Stories without names

I wanted to share with you two incredible moments I had this past weekend, but to protect the privacy of the children, I’m going to leave out names and photos.

One graduate girl recently asked to speak with me after she received a letter from me. (Letters are still my way of communicating with Russian speaking children I don’t see very often). She asked me how I got the “new (host) family” I had mentioned in my letter to her last month. What followed was the heart breaking story of her family and childhood. There are no easy answers to her pain, but a burden shared is lighter. I was able encourage her that she was making wise decisions to pursue education, separate from her family, and have a “new” family of adults who were worthy of trust. I spoke to her of hope and dealing with painful memories and we kept talking (she and I and the translator) into the wee hours of the night, until she was laughing and smiling again. It’s been 3 years since I first met her and I am so thankful to be able to be present here to love and support her as she works through her past and looks to her future.

After my last visit I had written a thank you note to one of the older boys at Savva who had helped run the birthday party, haul the equipment, and ran all over the compound looking for a lost key. In the note I made an offer that is unusual for me: Did he want to be one of my Kazakh brothers? I didn’t know him very well and wasn’t sure why I put it in there. This trip he was on the outskirts most of the time, but the morning before we left he sat down to talk with me about his family and I found that he had none. He had a sister who died and was now all alone. In a letter he gave to me just before I left the orphanage he said he would be happy to be my brother and hoped we could be good friends. Was it coincidence I asked that questions of this boy? I think not and I am thankful to be a part of a bigger plan as I have the chance to speak love, hope, and encouragement into this young man’s life.