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Travelling to Russia to work in the orphanages has turned out to be one of the most amazing, rewarding experiences of my life. I approached the trip with a mixture of emotions, ranging from outright fear to excitement. The fear was based solidly in the unknown. The political situation was not good and I was travelling to a place that I had feared from childhood. I’ll admit that my fear caused me to secretly hope the trip might be cancelled. The excitement was the knowledge that I was stepping out, doing God’s work, and seeing new places.
I didn’t realize how unfounded my fears or the degree to which I underestimated how fantastic the trip would be. I was amazed by the warmth of the people and the beauty of the country. I was humbled at the depth of need in the orphanages.
The children ranged in their reactions to us. We were able to communicate effectively via interpreters that were constantly with our groups. The interpreters were a seamless way of talking to the children, but the communication is just as often non-verbal. We had children that clung to us. We had children that wouldn’t talk to us. Some children climbed in our laps, some shied away. But without fail, they all wanted to be loved. One of the more moving moments of the week came when a lady travelling with us had a girl in an orphanage give her a gift – a craft she had made just a couple of days earlier. The girl simply needed to be loved, and that lady was able to share that gift. The beauty of that gift is that both of them walked away different people.
I still think back to the people I encountered on the trip constantly. From the children to the interpreters to the others travelling with us, each was a blessing. I grew so much on that trip. Being able to see life outside of my normal routine was amazing. Being able to see my life through a global lens – through the eyes of people with such deep need – caused me to examine my own priorities and change the way I viewed so many things.
I cannot recommend highly enough a trip of this nature. Serving in this way is a blessing for a lifetime. It’s something that you can always look back on and know that you touched lives far away in a meaningful way
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