I’ve said it for a long time, that the doors seem to be closing in Russia and time is short. This week is proving those predictions to be true for Orphanage #14.
This past Wednesday Dasha (SAC Program Director) called Rayisa and Orphanage #14 to confirm our meeting on Thursday at 3pm. In that phone call she told Dasha that she spoke with the group counselors and children and asked them about our coming and they refused to participate. Rayisa said SAC shouldn’t come and that we should cancel the meeting on Thursday. Dasha insisted that we meet and Rayisa agreed.
After hearing that I prayed for God’s guidance and asked, “Was this the end of our 5 years at this orphanage? “ We met the next day. Rayisa was warm and greeted us kindly. We have a great relationship with the staff, but Rayisa told us about the feelings of the group counselors and the kids. They have become tired of the Bible Study and our activities. It sounded like our activities that are VBS based are not interesting to the teens that need more teen activities. Prior to this the kids were positive about our visits, activities, and the gifts we would bring. However, teens change and grow and interests change.
We discussed options for us to change and they suggested movies that could be discussed, outings to McDonalds or other sites in the city, and sports activities outside. Right now these are being considered, but SAC volunteers I’ve contacted fail to see the “ministry” value in much of this. The nature of these activities doesn’t allow much relationship building and opportunities to share the gospel. So, we are praying about what to do next and what to do for the ministry team that has already planned to visit this Orphanage in November.
Over the years,
Orphanage #14 has seemed to lean toward the “humanitarian” gain of American teams while only allowing the “ministry” aspects of visits as a means to an end. We’ve watched as efforts to minister to their spiritual needs have taken a backseat to improvements to the Orphanage facilities made by the government and other foreign donors. Physical help is needed and it’s Biblical to provide, however SAC’s philosophy in ministry is to take care of their physical needs so we can then minister to their spiritual needs, while striking a balance between the two. Physical needs are being met at Orphanage #14, but the spiritual aspects are softly being rejected.
Please pray with us as SAC volunteers discern what to do. I also would like to hear from any of you reading this about what you think about this situation. You can e-mail me at jneese@SACorphans.org.
The doors at Orphanage #14 appear to be closing. Several of the kids we have watched grow up have now moved to “The Harbor” and are ministered to there. We may need to move on to another ministry site to expose others to our ministry to orphans. Nevertheless, I’m sad that this door is closing, but I know of others that are opening. I know that is God’s hand is at work. One door closes and another door of opportunity opens. May God bless SAC as we move forward in His name to whatever open door He leads us through!
This past Wednesday Dasha (SAC Program Director) called Rayisa and Orphanage #14 to confirm our meeting on Thursday at 3pm. In that phone call she told Dasha that she spoke with the group counselors and children and asked them about our coming and they refused to participate. Rayisa said SAC shouldn’t come and that we should cancel the meeting on Thursday. Dasha insisted that we meet and Rayisa agreed.
After hearing that I prayed for God’s guidance and asked, “Was this the end of our 5 years at this orphanage? “ We met the next day. Rayisa was warm and greeted us kindly. We have a great relationship with the staff, but Rayisa told us about the feelings of the group counselors and the kids. They have become tired of the Bible Study and our activities. It sounded like our activities that are VBS based are not interesting to the teens that need more teen activities. Prior to this the kids were positive about our visits, activities, and the gifts we would bring. However, teens change and grow and interests change.
We discussed options for us to change and they suggested movies that could be discussed, outings to McDonalds or other sites in the city, and sports activities outside. Right now these are being considered, but SAC volunteers I’ve contacted fail to see the “ministry” value in much of this. The nature of these activities doesn’t allow much relationship building and opportunities to share the gospel. So, we are praying about what to do next and what to do for the ministry team that has already planned to visit this Orphanage in November.
Over the years,
Orphanage #14 has seemed to lean toward the “humanitarian” gain of American teams while only allowing the “ministry” aspects of visits as a means to an end. We’ve watched as efforts to minister to their spiritual needs have taken a backseat to improvements to the Orphanage facilities made by the government and other foreign donors. Physical help is needed and it’s Biblical to provide, however SAC’s philosophy in ministry is to take care of their physical needs so we can then minister to their spiritual needs, while striking a balance between the two. Physical needs are being met at Orphanage #14, but the spiritual aspects are softly being rejected.
Please pray with us as SAC volunteers discern what to do. I also would like to hear from any of you reading this about what you think about this situation. You can e-mail me at jneese@SACorphans.org.
The doors at Orphanage #14 appear to be closing. Several of the kids we have watched grow up have now moved to “The Harbor” and are ministered to there. We may need to move on to another ministry site to expose others to our ministry to orphans. Nevertheless, I’m sad that this door is closing, but I know of others that are opening. I know that is God’s hand is at work. One door closes and another door of opportunity opens. May God bless SAC as we move forward in His name to whatever open door He leads us through!
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