Our latest project

We are excited to announce our next big project in Russia! Our goal is to raise $20,000 for a new playground at the baby orphanage in Volgograd. The orphanage currently does not have a playground, only a small area with a few Soviet Era structures. The children have little to no room to run around and exercise their bodies and brain.

A new playground would get the children moving and having fun at the same time. The children will have climbing structures to exercise their legs, bars exercise arms and shoulders and all together the equipment encourages children to run, giving them a healthy does of cardiovascular exercise.

Playground equipment has also been proven to help develop toddlers' brain, as they learn about the world through motor activities and sensory experiences. Brain development in the first six years of life is especially important, and the more the children exercise both their sensory and motor skills, the more brain connections are created.

Playgrounds not only have physical benefits but social and self-confidence benefits as well. Children learn how to take turns and exercise self-control through group interaction. Children also gain self-confidence as they master the playground structures which leads to an increase in self-esteem.

We feel it is essential for the orphans to have a playground that will aid in their physical, mental, and social well-being.

Please consider helping the children of Volgograd!

To make a donation please visit our website - http://www.twoheartsforhope.org/playground.html

Christmas for Chilik

Here are some pictures we received from Kazakhstan. This is the New Year's/Christmas party at the Chilik special needs orphanage. We purchased each child a new pair of shoes and a New Year's costume. They also received a small gift from Ded Moroz (Father Frost) and Snegurochka (Snow Maiden).

Enjoy!

The New Year/Christmas party for the children in Russia will be on January 6th!

A Christmas Reminder

A year ago the pastor at the church I attend told this story in his Sunday sermon. I was thinking about it today and thought it should be shared. As we reflect on what the true meaning of Christmas is let us remember that it is not about toys, parties, cookies, clothes, vacations, etc. Christmas is about the birth of Jesus Christ. For he did not come to teach us the way, he IS the way.

In 1994, two Americans answered an invitation from the Russian Department of Education to teach morals and ethics in the public schools. They were also invited to teach at prisons, businesses, the fire and police departments and a large orphanage. The orphanage had about 100 boys and girls who had been abused, abandoned, and left in the care of the government-run institution.

Near the end of the holiday season the Americans had an opportunity to tell these orphans, for the first time, the traditional story of Christmas. They told them about Mary and Joseph arriving in Bethlehem. Finding no room in the inn, the couple went to a stable, where the baby Jesus was born and placed in a manger. Throughout the story, the children and orphanage staff sat in amazement as they listened. Some sat on the edges of their stools, trying to grasp every word.

Completing the story, the Americans gave the children three small pieces of cardboard to make a crude manger. Each child was given a small paper square, cut from yellow napkins one of the Americans had brought with him. No colored paper was available in the city.

Following instructions, the children tore the paper and carefully laid strips in the manger for straw. Small squares of flannel, cut from a worn-out nightgown, were used for the baby's blanket. A doll-like baby was cut from tan felt they had brought from the United States. The orphans were busy assembling their manger as the Americans walked among them to see if they needed any help.

All went well until one of the Americans, Will Fish, got to a table where little Misha sat. He looked to be about 6 years old and had finished his project. As Will looked at the little boy's manger, he was startled to see not one, but two babies in the manger. Quickly, he called for the translator to ask the boy why there were two babies in the manger. Crossing his arms in front of him and looking at this completed manger scene, Misha began to repeat the story very seriously. For such a young boy, who had only heard the Christmas story once, he related the events accurately until he came to the part where Mary put the baby Jesus in the manger.

Then Misha started to ad-lib. "And when Mary laid the baby in the manger, Jesus looked at me and asked me if I had a place to stay. I told him I have no mamma and I have no papa, so I don't have any place to stay.

Then Jesus told me I could stay with Him. But I told him I couldn't, because I didn't have a gift to give Him like everybody else did. But I wanted to stay with Jesus so much, so I thought about what I had that maybe I could use for a gift. I thought maybe if I kept Him warm, that would be a good gift.

"So I asked Jesus, 'If I keep You warm, will that be a good enough gift?' Jesus told me, 'If you keep Me warm, that will be the best gift anybody ever gave Me.' I got into the manger, and then Jesus looked at me and He told me I could stay with Him - for always."

As little Misha finished his story, his tears splashed down his young cheeks. Putting his hand over his face, his head dropped to the table and his shoulders shook as he sobbed and sobbed. The little orphan had found someone who would never abandon him. Someone who would stay with him - for always!

Gifts that give back!

Over the year we have many opportunities to purchase gifts for someone special, whether it be a holiday gift or just because. By choosing a "Gift of Hope" you will meet the real needs of the orphans in Kazakhstan and Russia!

All of the items in the catalog were specifically requested from orphanage directors we work with and will make a huge impact on the children still waiting for their forever families.

How it works:

1) Select "Gifts of Hope" that will go directly to an orphan in need. You can purchase an entire item or make a donation towards the total of the item.

2) Give your gift "in honor" of a friend or family member.

3) Check out and print your greeting card!

Gifts that give back are a perfect way to honor your friends and family while taking care of the orphans who have nothing!

Please visit our site today - http://www.twoheartsforhope.org/giftofhope

A Pair of Shoes

I just finished reading "Red Letters" by Tom Davis.  In Chapter 9: Snapshots of Hope, Davis recounts the story of a young woman living in Russia.  As you read the story below I encourage you to think of the orphans we are trying to help through Christmas for Russia.

Natasha Koryakina is a second-year university student in Russia, majoring in foreign languages.  She looks like any happy normal Russian young woman, and you might guess she comes from a happy normal home.  You'd be guessing wrong.  Her happiness isn't the product of a wonderful family life.  In fact, her past is marked by pain, abandonment, and abuse.  So where did she find her smile?  


It was a gift handed to her by a man name George Steiner.


"I still remember how George put shoes on my feet when I was at Neya orphanage.  It was me and another boy from my class.  We still talk about it every time we get together.  That small, little moment changed our lives in a profound way."


In the ten years that have passed since that "small, little moment," Natasha graduated from one of the worst orphanages in the Kostroma region and entered a tech school in Kostroma.  She eventually got plugged in to the Ministry Center and graduated from her tech school with honors before being accepted to Kostroma State University, a truly rare accomplishment (less than 1 percent of orphans reach this milestone).


The odds were against Natasha.  Most girls living in Russian orphanages are forced to leave when they turn fifteen or sixteen.  Within two years of their release, 15 percent commit suicide and 60 percent end up as prostitutes.


But when George Steiner put those shoes on her feet, he tipped the scale just enough with his encouragement and compassion to help her rise above the statistics.  


His small act helped her believe in herself.  


Natasha will never forget George.  All he did was give her shoes.  But God used those shoes to help Natasha walk into a wonderful, new hope-filled life.

Can you imagine that this simple act of kindness changed Natasha's life forever?  One pair of shoes saved her life!

Think about how a small box of presents given with love this Christmas can bring just enough hope to these children to get them through the day, week, month...maybe the rest of their lives.

Please consider supporting an orphan in Russia today!  These children are always on the top of God's priority list, make them the top of your list this Christmas!

Visit http://www.twoheartsforhope.org/christmas.html and ACT today!

Christmas for Russia

The holidays are fast approaching!  This year we are giving you the opportunity to truly make a difference in the life of an orphan!  We have been blessed with the opportunity to provide each child at Children's Home #1 in the Novgorod Region of Russia with a special gift of their own this Christmas.

Children's Home #1 is home to 200 children age 6-17.  Your $15 will sponsor 1 child.  Each child will receive a wrapped shoebox full of goodies!  Father Christmas will be delivering the shoeboxes to all the children at a Christmas celebration in January.  Our in-country friends will purchase the gifts, deliver them and snap photos of the party!


Donations can be made on our website  or mailed to:

Two Hearts for Hope
P.O. Box 1928
Lebanon, MO 65536


Deadline for supporting these children is December 1, 2011.  


We hope you will add a child from Russia to your gift-giving list this Christmas!

40 Days of Prayer, day 40

Day 40: "Today, thank the Lord for the past 40 days of prayer for orphans.  Ask Him to bring more prayer warriors into battle.  Ask Him to help you to continue praying diligently.  Ask Him to continue to give you His love for the orphans.  Ask Him to continue to challenge the hearts of your congregation that "He who is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and He will reward him for what he has done."  Proverbs 19:17

40 Days of Prayer, day 39

Day 39: "Today, pray for the health of orphans around the world.  Ask the Lord to provide medications and treatment for the simple things that are unnecessarily killing children like unclean drinking water, malaria, dysentery, AIDS and malnutrition."

40 Days of Prayer, day 38

Day 38: "Today, pray for street children.  These children live under bushes and in dumps and sewage pipes.  They may eat meals out of trash cans.  Many people walk by them without seeing them or view them as pests.  Ask God to open the churches' eyes to help them see the orphans all around them.  Ask the Lord to provide food and shelter for the street children."

40 Days of Prayer, day 37

Day 37: "Today, pray for families who are in the adoption process.  Pray that God will provide the funds and help them with all the necessary details."

40 Days of Prayer, day 36

Day 36: "Today, ask the Lord to release and speed any care supplies to refugee camps where many orphans live and need even the most basic necessities.  Ask Him to cut through any governmental regulations or corrupt leaders to miraculously get the supplies delivered to where they are needed most."

40 Days of Prayer, day 35

Day 35: "Today, ask the Lord to encourage and strengthen your church.  Caring for orphans and changing attitudes and beliefs and actions is tough work and the enemy is bound to attack.  Ask for protection for your pastor, his family, their health, and their ministry.  Ask for God's hand of blessing on their lives."

40 Days of Prayer, day 34

Day 34: "Today, pray for yourself and the other prayer team members.  Ask the Lord for strength.  Ask Him to help you not grow weary in battling for the orphans on your knees."




Creation Groans from Christian Alliance for Orphans on Vimeo.

40 Days of Prayer, day 33

Day 33: "Today, ask the Lord to help your church be an example of the Lord's love for orphans as written in Psalm 10:17-18 "The helpless put their trust in You.  You are the defender of the orphans Lord, You know the hopes of the helpless.  Surely You will listen to their cries and comfort them.  You will bring justice to the orphans and the oppressed, so people can no longer terrify them." 

40 Days of Prayer, day 32

Day 32: "Today, pray that every member of your church would remember and acknowledge and praise the Lord that before the world was made, He loved us and chose us, and that His unchanging plan has always been to adopt us into His own family by bringing us to Himself through Jesus Christ and that this gave Him great pleasure. (Ephesians 1:3-5)"

40 Days of Prayer, day 31

Day 31: "Today, pray for families in countries all over the world who have room in their homes and hearts for a fatherless child.  Ask that the Lord would speak to them even now, leading them to consider adoption or foster care."

40 Days of Prayer, day 30

Day 30: "Today, ask God to protect children affected by war and violent conflicts.  Pray that the Lord will protect their vulnerable hearts and keep them safe.  Pray that the church will reach out to them."

40 Days of Prayer, day 29

Day 29: "Today, pray for mothers and fathers who might be having trouble caring for their children and feel they need to give them up or abandon them.  Ask God to help them find support.  Ask the Lord to meet their needs and give them the resources to be able to take care of their children."

40 Days of Prayer, day 28

Day 28: "Today, pray for families who are taking care of their grandchildren or nieces or nephews in addition to their own children.  Ask the Lord to bless them for their sacrifice and to provide enough food, clothes, education, and shelter for all of their children."

40 Days of Prayer, day 27

Day 27: "Today, ask God to care for child-headed households.  Pray that the Lord will provide for their needs.  Pray that an adult would come alongside them and adopt them.  Ask the Lord to protect them from abuse."