“It is really like a light in the darkness for many children.” Viktor was one of the children who he is speaking about in sharing these words. Although Viktor now works with children in orphanages, he once was one himself. God has used his very dark experiences in his early childhood years and turned them into a bright light and example for many young children. 

This story is especially beautiful because it tells two sides. It shares the heartbreak and rough reality of what it is like fending for yourself inside the walls of an orphanage. And yet, it shares the beauty and light of the love of God being shown through His servants who come to visit. Viktor knows both sides. He has overcome his past pain through his faith and salvation in Christ. And now, he uses those experiences, having great empathy for the ones to whom he ministers. He is also showing the love of his heavenly Father in being a father himself and building a family that honors God. From brokenness to great contentment and peace. 

Please pray for Viktor and all of the SGA-supported Orphans Reborn leaders who continue to show love and teach biblical truth to the many children fighting for peace in their hearts. 

My name is Viktor. I am 35 years old now. For more than half of my 35 years, I have lived in a special place where all kids come before going to the orphanage. It was in the Pskov region. I came to the shelter when I was four years old, because my dad had been killed in a gang war and my mom began to drink to drown her grief. My brothers and I were starving badly. I would go around to the neighbors and ask for food for myself and my little brother. In the end, we ate leftover porridge, which was used as a basis for brew. We had stomach aches, but at least we were fed. When people from the guardianship office came, they warned my mother that we would be taken away if she continued to drink, but she did nothing about it. In the end, we were taken away. My older brothers and sister could not take us in—they had moved away by that time. Unfortunately, we—three kids (Vladimir—six years old, me—four years old and Alexei—two years old) were sent to different orphanages. I have been able to meet with one of my brothers (Vladimir), but with the youngest there is no connection—I know that he was adopted by a family from America. And, of course, I really hope that someday we will meet and find each other.

When I was seven years old, I started living in an orphanage. There I realized that living in an orphanage meant survival at any cost: fighting, stealing, hatred for everyone around me, and so on. Already in the third grade, I knew what a broken nose and bloody hands were. I had to fight for even a piece of bread, because not everyone had enough of it. Now it seems unbelievable to me, but it is a fact of my life. It was also very difficult for the teachers and all kinds of educators because of the number of aggressive children. They came to work with fear because every day something happened. I am very grateful to my teacher Lyudmila, who instilled in me a love of reading books: she read a lot of classics to us and encouraged us with chocolate for those who read more literature than others. I also really loved doing sports! So, when the guys who talked about God came to us and tried to show us what love is, they found an approach to my heart through soccer! We played, socialized, talked a lot, and in the end, when I grew up and left the orphanage, I continued to communicate with these guys. Quite soon, I realized that I was a sinner in need of Christ. I repented my sins and received Christ as my Lord and my Savior. 

My life would never be the way it is now if it weren’t for God: since then, I have made friends, become part of a church family, know my calling in orphan ministry, moved to a big city and married a wonderful girl, become a daddy for two little princesses, and now we are expecting our third daughter. I serve in the church in the social missionary department, where the team consists of orphanage graduates with whom we visit orphanages in St. Petersburg. I am also a member of the Teen Committee of Evangelical Christians-Baptists in the St. Petersburg and Leningrad regions, where my wife and I are developing a ministry for unbelieving youth. I am truly grateful to God for all this, and I want to inspire the children in orphanages by my example, to give them hope for the future and to share the love that God fills them with. I know by personal example how important it is that someone comes to the orphanages and befriends, serves, and loves the children there—it is really like a light in the darkness for many children.