Adoption
A Call to Help the Least of These
CBN.com – I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me,” Jesus said in Matthew 25:40.
This passage of scripture is brought to life in a classic Christmas story, The Old Russian Shoemaker. It is a powerful reminder of how God delights in those who help “the least of these,” even more so when the performers themselves are orphans.
The story unfolds after Jesus appears to a shoemaker in a vision, saying he is coming to visit. As the shoemaker prepares a gift, he gets interrupted several times by people he sees stuck out in the cold winter night without food or shelter. He empties his sack helping them, and then hangs his head low when he realizes there’s nothing left for Jesus. Jesus returns in another vision and reminds him that it was He in all forms, and by helping those in need, he was in fact helping Jesus.
Recently, 17 Ukrainian orphans available for adoption from the Starbuzburevka and Kherson orphanages visited the U.S. and performed this story for several select churches. Afterwards, the Ukrainian Children’s Choir, adorned in traditional garb, sang and danced, and played the bells.
Just as the performance delights audiences with its heart-warming message, it also presents a challenge to Christians: to love orphans through prayer, partnership with ministries, and adoption if God places that on someone’s heart.
For example, two years ago when another group of orphans traveled the U.S. and did the same production, more than 20 of them were eventually adopted by American families.
“And this year several kids have committed their lives to Christ,” said Karen Springs from CBN CIS, CBN WorldReach’s branch ministering to the Ukraine and other countries of the former Soviet Union.
Heart for Orphans greatly encourages families of family to adopt and provide Christ-centered loving relationships.
This year the organization Heart for Orphans partnered with CBN CIS, bringing the children over in faith during the Christmas season and placing them in the care of host families.
Most importantly for the children, they were able to experience what it is like to celebrate Christmas with a family. For many of them, it was also the first time they had ever been driven around in a car or taken on shopping trips.
Despite the excitement surrounding the trip, the reality still exists that these children desperately need a family. When Sergei, a bell player, was asked about his Christmas wish, he said “to find my missing sister.”
In Ukraine, there are approximately 103,000 orphans registered in the national database. International adoption is somewhat complicated now because the Ukrainian government has issued a quota on the number of adoptions by citizens of each country, with Americans being limited to 500 adoptions in 2008.
It is unknown how many other children walk the streets alone. Plus, once children in an orphanage reach a certain age or finish school, they are released on their own.
One CBN project in Ukraine’s capital city Kiev called The Gift of Adoption teaches life skills that orphans will need for life outside of the orphanage. Heart for Orphans similarly provides group homes in the U.S. to help youth transition into healthy adult life.
“Our work in Kiev is also trying to promote national adoptions within Ukraine because there are no quotas,” Springs said. “We’re training the body of Christ in Ukraine to adopt.”
Learn how your church can perform The Old Russian Shoemaker and help raise awareness for orphans.
For more stories like this one, sign up to receive the WorldReach Newsletter from CBN.com in your email .
