards around us were getting him a transit visa.

I had no clue chewy teddy bear candy helps when ears hurt at airplane take off and land. I also didn’t know you need to do splits to pick something from the ground if your hands are not operating.

He wanted spaghetti at a Sheraton restaurant Luthgansa magic fairy ended up putting us. They usually don’t put passengers there for free with food coupons. But here we are enjoying our date among business men and dressy ladies. Andrey makes sure his plate is clean and loves to smile at the waiters every time they pass by. He wants to make the bed before we leave the hotel room because things need to be kept in the right order. Just as his care-giver taught him.

Andrey calls me every day first thing in the morning to report me on how much he loves going to the swiming pool and how the two dogs in the family are lovely and why the other boy in the family is sent to his room. He rememebers everyone by name. He still wants that pass from the Sheraton hotel room with his name on it. He said he’ll be back to that room once he is rich and famous. I won’t doubt it, seing how passoinately he follows things through.

I haven’t seen God at work so clearly in a long time. I want my heart to rememebr that as it makes my Christmas time real and meaningful. I wish the same to you!

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On Friday ( October, 29th) was a celebration of Orphanage’s birthday! The staff of “Mir” were invited to be a part of it.

Long time we are working with the Kronshtadt Orphanage #35, many children have been in the US. Some of them twice.
It was really nice to see well-dressed, joyful children!

They were especially prepared for this day.

We have seen various performances.

Children also recieved different presents from Local Administration, Urban Administration

and other organisations which helps the orphanage.

There are only 26 children, but they are very friendly and they are live as a big family!

Few months ago the orphanage was almost closed, but thanks to the efforts of the leaders he still continues to exist.

We hope to invite more children this Christmas program and to open more opportunites for these children!

Special thanks to Charlene, she gave money for the children and we bought big chocolates for each child and four boxes of chocolate

candies for each group of children!

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This program is not only for Russian orphans, also for orphans from Ukraine and Latvia.The June, 25 our team consisting from Russian orphans and chaperones went from Moskow to America. We had two groups, one of us arrived to Atlanta, another one to New York.
This program is not only for Russian orphans, also for orphans from Ukraine and Latvia.

During the program children are living in American families. I was one of chaperones and had lived in American family with two children from Ukraine.
It was the first experience for me, I have never been in the US before this time. I had knew about Hosting program only from stories another people.

Everything was so interesting and amazing!

The life in the US is absolutely different from the life in Russia.

I could see that every child was   surrounded with care and attention!  During this time we have been in various  states and cities. We have seen a huge lake in upstate New Hampshire, were riding on boats, and in a canoe. We have seen the Statue of Liberty and walked around the historic sites of Boston.

We were spending time in the pool, were going to the Atlantic ocean, played bowling and many other games.

But I think the most important thing for a child it is a life in the family, and to see relationships between family members.

It is not easy for a child to live in an Orphanage, difficult to live without the support of close people. It is hard to be alone and fight their way in a life.
The time in America makes children happy, helps to recover from the difficult past and gives a great hope!!!

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In 1991, Valera’s father took him, at about the age of 5, to tag along for a day’s work on a farm to chop wood. This had become a normal part of Valera’s life as mom was now at home with his toddler sister. On these days, Valera would entertain himself while his dad plowed fields, watered farm animals, sheered sheep, butchered hogs, milked cows, did simple repairs or like today; he chopped wood for the coming winter. At the end of the day, if the work was satisfactory, the family might invite them to have leftover dinner portions On this particular day, the father’s work seemed satisfactory, so he and Valera were given some food to eat. After dinner, as is customary, the woman who owned the farm handed the boy’s father a glass of wine. However, this day’s glass of wine was very unlike any previously offered to his dad. Apparently, the family didn’t have the money to pay for the day’s wages and some alternative was sought to get out of doing so. Not quite understanding what he saw, Valera would later remember something: the woman took a thermometer, broke it, and poured some liquid from it into the glass of wine. She then handed it to his dad.

Soon after eating, Valera and his dad began their journey down the dirt farm road towards their home. But unlike other days, his father stumbled and rolled off the road and into a ditch. Valera, thinking his dad was playing a game with him, rolled down the hill as well, thinking there would be some fun on the way home as had happened on days before. However, after some time passed, and it became dark and started to get cold, Valera realized his dad was not playing any games. He lay down to sleep next to his dad, but later realized his dad would never wake up again. He had witnessed the poisoning and murder of his father and it was a day that changed the rest of life as he knew it.                                                                                                                                          

This began the demise of a family; something that no one would have expected or desired for a child of his age to endure. His mother, stricken with grief over the loss of her husband and the economical destruction of her family, soon lost her home and turned to vodka as a self prescribed medication. Without any spiritual, financial, emotional or social support systems, she soon began a life of living on the streets with her 2 small children now 6 and 4. Valera’s role quickly changed from being a happy child to the new head of family. This all occurred during the initial years of the break up of the Soviet Union. Food was scarce, jobs were few and there was no extended family or government system in place to assist them. The political outlook was chaotic and dysfunctional at best. The small family lived wherever they found shelter, never staying in one place longer than a few days. Valera now became the one to gather food, and provide for his sister and mom. He learned how to jump fences and steal whatever fruits and vegetables he could get from others who had small gardens. He realized that if he could snatch a bottle or two of nail polish from a flea market vendor, he could return the next day and sell it to another vender for some coins. Making things even more unbearable, his mom became pregnant again and soon had another son. For the first year or so, it was Valera who had to stay up at night and care for his baby brother as mom had turned to prostitution to earn money for her drinking habit. However, the baby’s father eventually came and took the baby which provided some needed relief for the short term. Valera never had any stable home so he was not able to attend school. But, about 4 years later, around the age of 9 or 10, they happened upon an older couple who had a mentally ill son who offered a place for them to stay in their barn. In exchange for assistance to care for their farm animals, work the fields etc they were offered a place to sleep and access to food to eat. Because Valera had remembered learning and watching from his dad’s work on farms he was able to drive the tractor, slaughter the hogs and chickens and milk the cows. The woman taught him how to sow crops and eventually harvest them. So, for about 2 weeks, Valera and his family lived in the barn and life was drastically better.

However, his mom, who now suffered from an alcohol addiction, was unable to stay in one place very long. One day, mom announced she was tired of the farm and she was moving…again. Fed up with a life of uncertainty and constantly seeking shelter while having to steal to eat, Valera finally rebelled! Mom gave him an ultimatum…go with her and his sister or stay on his own. So, Valera made a decision that no child should ever have to make. When mom announced her departure, he hid in the barn and refused to go with them. That was the last time he ever saw his mom and younger sister.

For about 3 years, Valera stayed and worked the farm and lived in the barn in exchange for food and “home”. The woman offered that if he managed his daily chores, he could also attend school. So, Valera got up about 4am, did his morning chores and went to school, starting the first grade at the age of 10. After school, he would come home and do afternoon and evening chores and study by candlelight until he fell asleep. This went on until about the age of 12. One day, the family’s grown mentally ill son, chased him and attempted to kill him with a pitchfork. Fortunately, this attempt was not successful and Valera escaped. However, first hand experience of living with this crazy boy and knowing how successful he had been in killing a horse in the same way, Valera knew his life was in danger. The next day, he confided in a school teacher and he was immediately removed from the home.

At first a foster family was located and Valera was moved in with them. However, because the town was rather small, there was talk and constant fear that the crazy boy would come to harm Valera and his foster family. So, it was soon decided that it would be safer for everyone to move Valera to a larger city where he was first taken to a hospital for a full medical evaluation and eventually moved into an orphanage in the city of Ulyanovsk Russia. This was in the summer of 2000, and Valera was now 12 years old.                                  
A few weeks later, Valera would meet Americans for the first time in his new home at the orphanage. Little did he know or could he even contemplate, that he was meeting his new parents! Life as he knew it, would, once again, change forever. However, this time God was answering prayers of a couple who were in the midst of adopting their infant son, and happened to stay in Valera’s orphanage during the process. On the night before their departure, Valera would receive a gift that he would never forget and to this day, continue to share the importance of, with others. The couple came to say goodbye to Valera who had played with their family during the week’s stay in the orphanage. He also gave them a gift from his personal stash of treasured items: a small metal “Matchbox” style car with a few broken pieces, but one of a few items he could actually call “his own”. This American mom, reached for Valera and wrapped her arms around him…he was so small and slight and boney! She could have wrapped her arms around him twice! At first, Valera didn’t know what to make of this: his first hug. But, quickly, he felt warmth, love and something he had never known before: safety and a sense of belonging. He felt chosen and important! Ten months later, the couple returned to his orphanage, but not to adopt a baby. This time, they came for Valera, their new son who was now 13 years old.

So, who is this boy and why is Valera’s story so important today?

As a famous radio announcer Paul Harvey, once coined, “And now, for the Rest of the Story”…

That was 10 years ago. Now at the age of 24, you’ve possibly heard about Valera. However, his name has been changed and he is known as Taylor Dakake. You see, Taylor was adopted by my husband and me in June, 2000, and finally came home to his “forever family”. We enrolled him as a scrawny 74 pound, 7th grader in a Christian school with only 4 years of formal education behind him. Seeing his resilience factors such as his exceptional abilities in sports and art combined with the ability to laugh at himself with a keen sense of humor, he had the tools to succeed. He excelled in soccer and was asked to join the Varsity team as an 8th grader, while playing on a YMCA Select Traveling team during the same season! He was voted by his peers to be their Homecoming Prince as an 8th grader. The end of his first year in school, he received numerous awards for “Outstanding Achievement” in Bible, Mathematics, Art and Physical Education along with “Outstanding Christian Character” in Soccer. He also received awards for “Most Improved” in English, History and Science. However, the most noted award that he received that year was the Principal’s Choice Award. This was given to a select child from the school’s population whom the principal saw as overcoming a Life Obstacle and Excelling. This was the “Eagle Award” and Taylor proudly received it before a group of tearful teachers and students, and of course, both of his parents. Above all, he accepted Christ that year as his Lord and Savior at a chapel gathering: He received Eternal Life.

It didn’t bother anyone that he graduated High School at the age of 19 while being named Valedictorian of his graduating class who had to give the commencement speech in a language he had only learned over the past 6 years. He was also named to the All Region and All State Varsity Soccer teams and was offered college scholarships in both soccer and academic achievement. Now, Taylor is a junior at Kennesaw State University and is studying International Business. He recently bought his first home after working full time for the past 3 years at Discount Tires. He had the ability, but no opportunity to succeed in Russia as an orphan. In America, he had the opportunity and grabbed it with both hands, along with 2 parents who love him dearly and has succeeded. Yes, we missed most of his childhood and the time we had together at home felt way too short. But, that comes from selfish desire and not a necessity in loving and parenting a child. I challenge you to please consider bringing one of these teens, who is facing the end of their opportunity to find a way to succeed in their lives.

People ask me every day, why consider a teenager for hosting or possibly adoption? My answer is simple and one that comes straight from my heart: “Why not?” The children we are spotlighting on this “Children to Pray For” email are those who our interview team has met over the years and we have fallen in love with them. We see the hope that remains in their eyes and the smile in their heart with a desire to come on the hosting program. They are boys and girls who probably have similar histories to Taylor’s. But, without someone to step into their life at this late hour, their future will be nothing like the story you read above. They have literally no hope. While I visited our daughter, Valerie, who still lives in Saint Petersburg Russia in January, she received news about a few of her friends she grew up with in the same orphanage where Taylor lived before being adopted. Two of them had died: one by suicide and one in an accident. Two others had babies recently: both were placed into an orphanage as they had no job and no home. She, however, is now engaged to an intelligent and loving Russian Christian man. They are both employed; have places to live and she finished high school in Saint Petersburg with our help and accountability for her success. She also attended the local university for 2 years learning English which gave her an exceptional ability to communicate with our family and others. While she aged out and we were not able to adopt her, she did come to live with our family for a year during the 10th grade where she also became a Christian while learning “family” and how to make better decisions other than her friends did. We recently completed the adoption of her younger 16 year old sister, Ashlee whom we met during the adoption of Taylor 10 years ago. God works miracles in these children’s lives, but He uses us and needs us to hear and practice His Commands: “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unspoiled from the world.” James 1:27; “He predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of His will.” Ephesians 1:5.

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