On the front end of my trip to Russia, I trained 150 leaders at a leadership conference along with a couple from Atlanta, Tom & Dianne Boldt. It was the 5th of 6 conferences held in Syktyvkar that is a product of treeoflife’s partnership with John Maxwell’s EQUIP.

After 5 conferences, we have gotten to know the attendees pretty well and are often asked to pray for certain needs the various leaders are facing. On Saturday night, I had a request from a couple who lead outreaches into state run orphanages. The teams they lead do everything from show films that educate kids about alcohol & drug abuse to deliver needed hygiene products. They share God’s love through story and demonstration.

I have accompanied these ministry teams into the orphanages and can tell you they are very good at what they do. With every puppet show & piece of candy given is the supernatural ability of these missionaries to open the hearts of children who have experienced rejection & abandonment so early in life. Often these visits are the only ray of hope these children see & they have the potential to redirect young one’s lives.

So this couple was having problems getting access into one of the biggest children’s homes in their city. They had tried to get in to do some programs for months to no avail. They asked me if I would be willing to meet with the director of the orphanage regarding this issue and added that if I would they were sure God would open that door. They asked with such desperation & faith that I knew I had to do something, however, I didn’t have a moment to spare. I was set to travel all week, the tickets were already purchased, and meetings were scheduled. Immediately, however, I remembered that I had made arrangements for Tom & Dianne, who are terrific with young people, to visit some children’s homes on Monday.

So first I prayed with the couple: for favor with the director, wisdom in their approach, that God would open doors, and that the children would come to the knowledge of God’s love. After we prayed, I told them to call the director and tell her that some Americans would like to visit, but they could only do it on Monday so it would have to be approved quickly. I left them with the Russian saying tsbog’um (go with God).

Three days later I was on a train when I received a call informing me that the director immediately welcomed them. In addition to being allowed to do the gospel centered program they also received a full tour of the facility and spent valuable time with the director. Not only did Tom & Dianne get to visit the children in need (bearing gifts I might add), but the Russian team will more than likely now get access on a regular basis.

I talked to Tom on the phone last night who said they built great rapport with the director (who spoke English by the way), and that his wife Dianne would have taken 4 or 5 of the children home with them if they could have.

God loves to breakthrough on behalf of His people and He always hears the cry of the fatherless. In this case, He did both by fulfilling the desire of the ministry team, and by sending people who would show love to those kids.

I’ll share just one more story from my mission trip late this week.

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