Lydia with Lena, a SCM Employee
Dear Friends and Partners,
Below is this month’s prayer letter about Lydia. I hope it will stir your heart this Christmas!
Lydia’s Story
Hello, my name is Lydia. I am eight years old, and until I came to this orphanage, I lived with my mommy and daddy in the town of Lozova, a small town near the city of Kharkov. I love my parents, but they are always drinking vodka. Since my parents were always drunk, we didn’t have any money. So during the winter, I was always very cold because we couldn’t afford to pay for our utilities. We had very little food, and usually it was old and stale. Mostly, I ate cereal and potatoes.
One day, my daddy became ill with tuberculosis, and he began to cough up blood. Shortly after my daddy went to the hospital, the government took me out of school and placed me in this orphanage. My mommy promised to come and see me, and each day I wait for her, but she has never come to me.
I love my mommy and miss those times when she would read me fairy tales at night before I went to bed. I do miss my mommy and daddy, but I am happy that they feed me better here. Right now, I am so happy because the people from Slavic Christian Ministries come and play with me, tell me about God, bring me gifts, and listen to me. But I still hope my mommy will visit me too. I miss her.
- Lydia
Friends, as you can see, we are trying our best to minister to children like Lydia. And she is absolutely right, we try to befriend them, love them, and teach them about God’s love too, but we can only do so much; nothing replaces the tender care of a loving parent! All orphan’s like Lydia, feel the void and loneliness of missing parents.
Please pray that Lydia and all of these Ukrainian orphans will be adopted, give their lives to Jesus, and find encouragement from our staff. Please also pray for all of our staff and volunteers who help us show Christ’s love to these wounded souls.
Thank you for your continued love and prayers. Each one of you are a blessing to us more than you realize! Thank you for remembering the Ukrainian orphans in your prayers. I hope you have a very Merry Christmas!!!
In Jesus’ love,
Ron Putnam