LOVE 4 THE CHILDREN

Dear friends! From March 30 to March 31 in Minsk in the church “Light of the Gospel” an annual conference “You are not alone” was held. Families and volunteers who work with orphans were invited , as well as representatives of guardianship agencies and ministers of different churches. In all, 70 families attended the conference.
Topics of the conference: “Diagnosis of trauma. How to help a child with pronounced aggression and disobedience “, as well as” Helping children who survived violence “. The next block was dedicated to families that are in a state of burnout! “We are exhausted. We already do not want anything “- said the people who came to this seminar. “Our dream is to bring the children back to the orphanage, because we are so devastated, our relationship with our children in the family is destroyed and, by accepting orphans, we are losing our own children,” the seminar participants said. Two categories of people who needed to not only help on an emotional level, but also on the spiritual level. I thank God for the speakers and pastors who came forward and served this category of people. Pain, tears filled people when they came to the conference. But God worked in the hearts of people and they received healing through the word of God, as well as through the testimonies of families who took orphans into their homes.
The conference was coming to its end with every hour, but the atmosphere that appeared allowed not only to speak out to those wishing conference participants, but also to receive healing and help. We are glad that when someone meet some dificulties, we can be on the front line to help people cope with their fears and difficulties! Thanks to all who prayed and participated in their time and finances! The work before God always brings fruit to the kingdom of God!

     On November 29, 2014 we organized a conference dedicated to the Christian ministry of salvation to orphans: “Belarus without orphans”. The main slogan of the conference is “Life for the children”! I would like to thank everyone who was part of this conference through the prayers, finances and through sharing of information! Your support was very timely and essential for the implementation of this project!
In these latter days more and more often we hear that Christian ministers and Christian parents who took orphans to their families lose their heart. This is the challenge for the whole Christianity! When we meet with the administration of the National Adoption Center, it is painful to hear statistics numbers of how many Christian families return orphans back to the orphanages… Wounded children, wounded parents and pangs of conscience which constantly says “What kind of disciple of Christ you are, if you failed God’s work?”
We constantly receive letters from the parents with cries for help: “Help us! We do not know what to do with teenagers!” Here is an example of one of letters: “Dear brother, Dmitry! It is already 11 years since I have become a foster mother. Most children grew up but I have a foster daughter who is going to turn 15 soon. We have a problem. How to help the girl to have a proper attitude toward boys? How to help her to have a proper attitude toward unbelieving teenagers? How to protect her from temptation of early relations between teenagers of different genders?” So many letters soaked in pain and helplessness!
Having observed all these grievous facts, we have decided to organize annual conferences in which we are going give answers to the arising problems. To the conferences traveled 70 parents who already adopted or foster orphans and 30 parents who are thinking about adoption or fostering. There were some unbelieving families who found out about the conference and decided to come. We believe that together, with God’s help, we would be able to change statistic of social and spiritual orphanhood in our society!
Where if not in the church? Where if not among Christians one can find help, encouragement, when broken faith on the edge of burning out? What to do if you are on the edge of returning children back to the orphanage? In our country it is not so easy to ask for help because this family would be at risk of losing children. This is why so many problems and pain are hidden in the families who foster orphans. It seems that the whole country wants to change the statistics but for the lack of support we lose our heart and it looks like that God does not hear our prayers. But it is not so! And we are together with you, seeing all the pain, are trying to change the statistics of returns, by saving through Jesus Christ and his anointed ones the families of those who are on the edge of returning orphans.
We invited to the conference wonderful speakers who have tremendous experience in fostering children in their families. They are people who know by experience what families who foster orphans in their homes will run into. This is why many seminars were so relevant, so practical that you could see the response not just in eyes but also in the hearts of those who listened! On the seminars it was visible that it is for the lack of knowledge that the nation and children are suffering. The whole pain of families was lifted. For example, early and teenagers’ problems with sexual maturation in boys and girls. Finally many families opened up about problems that tormented them for a long time. After all, in our culture little is spoken about sexual maturation and about problems that teenagers and their guardians encounter.
For years we lived in isolation from each other without fellowship facing alone the problems that we encounter. The conference has allowed us to meet each other and created a platform where we can exchange our experiences. Many families have acquired new friends who are going to help them to better face problems because everyone has its own experience. Families that came to the conference to learn about adoption, fostering, guardianship received qualitative, professional help. And experience of speakers help to dispel the gossips! After all through the prism of experience everything is perceived differently!
From the response of conference participants we see that the conference gave many answers to the many delicate questions that tormented the families. It is wonderful that together with rich experience of speakers and participants of the conference the answers were found to the most uncomfortable but the most worrying questions! We are thankful to God for His presence on the conference and help in solving of these problematic questions!
We believe that the seed that was planted will bear its fruit and our country will become the country without orphans!

On November 29, 2014, we are planning to hold an annual Christian conference dedicated to the service to orphans. The conference is called “Belarus without orphans”.

On October 12, 2013 we organized the conference in Minsk “Belarus without orphans”. This conference was dedicated to the people of three categories: support to the parents who adopted orphans, motivation for those who consider adoption, and training for those who work with orphans.
Conference attended parents who adopted orphans as well as people and families who have the desire in their hearts to adopt or foster a teenaged or younger orphan. All in all there were 150 people at the conference!
We gave thanks to God for the reason that the conference did take place. We also thank everyone who prayed for the conference and upported it financially. On the way to reach the dream – Belarus without orphans – there always will be difficulties and resistance because orphans are the most spiritually unprotected category of children.
Our dream is the country without orphans. But sometimes the most unprepared audience are the parents! Many have the right motivation. Many have not just desire but even material abilities to adopt children. But the curse of our age is the lack of practical knowledge and experience of adoption. Because of this some adoptive parents among evangelical Christians return adopted orphans to the orphanages. We are fighting this phenomenon. At the conference we tried to address many important problems: adopting a traumatized child, first months and first years of adoption, adopted children in teenage times – how to help a child to go through the hard times of character development. The adopted children would not remain young for a long time but sometimes because of lack of knowledge comes disappointment and then returning of orphans back to the orphanage.
One of the seminars was for adoptive parents. At this seminar we talked about emotional burn out and how you can help yourself. Many adoptive parents who adopted more than one child slip out, become disappointed and give up. All because they have much work, everyday cares and on top of that problems in rising adopted children for which they were not prepared.
Many parents do not dare to adopt because of the fear of the genes. Others become so confused that they do not see any other solution except as to return adopted children to orphanage. We had families who openly talked about these issues. Disappointed people think that this is their problem but it is the Satan who seeds doubts in people’s hearts and they start to even waver in faith. What is going to happen to them if they would not find support? We already have 30 Christian families that returned children to orphanages. This is the Satan’s strategy – to disappoint people in themselves and then to beat them out to leave the churches through their feeling of guilt and total nullity.
I am thankful to God that He has showed us these needs and showed us the way of how we can support these people. Besides the encouragement the conference gave people the real psychological, juridical and practical help at the seminars. At the seminars people had the opportunity to speak about their everyday problems and to get help they needed.
At the conference attendants had the opportunity to hear Gods point of view on the situation with orphans through the teachings and witnessing.
People who serve to the orphans in the orphanages and shelters learned the practical skills for this ministry. They also had the opportunity to exchange resources and skills. This was also very helpful for those who try to organize this kind of ministry.
This is the third year when we held this conference. At the end of each conference we asked people to fill out the questionnaire – we wanted to give people the opportunity to give their feedback and suggestions. We can see that many people need juridical and psychological help. In response to this need we have opened a consultation center for adopting parents where people can come with their needs.
We believe that our common dream – Belarus without orphans – is real if we unite together as a society in our support for adopting parents and orphans.

On October 12, 2013, we are planning to hold an annual Christian conference dedicated to the service to orphans. The conference is called “Belarus without orphans”.