| Meet The Kids |
Vova's Testimony My name is Vova Ostrovsky. I was born on December 19, 1988. I don’t remember anything good about my childhood. I have two sisters and a brother. I was raised in a family where no one wanted me. I was always beaten and abused. They hated me. These words I heard from my uncle and aunt. My mother always was drunk and that’s why she didn’t take care of us. As our neighbor told me, my parents often tied me with a rope to a bed and didn’t give me food or let me go to the bathroom. My two sisters and a brother were loved because they were their ideal children. But I was like an ugly duckling and a foundling for them. I was taken to the orphanage. My aunt visited my siblings in the orphanage and brought them treats and took them home for weekends. But it never happened to me. I felt like a stranger to them. When I grew up I started to be kinder and more open. But still I never told anyone about my joys and sorrows. I was very closed. When I was in the 9th grade my mother died. But I was not even told about her death and no one told me about the funeral so I missed it. In summer 2008 my brother took me to Shelter. There I felt what family love is. No one criticized me for my wrongdoings. I was attached to the leaders strongly. I am so happy that I have found God and Shelter. Sasha's Testimony  My name is Sasha Kaplun. I am 19. I had a great childhood until about 2nd grade. I had my parents, lots of relatives, and everything was fine. Then my grandma died and everything started going wrong. My dad left us. Then my mom died. We were taken to the orphanage. Then my brother died; he was 18. While I was in 9th grade at the orphanage my dad died. While I was studying at the orphanage I got to go to Poland three times on breaks to a Catholic family. I didn’t become a Christian then, but I started to believe in God and prayed a little. Before my orphanage graduation I worried a lot about my future. I was in the orphanage through 9th grade. My first two or three months at college were the hardest. Everyone around me was talking about their moms and dads and I didn’t have either. But everything is okay at college now, and I’m second in my class. I heard a lot about the Shelter and the graduate reunions, but I was too shy to go. But eventually I came here and then I was always here. I went to the Black Sea and liked the fellowship even more. It’s so fun and interesting here. I received Christ as my Savior right after camp at the sea. At first my old life was really calling to me, trying to get me to turn back. But now I’m glad I’m a Christian and I don’t regret it. Through God and my new friends here I understood that I was born for something, that I am not an accident. In my future I want to study at an Institute and I want to help orphans. Dima's Testimony Dima was the kind of guy who was always quiet, and slow to respond about what he heard. In comparison to the other kids he wasn’t at all active, didn’t participate in games or activities. But he did attend Shelter from the very beginning. He always came with his friends, Sasha, Petya, and Andre. He didn’t like to express emotion and rarely let us hug him. Three months ago he started skipping his classes. We were really concerned because the other guys were saying he could be kicked out of trade school. We were worried he would start his “adult” life without graduating and without a trade. I talked to him, trying to convince him that he needed to go to class and continue his studies. He seemed to be indifferent to what I was saying to him. Imagine my astonishment when Petya came up to me and said that Dima wants to repent! I said “WHAT?” I asked Dima about it and he said yes, it was true. We went into a separate room at the Shelter and called out to God to forgive Dima’s sin and accept a new son into His family. That’s how it happened. After his prayer, another guy, Artom, said he wanted to accept Christ too! And we prayed with him as well. That was an amazing evening. -Andre Pankyeyev |
