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Story and Photography by Russ Dilday
Tall and tan, Baylor University junior Justin Henry looks more
at home on an athletic field than in the dark room of the St.
Petersburg Orphans’ Hospital. Small and frail, one of the four
babies in the room is crying for food and the duty nurse sticks
a bottle in Justin’s hand, inviting him through a translator to
feed the child.
Gingerly – and on unsure ground – he props the baby boy up with
his hand and administers the bottle, talking softly to the him.
For the tiny boy, who is just 28 days old, it may be the first
hand that’s ever shown him love in his short life. Abandoned at
birth, already he is being monitored closely at the hospital because
doctors believe he has HIV.
Happy squeals come from nearby rooms as Justin’s parents, Rodney
and Susan, and younger brother Kevin, along with the rest of a
team of volunteers from First Baptist Church of Longview, First
Baptist Church of Haskell and other churches play with the older
children at the hospital, which serves children who have been
abandoned, abused, neglected or have been living on the streets.
In addition to bringing smiles to the children, they also have
brought much-needed humanitarian aid to the hospital in the form
of medicine, health supplies, clothing, and warm quilts.
The ministry to the hospital capped a week of hard work by the
volunteers, who also provided dozens of children from St. Petersburg’s
Orphanage No. 2 with a Vacation Bible School-type camp about an
hour outside of the city. The team was one of four that conducted
camps or worked in orphanages as part of Buckner Orphan Care International’s
summer ministries in Russia.
For the Henrys, members of First Longview, doing ministry as a
family gave them the ability to extend the love of their family
to children who have none.
“I think it’s pretty clear when we work with these kids that they
don’t have the kind of family love that we experience,” said Rodney,
a cardiologist. “Being able to share Christ with them as a family
and show them that kind of family love in this sort of situation
has meant a lot to me. It strengthens my feelings towards my family.
It is another one of things where I get more out of this than
the kids do.”
The camp allowed for the Henrys to develop a deep bond with several
of the orphans, said Kevin. “I’ve latched on to a couple of kids.
It’s real fulfilling. I don’t have a younger brother, so it’s
really shown me what being an older brother is all about.”
Susan fought back tears of pride for her sons as she noted the
trip changed how she looks at her family.
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“This mission trip has made me especially proud of my family,”
she said. “We’ve worked very hard to share God’s love with our
own children. And then in turn to be able to see them pass that
on to other children, it’s the most incredible feeling that you
can experience as a mom.”
And Justin said sharing faith was the team’s priority.
“Sharing your faith in a country where you don’t understand them
and they don’t understand you is a little bit difficult sometimes,”
he commented. “But you know, they really get the point when you
are able to show them the way Christ loves them.”
In addition to giving, Rodney noted that his family also received.
“I was anxious at first. I probably came in with a few anxieties
about how things were going to go.
“But I’ve been very impressed with how God deals with my anxieties.
He obviously goes before us and makes the path smooth for us,”
he said. “From everything from our travel to being able to get
here all at the same time. Not knowing the language but arriving
here and the first smile and hug you get lets you know that it
doesn’t matter if you can speak the language, it’s just the language
of love.
“It’s a hug, it’s affection. And that’s what really communicates
God’s love.” |
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