RUSSIAN BELIEVERS ADOPTING RUSSIAN CHILDREN

At about the time we adopted our first two Russian children Anya and Alex, a special report appeared in Newsweek showing a picture of a very pregnant-looking Russian woman. The article explained the photo was a feigned pregnancy: since adoption was culturally unacceptable in Russia, infertile women often placed increasingly larger pillows under their 'maternity' clothing until the baby was born that would be 'theirs' through a clandestine adoption. So disturbing was this to me that I began to pray that many Russian believers would begin to adopt and care for children in the orphanages, so obviously overflowing with kids in need of loving families. Over the past decade many of our friends have adopted precious children, and we have seen the Lord do 'exceedingly abundantly above and beyond all we could ask or imagine (Eph 3:20)' to answer that prayer.

The Kozitsky Family

Over the next several posts you will read stories written by our dear friends, Pastor Misha and his wife Galya, and both their adopted and biologic children. Here is the first translated post, written originally in Russian by their son Igor, who lives with his dear family on the outskirts of St. Petersburg, Russia; he is now age 14.

Igor Kozitsky

"I do not know how I would live without my family. For me, family is a place
where people love you or want to help you. I like living with a family better than living in an orphanage. At an orphanage they don't give you the time that a family does, and you can't do what you can do in a family. When I was at the orphanage, I dreamed about a family and even prayed to God even though I didn't know if He existed or not. I prayed that I would have a big family and a big home. And the Lord heard my prayer and gave me everything I dreamed of. I remember when we went to bed with our group we would all talk about our dreams. Living in a family is much better for me.