Russia’s Orphans at Risk Again
— Monday, December 17th, 2012 —
As I write this, I am waiting for my wife and children to return from a few days away visiting some of her relatives. In that van headed for Louisville are our first two sons, whom we met for the first time a decade ago in a Russian orphanage. Other babies, like they were, are in jeopardy again.
ABC News is reporting that the ruling United Russia Party is threatening to ban all U.S. adoptions in retaliation for President Obama signing into law sanctions for Russia’s abysmal record on human rights. In order to defend their horrifying lack of respect for human dignity, some Russian bureaucrats are willing to sacrifice the lives of their own children, languishing by the thousands in orphanages as we speak.
This would be no issue, of course, if the orphanages of Russia were empty. That’s what we should pray and hope for, everywhere.
Adoption is an important but secondary aspect of orphan care. The first priority is to keep families together, and to alleviate the conditions (poverty and substance addiction, chief among them) that create fatherlessness in the first place.
But, in the meantime, the orphans are there, in a country with very little adoption culture. If international adoption were restricted or outlawed, the stakes are too awful to contemplate.
Even with adoption possible, mass numbers of Russian orphans never make it out of the orphanage, until their eighteenth birthday when they are “aged out,” and suddenly on their own.
These children, with a background of trauma, non-existent family support systems, and no preparation for independent life typically turn to a life of drug abuse, prostitution, and suicide.
We in the Moore family have a stake in this. Two of us are Russian by birth; the rest of us are Russian by adoption. When Ben and Timothy came into our home, the rest of us were tied, inextricably, with what the Apostle Paul would call our “kinsmen according to the flesh” (Rom. 9:3).
But, more than that, all of us have a stake in this. The orphans of the world, whether in Russia or India or Alabama, are among the most vulnerable imaginable. And Jesus has identified the “least of these” as his brothers and sisters (Matt. 25:40). When we care for them, we care for him.
So take a moment to pray for the orphans and widows. Remember particularly the hundreds of thousands of little ones looking out the windows of Russian orphanages today, wondering if their future is with a family or trembling alone on a sidewalk.
In a few hours, I’m going to hug my Russian-born sons, and I’m going to pray that many now where they once were will know, soon, what it’s like to have a mom and a dad and, best of all, a capital-F Father.
Thank you, Dr. Moore, for shedding light on this evil policy that is being considered. What should also be pointed out is that of the 1.5 million Russian orphans, 95% of them have living parents but the children are abandoned as wards of the state.
Hey Dr. Moore,
Thanks for posting this. I am currently an extension center student at SBTS, and my wife and I are in the adoption process with Russia currently. My heart dropped when I saw this post come on the twitter feed. We will continue to pray for this situation. We will continue to trust in the Lord.
Thank you for sharing this relevant reminder. I am a married woman with no children and I know God has placed a real burden on my heart for orphans. I am unbelievably moved by the idea of opening my heart and life to an orphan in the same spirit that Christ opened himself to adopt me–a lowly sinner–into a royal family. Do you have any suggested resources for someone very interested in adoption who doesn’t know very much? I stumbled onto your blog via Facebook.
We adopted our son from Russia and brought him home on March 17th of this year and I am completely heartbroken over the news that this could happen.
I am very thankful for the group The Harbor, they seek out orphans who have aged out. Here is a list of what they do for these kids:
Practical Formation
Harbor staff model and coach residents in life skills such as cooking, nutrition, personal hygiene, budgeting, housekeeping, and family living.
Spiritual Formation
A Russian pastor provides encouragement in the journey of finding God and meaning in life.
Emotional and Relational Formation
Psychologists help participants wrestle with their unique issues in individual and group sessions.
Educational Formation
Staff members guide participants through completion of their high school education and eligibility for technical college or university studies.
Vocational Formation
Professionals provide basic competency in technology, carpentry, English, sewing, and cosmetology.
Anyway all that to say there are people trying to help but they can’t do it alone!
http://www.theharborspb.org/
Thanks,
Vanessa
“The first priority is to keep families together, and to alleviate the conditions (poverty and substance addiction, chief among them) that create fatherlessness in the first place.”
So happy to read that sentence. I’d love to see some articles written in the Reformed blogosphere about how that works out in international and even domestic adoptions.
I understand that this is a tragedy for the children of Russia and hope that this doesnt happen. I do have a question though about why so many Americans are adopting out of Russia, when there are so many children in the American foster care program. I have fostered in the past and my wife and I are preparing to foster to adopt a pre teen or teen son. Could you help me understand why this is happening, what is the draw for out of country adoptions vs. in country adoption.
@john brown, there are many reasons one particular family may feel called to international adoption. Choosing international adoption is not a statement on domestic adoption; both are equally important and God works through each member of the Body differently. Or to put it another way… Just like biological families each have their own story, so do adoptive families. That said, I am truly saddened today to read that Putin signed the ban. It’s my understanding that the majority of international adoptions of Russian orphans are by U.S. couples, so this ban deals a huge blow to the hopes of Russian orphans for ever having forever families. Tragic.