Hope… Isn’t it what revives us? Especially during cold and long winter evenings, it gives us strength to keep going. When parents come to visit their children, we invite them to play together in the snow—a time when they share many warm and happy moments.

Misha, Nastya, and Petya lived together in a large family and loved each other very much. Unfortunately, their parents suffered from alcohol addiction and were unable to give the children the attention and care they needed. The large family of six lived in a small room, which eventually led these three wonderful children to come to us at the “Children’s Ark.”

When we brought Ksyusha, she was 4 years old. Her parents refused to believe that they had problems. Blaming and scolding everyone, they couldn’t understand why their child was taken away. In the end, they finally realized their problem and agreed to undergo rehabilitation.

We never know how long our children will live. Therefore, we do not waste time in vain: we engage in activities, learn to read and write, solve problems, and much more. It seems that just recently the first bell rang in schools, we were assembling backpacks with the children, wearing lush bows.

Children who come to foster families often carry a heavy baggage of distrust, pain, and disappointment. And when you see happiness on the face of an adopted child, you rejoice twice. Parents of such children need a lot of love, strength, and wisdom. That’s why supporting foster families is so important!

Last year, Lena came to us. At that time, she was seven years old. Unfortunately, Lena’s mother did not arrange for her to go to school. We never know how long we will have the children with us. This year, we were among the first in line to submit an application for enrollment in the first grade.

He and his sister were brought to some new building with lots of children and adults. And no one understood them. “I’m the eldest, I should find out why we’re here!? Everyone approached us, hugged us, smiled. But I wanted to cry, I wanted to go home…” These thoughts, probably, visited Oleg, who came to us.

A happy childhood despite everything. “Children’s Ark” set sail in St. Petersburg and began its journey: challenging, emotional, but confident. The map constantly showed new places where children needed help. It was the need that called our ship to arrive and assist those in need.

The decision of Misha and Anya to become a foster family was born out of love. However, the path to this decision was not easy. Anya was born into a large family, and when she was 8 years old, she and her younger brother ended up in our shelter. Here, things were different than in a family.

We understand that every child dreams of having their own home and family. Such a dream was also held by Lia. Lia came to us in the summer when she was 4 years old. Her mother was in the hospital in a severe condition. As far as we know, she was hospitalized due to her unhealthy lifestyle

This story started in 2018. God put in our hearts to visit the children’s shelter of Gorodok village (Krasnoyarsk region). There we met a gypsy family with of children. Our love for these children led to more frequent visits to the Minusinsk children’s home where they eventually ended up.

Gypsy families have their own rules and peculiarities. Children generally study until the 3rd grade. To educate their kids is not always easy The reasons are different: poverty and dependence of parents, language barrier, lack of transport and roads in the village, and much more.

Shamil came to the Children’s Ark quiet, a shy seven-year-old boy who hardly spoke Russian. Shamil did not cry, did not complain, and did not ask to go home, he has a strong character and he learned to survive in a foreign country and among strangers.

Six years ago, we met with a Gypsy family on a children’s holiday. After getting to know them we learned about the needs of this family. Six months later at they had their 6th child, little Regina, and a year after that her brother Vakhtang was born as well.

The life of children in the orphanage is scheduled to the second. They grow up withdrawn and don’t trust anybody. Igor, barely remembers his own parents, because since he is three years old he lived in a correctional orphanage in Krasnoyarsk.

We learned about the “Open heart Ministry” when we were visiting Kansas City in 2016. And in 2019 we opened our own counseling center. This is God’s way of healing tormented hearts.

By Russian law, children living in an orphanage must be outside for at least four hours a day. What to do with them and how to entertain them if it’s raining outside? In St. Petersburg, it really is raining a lot. Rain is a part of our life here. And when it rains, children should have a roof over their heads.

I want to introduce you to Dasha, she is 1 year old. She has been the youngest member of the Children’s Ark for several weeks now. The mother has a drinking problem and is unable to care for her. She often left Dasha alone or took her with her when she was drunk.

Last week, an incident occurred in the children’s ark that not only surprised us but made us see the greatness of God. After many warm days, a light rain began. A few minutes later, the rain intensified and hail with the size of a tennis balls began to fall from the sky.

Minusinsk is one of the oldest cities in Eastern Siberia. It is located in the center of Asia and is surrounded by mountains on all sides. Many families with foster children live in our area. We want to build a house in Minusinsk in which the foster families, like orphans, can live.

Unray Mary is responsible for our group that we call “Pearls” here at the Ark. In fall 2004 we received 2 little girls who are twins. They were 3.5 years old.