Barren

“Sing, O barren woman, you who never bore a child; burst into song, shout for joy, you who were never in labor; because more are the children of the desolate woman than of her who has a husband," says the LORD. … “ For you will spread out to the right and to the left; your descendants will dispossess nations and settle in their desolate cities.” Isa 54:1-3

We had been warned our drive to the town of Boguchar to visit the orphanage would be long (4 hours) depending on the conditions of the roads. “Bring snacks, bring water, and pack plenty of patience.” We did, and our enthusiasm plus the first-class double-decker bus accommodations carried us the rest of the way.

We left the city early, and the traffic was still pretty scarce because of the holiday week. It took almost an hour just to get out of the city limits. The interpreters all commented on the strange weather: very little snow, relatively warm for winter in Russia (hovering just above freezing) and fog. G insisted we leave the orphanage no later than 4:30 because with the strange (foggy and warm ) weather conditions the roads could turn treacherous.

Because there is little snow, the barrenness of the fields is stark. For miles and miles the landscape as far as you can see shows no signs of life. These are the fields war machines marched across for centuries on their way to conquer a nation, and this is the place where the weather and harshness of the winter oftentimes killed their efforts and their soldiers by the thousands.

Although the drive was long and did not offer much in the way of scenic landscapes, arriving at Boguchar was worth the inconvenience. The children came outside and greeted us and the director and his assistant ushered us in to the building. We were given a tour and shown the “museum” room, which contained a vast historical record of the buildings history, its founding during Soviet times, the tragedies during the Fascist march toward Moscow in WW II, as well as a famous writer who spent time studying there.

While it was fascinating and an obvious source of pride for the Director, we were anxious to get our program underway. As in the day before, the children performed a show, singing, reciting poetry of the winter holiday and finally dancing.

I shared a quick version of the “Rudolph” story and then we split up into teams and teens! The most wonderful part of the day was seeing the familiar face of Sasha. The young boy, now eleven years old, I have seen over the years since he was only four. I told him I still have the picture where he played the “King” and he was so small his legs barely came to the edge of the chair. He laughed and eagerly agreed to help CARE EE wherever he could. All throughout the day, he would try and catch my eye and then grin shyly and wave his fingers in a familiar greeting. He had been moved out to Boguchar from Tailovaya shortly after my last visit to the Voronezh region in 2004.

We were able to finish by the prescribed time of 4:30 and begin the long haul back. Our comfortable double-decker bus made the journey easy back through the dark and barren landscape.

God has many promises toward the barren in His Word. I am convinced those same promises of fruitfulness and harvest are for “systems” and nations laid waste in godlessness. He is Lord of the Harvest both physical and spiritual, and if His encouragement to those whose physical nature He has controlled - is of a time of plenty, surely, His promise to “watch over His Word” to see it has performed all He has ordained for it will be accomplished in the hallways and classrooms of Russian orphanages!

“Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Spirit.” Rom 15:13