December 15, 1999
A RUSSIAN ORPHAN (left) performs a traditional dance and music program for the Texas volunteers. At right, Karen Ertel of Plano puts new shoes on a boy in St. Petersburg orhpanage No. 40.
Russia's orphans touch
souls of volunteers bringing shoes
___By Scott Collins
___Buckner News Services
___ST. PETERSBURG, Russia--With their cargo of nearly 20,000 pairs of brand-new shoes tied up because of shipping problems, a team of 83 volunteers from Buckner International Services was left with only the gift of love for hundreds of orphans.
___But that was more than enough, according to the Texans who made the November trip to St. Petersburg.
___The group traveled to Russia as the culmination of the 1999 "Shoes for Russian Souls" campaign. The mission, called "Journey of the Heart," was to distribute the shoes to thousands of Russian orphans. Once in Russia, the volunteers divided into three teams and visited 35 orphanages in St. Petersburg, Vladimir and Kostroma.
BEVERLY COOK of Lavalle, Md., hugs an infant in St. Petersburg Babies Home No. 2. (Photos by Scott Collins)
___The thousands of shoes donated by Texans were stored safely in a Buckner warehouse in Russia in preparation for distribution, said Amy Norton, director of Buckner International Services. But delivery of the shoes to the orphanages was delayed for several weeks while a problem with Russian customs agents was resolved.
___The shoes were released by officials in early December and immediately taken to the orphanage directors and given to the children.
___"Even though we have had some delays, we still feel like our prayers are answered because the shoes arrived safely," Norton said. "We're disappointed our volunteers didn'tget the privilege of giving out all the shoes, but at least we know the children received every single pair of these brand-new shoes."
ALICE WIGGINS of Mesquite places new shoes on an orphan.
___Although the bulk of the shoe shipment was delayed, volunteers still were able to place several dozen pairs of shoes on children's feet. Donated shoes that came in after the main shipment had been sent were packed in suitcases and taken with the group in their luggage.
___Volunteers were able to spend time with the children, pray for them, distribute much-needed medicine, clothing and toys, and deliver other gifts. Those gifts included more than 10,500 friendship bracelets from the Houston area.
___The bracelets were the idea of Gillian Cooke, who spearheaded a drive among young people in Fort Bend County, south of Houston. The youth, primarily from Dulles High School, fashioned the bracelets from string. Cooke said the project eventually consumed the entire school, with students from the football team, National Honor Society and other groups competing to see which organization could weave the most bracelets.
___Cooke said the project had a significant spiritual and emotional impact on the students.
___"They were telling their stories as they made the bracelets," she said. "One of the boys stopped me and said, 'You know, there is a spirit in this school that I have never ever known.' And I said, 'I know whose Spirit that is.'"
___Whether distributing shoes, bracelets, candy or hugs, volunteers on the trip said the opportunity to spend time with the Russian orphans was the most important aspect of the 10-day journey.
___Buckner trustee Tom Stone and his wife, Margaret, were part of the team in St. Petersburg. The Stones, members of First Baptist Church of Longview, led their church to collect several hundred shoes for the drive.
___Stone said he was disappointed at first when he heard the group would be unable to deliver the shoes. But after arriving in Russia, he admitted distributing the shoes was not the sole purpose of the trip.
GLYNDA WOOD of Athens enjoys a traditional Russian dance with a boy in St. Petersburg.
___"What I realized is that it's not what you put on their feet that makes a difference," he said. "It's what you leave in their hearts that matters most."
___That sentiment was echoed by Henry Hill, chairman of the board of trustees at Buckner and a member of South Main Baptist Church in Houston.
___"When I look into the eyes of an orphan on one of these trips, I see eyes that suddenly brighten. I see smiles appear, and it really does your heart good," Hill said. "These kids are starving for attention and for love and for someone to pick them up and to hug them and to say: 'Hey, somebody cares about you. Somebody loves you.'"
___Glynda Wood, a member of First Baptist Church of Athens, said the "joy and excitement of the children" stood out the most during the trip. "It's like Christmas," she explained.
___"For these children, the purpose of my being here is to somehow share the love of Jesus Christ with them--to be able to look into their faces and give them hope."
___Volunteer Paula Hayes, who traveled with the group in the Vladimir region, said she saw God at work during the team's visit to each orphanage.
___"At each one, God would place a special child in my way," Hayes said.
___"Have we made a difference in the lives of these children? I know we have," she said, answering her own question by producing a hand-delivered letter she had received from an orphan child just two days after visiting the child's orphanage.
___Deborah Williamson, a volunteer making her second trip to Russia with Buckner, said God gave her the opportunity to lead a young girl to faith in Jesus Christ. Williamson said she has been corresponding with the girl since meeting her last February.
___"When I asked her if she wanted the gift God had given her in Jesus Christ, she smiled and told me she did," Williamson said.
___Officials at Buckner said plans already are under way for the 2000 shoe drive. Information about next year's drive will be available in January by contacting Buckner International Services at (214) 388-1442.
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