Only God can change a person’s heart from anger to thankfulness. Life can be very difficult for orphan children. There is great pain that comes along with being abandoned by your parents. Insecurity leaves them asking, “Was I not good enough?” or “What did I do wrong?” With those unanswered questions, bitterness and hatred can take over. Many children and young adults live with this kind of anger for years. Some may never have the opportunity to experience anything different.

However, when one is confronted with the Word of God and with believers who compassionately share with them the loving heart of God, hope takes over. Seeing difficult circumstances through God’s eyes instead of the world’s eyes, brings new perspective. Perspective that lightens the heavy load and gives purpose to all things. However difficult it may be for an orphan child, or even trials in our own lives, taking a step back and seeing things anew, gives us an opportunity to see joy and thankfulness amidst the heartache and anger.  

Please pray for Semyon as he focuses on the hope before him and leaves the past behind. Please also pray for the SGA-supported Orphans Reborn leaders who continue to share this hope and love with children all across the former Soviet Union.  

From an Orphans Reborn report in Belarus . . .

Greetings, dear brothers and sisters! I’d like to tell you a story about Semyon.

I met Semyon at a boarding school for disabled orphans. His parents abandoned him after birth. First, he was in an orphanage for babies, then after three years he was in another orphanage. He has poor eyesight and a musculoskeletal disorder. We visited the boarding school with a puppet theater.

Later, Semyon entered college in Grodno. I started bringing him to Bible study at church. Then he wanted to attend services and began traveling with us to visit churches in the region. He read the Bible a lot, seeking answers to many questions. He desperately wanted to find his parents. Only later did he admit why: he wanted to kill them for abandoning him.

I talked with Semyon a lot, praying that he would understand that this was a sin and that he would go to prison. And God “took” the knife from his heart. The Word of God, the Holy Spirit, and fellowship with believers helped him overcome his obsession with revenge against his parents. Today, Semyon says differently: “I thank God that my mother didn’t have an abortion but gave birth to me. I want to see her and say thank you.” Now Semyon says: “I also want to be baptized, like my four friends from the orphanage.”

Praise God for Semyon! Pray with us that he will be baptized, grow spiritually, and serve God and people.