8/4/2009 9:47:00 AM 'God's work' offers hope to poverty-stricken Russians
COURTESY PHOTOThis boy received a pair of boots through the “Warm Boots for Russia” initiative, which was coordinated by the Rev. Terry Timm and his wife, Ruth, when they were missionaries in Russia. Timm now serves as pastor at Zion Lutheran Church in Leigh.
Did you know?
The Orphan Grain Train supports 54 orphanages in Russia
For more on the Grain Train's work in Russia, go to http://www.ogt.org/index.php/internationalefforts/europe_full/russia/
Editor's note: Since its inception in 1992, the Orphan Grain Train has shipped more than 63 million pounds of goods around the world and has expanded to include 19 divisions situated around the country. This week, the Daily News is looking at some of the people behind the Norfolk-based organization and some of their special projects.
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The photos are much too graphic to publish in a newspaper.
"Be careful . . . they are hard to look at," wrote Nikolay Devyatkin in the e-mail that accompanied the photos.
"But that is life," he added.
Devyatkin was right. The photos show bodies covered with large red and black blotches where charred skin has been removed. Their heads are swollen and disfigured. Oxygen tubes run into their mouths.
The bodies belong to Djasur Khamdamov and Oskar Kartunen - young burn victims. Djasur suffered burns over 98 percent of his body in a gas explosion. Sixty percent of Oskar's body was burned when a heater in his home malfunctioned and started on fire. He was just a year old at the time.
In spite of the severity of their wounds, both children survived, perhaps because they were treated at a burn unit in St. Petersburg, Russia, that was lucky enough to have a "dermatome" -\!q a tool that Devyatkin calls a "precious" skin grafting instrument.
Without the help of the Orphan Grain Train - and, specifically the Rev. John Reehl and his wife, June - the hospitals wouldn't have their dermatomes . . . prisoners wouldn't have their medicines, orphans wouldn't have their clothing and none would have much hope.
The Reehls, who are from Grand Island, don't really want a story written about them. They don't want to take credit for what they call "God's work." But a little background will make it easier to understand the reasons why they've made Russian orphanages, clinics and prisons their special mission.
Reehl - who is also a lieutenant colonel in the Army National Guard - retired from full-time ministry about 10 years ago. He and his wife traveled to St. Petersburg, Russia, on a mission trip, visited a prison housing 1,300 women and were appalled when they learned that the prison doctor did not have a single aspirin tablet and had only one pair of rubber gloves that she washed so that they could be used over and over again.
"The blood testing machine was broken, the autoclave was broken . . . the dental chair was broken. They couldn't fix teeth . .. they just had to pull them," Reehl said.
The poverty can be blamed on the fall of communism and the rise of capitalism in Russia in the early 1990s.
"There is a huge gap between rich and poor in the society with unbelievable level of corruption and greed," Devyatkin said.
After witnessing the situation there and in some of the clinics, the Reehls arranged for shipments of medical supplies to be sent through Lutheran Hour Ministries and the Orphan Grain Train.
But their mission didn't end there.
For several years after retiring from ministry in the United States, the Reehls lived and worked in Kaiserlauten, Germany, which is home to an American military base. From there, they made regular trips into Russia, which helped them enlarge the reach of their ministry to include 54 orphanages, five prisons and three hospitals, two of which specialize in treating young burn victims. Another of the hospitals has a ward for indigent elderly.
Devyatkin served as an interpreter during one of the couple's visits and has been involved in the mission work ever since.
Now, he and his two assistants help carry out the Reehls and the Orphan Grain Train's work, by serving around 3,000 orphans and 100 elderly people.
Among those orphans is Melnichny Rouchei who was found abandoned in a garbage dump. Another one is Oleg Ulin, who, Devyatkin says, has chronic heart problems and needs an operation.
"He is from one of our most distant orphanages - over 200 miles of very dented roads," she added.
The chance of either of these boys being adopted is slim, Reehl said. In fact, just a small percentage of infants will find permanent homes. The rest will grow to adulthood in the orphanages, where life can be harsh, despite the efforts of caring workers and dedicated volunteers.
"The government has told the orphanages they will pay salaries and buy basic food and that's it. It's up to employees to do the rest - buy clothing, toys and supplies," Reehl said.
So the Reehls - with the help of a couple of their children - recruit sponsors to donate $280 a month to furnish the orphanages with basic medical and hygiene supplies. Medicines and pharmaceutical are purchased in Russia because they are less expensive, which means the donated money goes a lot further.
An initiative called "Warm Boots for Russia," provides winter boots for children. The Rev. Terry Timm and his wife, Ruth, started that particular program. For just $15, supporters can buy a child a pair of boots - and a Bible. The Timms previously served overseas with the Grain Train.
The Orphan Grain Train continues to ship clothing, shoes, blankets, medical equipment - and hope.
"A doctor running a small hospital received two semi loads of equipment and put a hospital back in order. In the highlands, people teaching with chalk boards had erasers. We brought them erasers . . . and they cried," Reehl said.
The programs are working.
Djasur Khamdamov, the young burn victim, has returned home to a "normal life." Although 3-year-old Oskar Kartunen remains in the hospital, he is expected to recover.
Many of the orphans who receive aid provided by the Orphan Grain Train are thriving.
And prisoners are coming to Christ.
"One day . . . a former prisoner came to me who was from the TB and HIV section. She was just released from prison. Smiling with a toothless smile, she asked me to pass a small toy she had made for John (Reehl). She was grateful for his visits and said that now she does not feel loneliness, and the Bible gave her a foundation to stand on and to keep living," Devyatkin said.
But neither the Reehls nor Devyatkin want any credit for their service.
"I don't play golf . . . I don't fish. This is a source of joy and an opportunity to serve in a meaningful way," Reehl said.
Devyatkin took it one step further.
"Life is short and what is left after us is either the good or bad deeds we do," she said.
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Tomorrow: Read about a Wisconsin couple who spent 10 years nursing and sharing God's word with the people in Krygyzstan, and a North Dakota couple who helped build a school and clinic in Africa.
Reader Comments
Posted: Thursday, August 06, 2009
Article comment by:
danielle headlee
tHERE IS WAY TO MANY KIDS THAT NEED TO BE ADOPTED IN RUSSIA. AND THERE IS ALOT OF PEOPLE IN THE U.S. THAT WOULD LOVE TO ADOPT BUT CAN NOT AFFORD TO ADOPT FROM RUSSIA. IF THEY WOULD MAKE IT MORE AFFORDABLE AND EASIER TO DO MORE KIDS WOULD GET ADOPTED.
