Post Christmas update

Seems like we had many tasks to finish and just in time. We put the living room together in one day to have a Christmas party. Then we had one day to get another room ready for our son. The house is now in basic order. We can proceed with the downstairs remodeling for the international students. Today I worked on small tasks such as using carpet tape to keep various carpets from sliding around, putting sliders on the closet doors so they have tracks and not bounce around, and finally repairing a leaky faucet.

I reconciled an issue with God and put it in His hands. This morning when I saw the mountains from the bedroom window it just reaffirmed how blessing we are. We have the Spirit of God. Sveta and I have each other. We have a wonderful house that we can eventually use to disciple the nations.

The Development of Russia’s Child Protection and Welfare System Part 6

The issue of identifying child neglect varies by region in Russia. Due to financial and administrative practices, there is not a national standard. Probably the same is true for the United States since we have 50 states that govern the situation of children. Also the Russians are more strict regarding physical punishment so the line between discipline and abuse is blurred. Physical abuse is easier to define than emotional abuse. I would say the emotional impact has far greater effects on the orphans. Finding the research would be helpful, but perhaps not so important as finding solutions. Most of the research identifies the problem, my objective leans more towards the successful leadership models.

International Student party

Last night, Saturday, we had our annual Christmas party for international students. I always enjoy meeting foreigners from many countries.I happened to chat with a lady from Kenya. She actually worked for Compassion International. I asked how the situation with orphans is in Kenya. She said that the younger generation is accepting the challenge and trying to change the situation. Every child needs a proper family environment.

A couple of pictures: the first involves singing Christmas carols weaved into a nativity skit-about 1/3 of the participants (from this angle). We found out we had 19 countries represented.  The second is my lovely Svetlana watching students make Christmas cookies.

The Development of Russia’s Child Protection and Welfare System Part 5

Rudnicki cites the common statistic for Russian orphans. "Youth graduating from Russian orphanages experience high rates of crime (40 percent of graduates), drug addiction (40 percent) and/or suicide (10 percent)." The source was a new one for me. It comes from a Russian Site translated as "Big Change." The NGO started in 2002 to help orphan graduates further their education and find jobs. It appears to be a charity supported by Russians and other Europeans. They are located in Moscow.  Looks like I will need to do some research on this organization.

Rudnicki, A. A. (2013). The Development of Russia's Child Protection and Welfare System. Demokratizatsiya, 21(1), 29.

Romania?

Well, it appears the Spirit of God is taking me to Romania in January. I received a call from our Global Missions office a couple of weeks ago about a trip to Romania. I cleared the time with my manager and my class schedule is doable for the time frame. My understanding is that we will pass out food and clothing to gypsies and share the good news of Christ. For 8 days I will journey to a country that I longed to return to. I studied Romanian for about 6 months back in 1999. Of course I forgot most of it, but will work on the fundamental phrases. How does this fit into the objective to care for orphans it their distress, stay tuned as the plot unfolds. In other words, at this point I have no clue. 

The Development of Russia’s Child Protection and Welfare System Part 4

As we continue the journey of Russian orphans, the Russian Federation has made many positive steps to help orphans. Funding for programs and support have appeared over the years. More protection of children has come in the legal system. Much of the support focuses on the younger children.

As the economy drops in Russia, one would wonder how social programs will fare. I am not a proponent of economic sanctions as it tends to hurt the common people more. It also causes isolation and in the case of Russia could leave the leadership open to military options. I read one study in which nations that have major economic ties rarely go to war, then the risk increases as countries are less economically integrated. anyway, the price of oil has also impacted the economy of Russia. Will the State have to cut social programs in order to improve the economy. Hard to say, but Russians can be very patient to ride out the storms of life.

Finally moved in -twists and turns

What an adventure, but very tiring. I just realized the past two weeks went by quite quickly as we tried to prepare the house as much as possible before moving in. We painted almost the entire house sans the family room and two bathrooms. We had had to install new locks and door handles. We pulled up about 2,000 square feet of carpet and the wood tack holders-that was the most time consuming. We have nice red oak floors, but could not manage to schedule a crew to sand and finish. One vendor told me everything is unusually busy for this time of year. Anyway, still much work to do. I also need to get back on the orphan trail....

our house -minor setbacks

As we were tearing up the carpet, we have very beautiful red oak hardwood floor. However, after multiple tries to find someone to strip and refinish the floor, we were pushed back to January. Seems everyone is unusually busy and we could not schedule anyone. Since we move in this week, we decided to buff the floors for now. They have lots of holes from the carpet, but once the furniture and rugs are in, these imperfections should be hardly noticeable (except the main hallway and stairs).

I hurt my elbow quite badly yesterday. I was taping the kitchen for painting. On a step ladder I tried to reach over to the corner. I felt the ladder shift but before I could adjust, I fell off and manged to hit the corner of a garbage can on the way to the floor. It gouged my elbow and I anointed the house with blood. Of all the misfortune. I also need my elbow for work and using the computer. Looks like I will have some pain for awhile. No time to take off.

Finally we took a candle and prayed blessings through the house. We prayed that it would be a place of peace, love, and joy. We also cast out any spirits of darkness and covered the house with the Spirit of God. We also prayed for our occupants that they would find salvation and grow in the Spirit.

The Development of Russia’s Child Protection and Welfare System Part 3

The issue of the Russian orphan problem. As I mentioned previously, I added my own thoughts to the orphan situation in Russia. Russia's national pride has been hurt since the collapse of the Soviet Union. As the leaders bore the leadership and finger pointing of the problems of the Soviet Union, now some folks are thinking back to the good old days. The cultural dimension of uncertainty avoidance fro Hofstede's study simply states that what is unknown is bad. With the upheaval of the economic downturn after Soviet times, the people went into a period of uncertainty. They did not know how to handle the changes. Unfortunately many turned to alcohol and drugs; others were desperate and could not figure out how to take of the children. Finally, the shift away from a cradle-to-grave system of the Soviet Union intensified the economic downturn as people lost benefits and jobs. The breakdown in society contributed to the large influx of orphans and also the homeless

The Development of Russia’s Child Protection and Welfare System Part 2

Rudnicki writes this article in 2013, but refers back to 2002. The average age of the homeless orphan is 12.5 years. They spend an average of 18 weeks on the streets. The three main causes for orphan homelessness were: '1) “drunken parents”; 2) “lack of one or both parents”;
and 3) “physical abuse.” ' Most Russian attribute the reasons for this upheaval of society to economic factors, but the problem is much more complex. I would add a lack of national pride, the cultural dimension of uncertainty avoidance, and the shift away from a cradle-to-grave system. I will elaborate on those in the next post.

Rudnicki, A. A. (2013). The Development of Russia's Child Protection and Welfare System. Demokratizatsiya, 21(1), 29.

Our house- the crtical path is disrupted

I did not intend this blog to be about our house, but the issues seem to be pressing and distracting. Overall I would say the remodeling is therapeutic. Lev (Leo) Tolstoy advocated physical labor to complement spiritual development. A weak link ,but healthy nonetheless. Anyway as a Project Manager, we have the critical path in a project schedule. Well, next week (Thanksgiving week) we planned to have our hardwood floors done. However, we found out everyone  - at this point 4 vendors are unusually booked and could start in January. We need to vacate this apartment by end of November. So I am going to try one room by myself and see how it turns out. Actually I had a conversation with a friend and the counsel seems to be wise for our situation. I do not want to try to schedule a vendor for 1500+ square feet after we move in. Since I stripped and waxed many a floor in the Army, I am going to take a risk for doing a the job. If successful, I will save about $3k and if not I may be out a few hundred dollars. I am a risk taker.

Our house and sparing with God

In my relationship with God, I have come to a balance of serious reverence for God and having a dialog in which I respond like a person and not a robot. After selling our house (twice) for quite a loss, I have a sparing conversation with God about out giving Him. I know it is crazy in the sense of salvation, but I am living in the current time and walking with God. All resources are His and I only point out what I understand. Also the Spirit lead us to get rid of/give away 50% of our possessions. I think we did or are quite close. We will definitely hit that goal by the time we sort through our stuff in the new house. Anyway, I told God I have nothing left to give and yet I am investing in a vision that can impact many lives. I do not know where this home model is going with the three bedrooms, kitchenette and bathroom, but we are pressing ahead with renovations. I am not big on borrowing, but figured waiting two years to start would also not be ideal. Sunday we went to home depot to find a smoke alarm/carbon monoxide detector. We ended up with 9 items at 75% off and 1 at 50% off-perfect for our remodel. There was a two burner stove that I could put in the kitchenette. We also found a bathroom sink and 3 units for sink/counters. Also we picked up 4 cabinets. The point is that the kitchenette and bathroom have almost everything to complete. The final item was a combo stove and microwave to fit our kitchen. The old oven was over 50 years. So God sort of humorously got me on this one. Stay tuned for my next spar with God (respectfully speaking).

The Development of Russia’s Child Protection and Welfare System Part 1

As we review the situation in Russia, how Russia is dealing with the orphan problem is key to unlocking the the solution to helping orphans. Much of the attention is focused on the younger children, so that we may understand how the trauma occurred and take steps to mitigate it. In my case I would like to target the older orphans. Little attention is directed on them as they are independent and under the radar of research and media attention. Much of the literature and reporting addresses the adoption and orphanage situations. Rudnicki writes about the "Homeless, Abused, and Neglected Youth in Russia."


Rudnicki, A. A. (2013). The Development of Russia's Child Protection and Welfare System. Demokratizatsiya, 21(1), 29.

The plight of orphans under depopulation in Russia Part 7

As we wrap up the series on Markova's assessment of social orphanhood in Russia, we see a grim picture of the situation in Russia."The state is having a hard time trying to plug the holes in the increasing budget of social orphanhood. The squandering of human capital is proceeding apace." From a societal perspective, orphans are a drain on national resources. The argument goes back to the need for strong families and proper education to mitigate the problem. The squandering is due to the possibility for young adults to contribute to society, but actually taking from society more than they are producing. I would add a spiritual dimension in which the orphans need a spiritual transformation to overcome the trauma of orphanhood.

Markova, N. E. (2011). Social Orphanhood Under the Conditions of Depopulation. Russian Education & Society, 53(5), 85-92. doi: 10.2753/res1060-9393530507

Back to processing our house

Sveta and I heard a message about giving. The part that struck me was the statement that we cannot out give God. If I ever thought I was close on giving for something for God's purpose, this investment has me pondering. Perhaps for a short term I am giving what I really do not have that some international students may know the living God and grow in Him. I do hope we are on the right path. As in the feeding of the 5,000 (or 15-20K in Jewish traditional counting of head of households), Jesus blessed the food and the miracle happened in the disciples' hands. We have blessed the house. All we can do is prepare the house and hope for the investment to pay off both financially and spiritually.

The plight of orphans under depopulation in Russia Part 6

As we continue the series on the plight of orphans from the traumatic changes in Russia since the collapse of the Soviet Union-hard to believe it happen over 22 years ago. Many people and researchers report on the problems. Occasionally we receive encouraging stories of  orphans who are doing well. What I am hoping to do eventually is add to the effort of successful orphan leaders. Markova writes that in spite of efforts to mitigate the orphan problem, the situation is not changing due to societal issues. The following are my own observations from my last trip to Russia in Summer of 2014. The low wages and salaries is still an issue. I noticed people working for around $1.10/ hour. Although basic food is relatively cheap, other commodities are much more expense. I noticed family members taking out credit for around 12-24%. And there seemed to be no early payback on loans. Secondly Markova mentions an oppressive information environment. I am not sure exactly what that is supposed to mean, but for the normal Russian, other than a biased media, people interact on a social level through the Russian social media Vkontakte and Odnoklassniki. I really do not see any difference between those sites and Facebook. The spread of alcoholism and narcotics would be a definite negative influence on orphans. My wife talks about the fact alcoholism was low during Soviet times, yet reports came to the West of high alcoholism. I did notice many mean and a few women drunk in the streets and/or passed out on the sidewalk. Even with the negative influences, the focus I am trying to achieve is the influence of family, and more in line with my research on mentors of orphans. It is good to know the situation, but working to alleviate the problem would be the direction I should be moving.

Markova, N. E. (2011). Social Orphanhood Under the Conditions of Depopulation. Russian Education & Society, 53(5), 85-92. doi: 10.2753/res1060-9393530507

The plight of orphans under depopulation in Russia Part 5

A study was conducted in Moscow on the views of homeless orphans. They exhibited a loss of love with family and friends, a struggle with trying to learn in the educational system, and their maturing in personal growth has ceased. The young people faced a dilemma of the "freedom" living in the streets when they tried to adapt to the normal socialization process in Russia. The need for indulgence tended to override the restraint required to operate in the standard socialization process.

Russia is trying to mitigate the problem with foster care. Although comparing figures is much more complex, Russia provides a lump sum of of 8,000 Rubles ($180) and a monthly salary and child support of 6,500 ($150). The US has quite a complicated system for foster care, but I put a rough order of magnitude of $1,500 per month per child. With a Consumer Price index (Cost of living) in Russia of 62 and 76 for the US, the incentive may not be enough in Russia to grow the foster program. Time will tell. Markova believes the foster care program as an alternative care to the family will help the orphan situation.

This series follows: Markova, N. E. (2011). Social Orphanhood Under the Conditions of Depopulation. Russian Education & Society, 53(5), 85-92. doi: 10.2753/res1060-9393530507

New updates in my processing the mentoring of orphans

All this discussion on the orphan problem is very bad. Yes, it is gruesome. I have strong faith in my role due to the vision I had of my role in heaven. My objective is to come up with a model of mentoring that would help orphans develop as leaders. I have seen many people do a good job of mentoring and helping orphans and I want to add on to the good work being done. I have a pioneer spirit. Perhaps that comes from the migration of my family on one side from England and the other side from Austria to the the wild west. I have a tendency to take this on single handed with my lovely wife. Wisdom tells me this needs to be a team effort. What I am processing is the need for a mentor for each international student or if the opportunity affords itself orphan. That would be three mentors for three young men. I am going with men due to the flexibility of my schedule. I am more skilled at raiding men and my wife had two boys. By the time we finish remodeling the house, we would need this team in place. 

The plight of orphans under depopulation in Russia Part 4

As we continue with Markova's analysis of orphans in Russia, one impact on the youth is the lack of socialization from homelessness. This would be defined as adults see the world for a normal Russian. Markova uses three criteria to provide the framework for this situation. The youth are at risk medically as they are exposed to health threats on the streets. They lack proper upbringing. Finally they lack education. Markova refers to a survey in which 64% consume alcohol, 27% - narcotics, and almost 30% are sexually active (by age 16, over 70%). These practices increase their risk of disease especially sexually transmitted ones. Those that run away from home and institutions have a habit of repeat escapes from the rigor and discipline at home and in orphanages/technical school. They prefer the freedom of the streets, but do not understand the longer term implications of their actions. I recall researching the number of homeless as higher than those in institutions. Russia has quite a challenge (as do I) to mitigate this issue.

The plight of orphans under depopulation in Russia Part 3

Markova continues with the changes we see in the current world situation. When we think of orphans we think of the loss of one or both parents. Many are abandoned due to violent conflict, economic downturns, parents leaving to other countries to work, etc. 80% of Russian orphans still have parent's living. They have been abandoned through the social and economic upheaval in Russia. What does a society do when parent's give up or lose their parental responsibility and rights? Another thought occurred to me, politics aside, perhaps these vulnerable populations are also caught in the economic sanctions as a country tries to adjust for the financial changes. And for the young adults, does that leave them without work? In Russia the orphans tend to depend on social help and may be even less inclined to find other opportunities.

We interupt this series...

We had our 1st annual missions banquet. We sat at the table with folks working in Afghanistan. My key takeaway was the speaker talking about the great commission. He described it as a mandate. From the Latin it means "give a hand to." God has given his hand to Svetlana and I. Then he said, "go." He was encouraging folks to go on trips to other countries. For Svetlana and I we left our house (had to sell it twice), lost the first house we tried to buy and had a close call on the one we bought. Finally, the speaker said "to make disciples". Our new house is actually set up (with remodeling) in a way to have three people stay in the downstairs area. We have the opportunity to disciple three international students. I would prefer orphans, but that may be down the road. he mentioned that no one ever missed a missions trip due to money, but other reasons. We just started remodeling and are about out of funds. Do I proceed with credit or wait-tough question as it is an investment such as a business opportunity and I do plan to recoup costs in rent. Currently it is the only way I see this model working. The final part is he mentioned the model of working teams. Svetlana and I make a good team, but who else is supposed to be a part of this venture? Stay tuned for events as they unfold. 

The plight of orphans under depopulation in Russia Part 2

In continuing Markova's line of thought that developing human capital should be a top priority for Russia, what can be done to help orphans contribute more so that they are not a drain on national resources? The argument is that Russia as of 2008 has 731,000 orphans, 587,000 handicapped, and 676,000 children at risk. That puts the number at just under 2 million for a 29 million population. At just under 7%, the social burden is high. Then what are the numbers of youth aged 15-29 that are not functioning normally? Although an overlap of 15-18 and a separate group for statistics, what is that total cost for Russia. having good normal families is one part, and currently I am going with mentoring as a doable model for the others. What an enormous task!

The plight of orphans under depopulation in Russia Part 1

Markova wrote an interesting perspective which helped me focus my dissertation for my committee. The rising retirement population is offset by a declining younger generation. The case for caring for orphans lies in the national need for a productive workforce from the younger population to support the aging population. Those in the prime of life should be contributing their labor so that the older generation can be taken care of. This is in turn should be the expectation when each generation reaches retirement age. With an approximate population of 600,000 orphans of 143 million people in the Russian Federation, that number is very high. Markova continues with the importance of taking care of children regarding the family and education.
"Under these conditions, the proper upbringing of children in the home and the kind of education that determines the quality of human capital, the development and multiplication of human capital,
have to be the state’s top-priority task".
This statement is quite strong, but supports a strong future for Russia in the midst of the collapse of the Soviet Union, the shock therapy of the 1990s, and the shift from democracy to tight central control for the sake of stability into the present time.

Markova, N. E. (2011). Social Orphanhood Under the Conditions of Depopulation. Russian Education & Society, 53(5), 85-92. doi: 10.2753/res1060-9393530507

Orphan's Tree

Orphan Tree's comes alongside adult Russian orphans. "Orphan’s Tree was founded in 2008 to bring the benefits of family and God’s hope to orphans living in Russia who will never be adopted." (http://www.orphanstree.org/). This organization is unique, because just about any other work I can think of focuses on the orphans that are minors. From a marketing perspective, supporting the younger orphans is quite appealing. I admire Orphan Tree for their dedication to the orphans who become adults (at age 15-16...). Russia defines youth from ages 15-29. This group is stigmatized and forming groups and developing life skills and leadership is critical for these young adults to become contributing members of society.

The Mosiac model

I heard Eric from Christian Associates International talk about the Mosaic Church in Scotland. Their objective is planting churches in the post-Christian world. Eric described the church in Scotland as one that has ways to involve Christians in the community. Some of their events such as city clean up and helping the homeless even have non-Christians helping out. What I found interesting is that the church has tables for meeting. They gather for several hours and also eat together. They have formed a community. Also the number of immigrants and refugees opens many doors. Now there is quite a move of the Spirit in Iran. Many Iranians believers in Christ are fleeing to other countries. Eric talked about one family taking in an Iranian for a weekend. The family ended up having this person for one year; this experience transformed the Iranian believer.

What I am seeing for our house is an opportunity to disciple men from other countries. How this will happen, who will come, what this will look like is still to be determined. We will take in three individuals and eventually become a little church. That sense of community in which others can watch Sveta and I live out our lives according to the Spirit of God will be powerful.

New house

We bought a new house. The story is quite long, but our second attempt opened up an interesting opportunity. We will remodel the downstairs into three bedrooms (one currently), a kitchenette, and add a shower. A bathroom, family room and laundry room are already there. Our vision is to have three international students rent the rooms. That would help cover our costs and enable us to take mission trips. I would like to have orphan leaders that are going to college, but that may be later. I am not sure how this is going to unfold, but we got a really, really good deal on the house. There is much work to do to remodel the house. Depending on the pace, it could be 3 or more months before we have the place set up to take in students. As I think about being an empty Nester, having three guys from different countries is a shift in the lifestyle I envisioned, but in terms of the eternal, not a big price to disciple people from many nations.

Russia without orphans 2020

In my dissertation I ran across an article about an interview on Russian television. Russia has an initiative called "Russia without orphans." The target goal would be 2020. The initiative is quite aggressive for time lines, but a very valiant effort. I found a group called "Russia without orphans"-the site is only in Russian. The article discusses the speech of the presidential representative, Pavel Astakhov, of the "Russian Federation for Children's Rights". The prospect is very good. They say the rate of domestic foster families has grown 72% from 2009-2013. The annual decline of orphans is around 36% and the dependence on foreign adoptions down 61%. That means Russia is prospering and taking more care of its own. That is good to read, yet the youth still need mentoring for some time to come. What my role in helping mentoring orphans is still unclear. I am still seeking God for guidance for more. This blog is one on my steps to keep engaged in the process.

House hunting

The end of this week was overwhelming and I finally got back to the blog. We have been on an interesting journey these past 6 months. We sold our house and in the meantime we were trying to find a house in which we could bring in international students/orphans. Looks like our second house is about to fall through. Perhaps I am missing something, but we wanted to have a place to

One of my close friends' wife had a word from the Lord that this second house is not our house.

In my prayer time in the middle of the night, I felt I heard the Spirit say to me, "I will give you your dream house." I interpreted this as heaven, but this could be on the earth.

So I am praying for further guidance.

Moldova-Children without mothers

I was researching films in our library for my class on International Business Communications. I was reviewing one on Moldovan women who migrate to the West to work illegally. The film is called "Mama Illegal: Undocumented in Western Europe." The documentary seemed to be made by Austrians as the languages used were Romanian and  German. The time frame is 2004-2011. 

What hit me among several parts of these women's stories was a classroom of children- I am guessing about 10 years old. It was winter and they were wearing winter hats and coats as the heat must be lacking. Over half the children have one or more parents working in Western Europe- Italy, Austria, Portugal, Greece, etc. Some were crying as the teacher related where the parents were. What broke my heart was the girl who was asked by the teacher, "What would you say to your mother if you could talk to her?" She replied, "Please come home." 

This film reminds me of the calling I have to help the orphans in their distress.

Helping orphans in Honduras

I heard a speaker in our global Sunday school share about rescuing children in Honduras. His own personal journey is quite interesting, but his family's work in Honduras is amazing. They have taken in children stabbed - one case up to 150 times and those raped and seen the transformation of God in the young people's lives. He shared about one baby that was placed in boiling water in a ritual and left for dead. This child fit in the palm of his hand when brought to him. The power of God healed the child and restored body functions to normalcy. Their work definitely fits under the umbrella of James 1:27 to look after orphans in their distress.

See http://www.freetheoppressed.org/

Samuel

An interesting perspective on orphans is Samuel in the Old Testament (1 Samuel 1 &2). In gratitude to God opening up her womb, Samuel's mother, Hannah, dedicates her first son to the Lord. According to our current definition of orphans as children without parental care, Samuel qualifies as an orphan. Samuel grows up in the temple. According to the story, his parents only saw him once a year when they made the annual sacrifice. His mother brought him a robe each year. "And the boy Samuel continued to grow in stature and in favor with the Lord and with people". This phrase is similarly used of Jesus in Luke 2:52: "And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man". As an orphan Samuel became of the great prophets of Israel.

Spiritual journey part 3

I remember being depressed even though I was in the process of salvation. One winter day in the High School library, a power came over me. I had this incredible joy. The Spirit of God descended on me and I was filled with the Spirit. This act culminated a 6 month time of spiritual searching and processing the scriptures and the teachings I heard at church. I had become a new creation.

I had a full scholarship to an engineering college and an appoint to West Point prep school. My SAT math scores were in the upper 2% of the nation; however, my English scores were not high. Ironic considering I studied 6 languages and am fluent in 4 (English, Russian, German and Serbian-Croatian). The other two were Romanian and Finnish. So what caused the shift from heavy math, science, and German to a liberal arts college? Stay tuned...

Lev Tolstoy

In my dissertation I covered Lev (Leo) Tolstoy. Lev means "lion" in Russian and Tolstoy means "thick".  Most people recall his novels "War and Peace" and Anna Karenina."  Lev was an orphan and wrote a book called "Childhood." This text became the ideal concept in the Russian mind of the joy of childhood without adult responsibilities. His parent died while he was still young. The family took in Lev and four others. In university he was considered unteachable. He went through a spiritual transformation and actually wrote to help the Russian church. He was excommunicated for his radical ideas. One of his Christian ideas was the non-violent resistance to government. Violence was not allowed in the scriptures and he considered governments as corrupted and holding too much power. Of interesting note is his writings influenced Mahatma Gandhi, James Bevel, Martin Luther King, Jr.

The spiritual journey part 2

God is merciful because in my anguish at age 17, my mom came up with a cause that the family situation was bad because we stopped going to church. In our church shopping, one pastor invited me to the youth night on Wednesday. I had not been to a youth night that I can recall, but since I was invited I went. I felt like I was the only one there and no one talked to me. I left telling myself I would never go again. However, when I went to open my car door, an unexpected event happened. The youth were having a water balloon fight. Someone came around the corner of the church and threw a "Hail Mary" in my direction. I estimate it was about 12-15 feet. I watched it sail through the air like the balloon was in slow motion. It landed right in the middle of my chest and exploded. I was so shocked I found myself chasing the person and then getting involved in the water balloon fight. I owe my salvation to a random throw of a water balloon. Strange but true.

Spiritual journey Part 1

My memosphere is not remembering the details of my orphanage trip, so I will have to wait until I recover my pictures and scrapbook from storage. In the meantime, how did I get from spiritually renewed to a doctorate and the interest in orphans. Since I am not an orphan, the topic is unusual. I recall back at 16 being aware of God but not something I would call an integral part of my life. I had become bitter at my circumstances. I was happy in Klamath Falls, Oregon, but the move to Vancouver left me isolated and alone. When I tried to make friends, it did not seem to click. Unconsciously or consciously the devil took control of my life. I was demon possessed and had all kinds of strange supernatural experiences.

The journey part 6

After the trip in Nov 2002, I went in May 2003. Since I made 9 trips to Russian orphanages and 24 mission trips to Eastern Europe, some of the details are starting to blur. I do recall spending time with Denis. He was always with me. When I needed a break we went into the director's office. Denis would impatiently wait for me outside the door. Sometimes I needed a power nap as the days were long. I would crash for 20 minutes and then go back out. Even though I spoke Russian, the key ingredient was being together. It means so much for the orphans. When I look at the task of caring for orphans in their distress, it seems so overwhelming. I have to keep in mind my role is to research and write so that the body of knowledge is available to help orphans.

The journey Part 5

When I met Denis in Mstera in November 2002, we bonded quite quickly. Fortunately I spoke Russian, but it took some time for me to register my language and understand the orphans. They are not accustomed to speaking with a foreigner. Denis wanted to be by my side every minute. I found out from the orphanage staff that he was a discipline problem. He had that wolf cub mentality I researched in my dissertation. One had to be aggressive to get what one wanted and caring for others was not often the recipe for success. When we left it was so traumatic he did not see me off. I understand he ran to his room and cried. Many orphans act that way upon the team departure. fortunately we exchanged letters and I returned several times before he left the orphanage for technical school in 2005.

Defender of orphans - back in 1619

Since I completed my dissertation on mentoring orphans, I had promised myself to read (and understand) a book I bought in Russia on Russian history. This version would be post-Soviet. The text is in Russian and has 350 pages with text and graphics/pictures. In today's reading we go back to 1619. Russia had about 20 years of war with various lands and concluded a peace treaty with Poland-Lithuania. Part of the agreement included the Orthodox Priest Filaret. The Russian chronicles described quite a character and I translate: "he became the tsar's extortioner and builder, defender of orphans, and an annoying/insulting representative." One of his legacies was the defense of orphans which he had to draw from the Old Testament and James 1:27- looking after orphans in their distress. 

The journey part 3

I had posted part 3, but lost it. So here goes. I corresponded with my sponsored child Denis for two years before actually making the trip in November 2002. I would send a gift and letter with the teams. They went twice a year at that time. I recall getting one letter in which Denis wanted to know why I had not come. As he explained it, all the other sponsors had come. Actually I knew that most could not make the trip, but it really meant he wanted to see me. We had quite a number of letters exchanged until the opportunity came for me to travel over to Russia.

The journey part 4

     In November of 2002, I made my first orphanage trip to Russia. I had corresponded with my sponsored Denis through letters. One interesting letter comes to mind. He wrote how all the sponsors had come to Russia but me. I knew that not everyone or even the majority had made the trip, but he really wanted to meet me. I was unemployed at the time and did not do well with raising funds for the trip. I figured it was not God's will as He provides for His work, but a few generous members of the church helped out the team at the last minute. I went with $20 in my pocket and returned with $3.
     The first trip landed in Mstera, Russia. The town was small, but had a lacquer box tradition. Formerly they made religious paintings; then during Soviet times the artists had to shift to fairy tales. For a small town in a more remote area, people had made good money.Post Soviet times were hard on the town. Not much developed until later. Still it was interesting to see the town (As far as Russia is concerned, I had only been to St. Petersburg twice ).

The journey starts part 2

As I reflect on the calling to help orphans, I recall one day in church in 2000. They made an announcement about sponsoring a child from Russia. Being the Russophile that God put in me, I went down to the foyer and found all these packets to sponsor an orphan. Looking over the pictures and names, I saw Denis and it only seemed natural to pick him since my name is Dennis. The picture had him in a Broncos t-shirt and about 12 years old. So I had planned to go on a trip with the church in November and tried to make arrangements, I did not manage to go. My first trip to a Russian orphanage began in November 2002. I wrote letters to Denis in Russian and prayed for him.

How did I come to helping orphans?

As I reflected over the past couple of days over this blog, I pondered "Why am I doing this?". Today in our Global Small Group, Eva Alexander shared about her work with commercial sex workers in India. She stated it was the calling to shift from a social activist in the Indian Parliament to bring the prostitutes to heaven. Then I realized my calling is to help orphans to get to heaven. My calling goes back to 2002 when I heard Henry Blackabee (Author of Experiencing God) share a message that ended with James 1:27 - to help orphans I their distress. I knew I was called to help orphans. This year I had a vision of a city in heaven with one million orphans. Somehow I am a part of this task to bring as many orphans as I can so that they may be relived of their distress and enjoy life in heaven. Now that I am focused, I hope I can do my best to partner with the Spirit of God to meet that objective.

As I look at the calling for orphans, how did the subject even come up? After leaving Germany in 2000, I moved to Colorado Springs. Actually I had to leave Germany due to a tax issue. After retiring from the Army I worked for three years at the George C. Marshall Center. I had my dream job and spoke Russian, German, and Croatian most days. Through the help of the chapel I distributed about 1,000 bibles and about the same number of Jesus videos in 20 languages over the three years. When I came up for the three year review for technical expert status, the German government decided, that I needed to come under German labor law. Well, going from 7.5% taxes for foreign earned income to 45% was going to be a challenge. However, after initiating the paperwork with the German officials, I received a letter that I had to pay back taxes for the previous 3 years. I had a contract signed in both English and German, and since it was under the Status of Forces Agreement, the Germans apparently did not have to honor it. So I was stuck in a difficult situation. I asked if I could have some time to pay. The German authorities gave me three options: pay now, leave the country, or be prosecuted and end up in a Munich prison. At least they were straight forward in laying out the options. And as you can guess, I returned to the states. Next up-from one Russian ministry to another.

The journey to further the cause of orphans

This blog begins a journey in an effort to help orphans in their distress. The scripture that motivates me to help orphans is this: Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress...James 1:27. As I develop this topic, the first part is how I came to the  conclusion to become involved in this endeavor. According to the United Nations, there are approximately 151 million orphans in the world. That would be those under 18 without parental care.  As long as I have strength, that will be my work for the rest of my life.