During Lidia’s first visit outside the orphanage, we laughed and cried together.
“Mama, this is the happiest day of my life,” Lidia said as she hugged me.
It is with a heavy heart that I share sad news. Lidia is dead. She died on Russian Christmas morning, January 7, 2017. The cause of death is uncertain and suicide is suspected. Lidia was a precious soul who had a heart of love and who desperately wanted to be loved. Like thousands of orphans, she was caught in a hideous web of bad and abusive company, vulnerable, sent out into the world with no job skills, no life or relationship skills, living in rundown dormitories or on the street or living with alcoholic or drug addicted boyfriends. Many orphan boys end up in prison and more 40% of the girls end up in prostitution. Ten percent (10%) of the “released” orphans commit suicide each year. When I first met Lidia, her older sister was in prison. Lidia was thirteen years old at the time. Lidia died at the age of 22.
At the age of four, Lidia begged for bread on the streets. She was seen wearing hardly any clothes. Neighbors found her and called the authorities. Lidia was taken to an orphanage. Her drug addicted mother died a short time later and the identity of her father is unknown. How can you tell an orphan, “God the Father loves you,” when the child doesn’t have a concept of what love is or has never experienced the healthy love of a father or mother? These orphans have no chance for a normal life unless someone with the help of God intervenes.
Agape is now developing an “Orphan Life School” where graduated orphans can come for two years to learn work, life, and relationship skills. If Lidia had been able to attend a school like this surrounded by loving, godly “den-parents,” she might still be alive today.
I was determined Lidia was not going to end up as “a statistic.” While she was in the orphanage, I visited her three or four times a year, an eight hour train ride from Moscow. Once she “graduated” from the orphanage – with the equivalent of a sixth grade education – she begged me to let her come to Moscow, but my hands were tied until she reached the legal age of eighteen. Despite “mental illness” emblazed on her documents, Lidia appeared to be like any teenager, but she confided in me that she only slept a few hours each night because she had nightmares. One summer she helped in the kitchen during one of the camps at the Agape Farm. She enjoyed cooking, was a hard worker, and had a servant’s heart.
It is true that Lidia did not always make wise choices, but my translator Lena and I were with her when she gave her heart to the Lord. I pray and believe that Jesus is holding her securely in His arms. She has found the safety and love she has been longing for.
“And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand” (John 10:28).
When I received the news that Lidia had died, I was broken-hearted. I took my grief to God. I asked Him, “How can Lidia’s story help other orphans to have a better, saner life than she experienced? Many of our Agape staff knew and befriended Lidia. They share my grief. How can her story bring hope to other orphans? I believe God has given us His answer. Not long before Lidia’s death, we began construction of a “new life school” at the Agape Farm. The school will be a 2-3 year life skills program for aged-out orphans like Lidia. To learn more about the school, contact us at info@agapeunlimited.org. You are welcome to come and serve with us!
Will you help us extend our ministry to orphans by giving to our New Life School? Your gift will bring hope to orphans and it will be a statement, that in spite of all her pain, Lidia’s life counted. Send a donation of any amount to Agape Unlimited, Inc., PO Box 50994, Midland TX 79710 or make a secure online donation at http://life-school.agapeunlimited.org. Mark “New Life School” in the memo or comments section. Your gift will further develop our ministry to orphans and help us make the orphan New Life School a reality. Thank you!
