Fireworks and A New Friend

One of the things we do every 4th of July is go out on our friend's boat to watch fireworks on the Brazos River.

We anchor with another friend's boat and let the kids swim and eat homemade ice cream while we wait for the show to begin.

One of the highlights of this year was a conversation I was blessed to have with a friend's new wife.  I  met her once before and knew she was from Russia, but I had no idea how incredible of a life story she had.

Tatiana spent her entire childhood in a Russian orphanage.  She was released as a young teenager and enrolled in school in Russia but was expected to take care of herself.   One summer she volunteered at a Russian camp for orphans and that was where her life changed forever.

The facility where the Russian government was holding its camp was also being used by a group of Christian missionaries who were hosting a sports camp for Russian children.  Tatiana's orphans wandered over to the sports camp and when she went to retrieve them she noticed that the workers were all smiling and possessed a joy about them that she had not seen before.

She told me she could just tell that there was something different about them because of how much they smiled and how they treated each other.  One of those missionaries told Tatiana about Jesus then got her involved in a local church. Their obedience to the call of Christ changed the course of her life forever. She was later connected with Baylor University, came to the states to study accounting, and met my friend through a mutual acquaintance.

Tatiana's life was forever changed because of the willingness of a handful of Christians to live out the great commission in Russia.  I was blessed to get to visit with her while we waited for the fireworks to begin and now I can't help but wonder if that meeting was ordained by God as He prepares my heart to work with older orphans later this summer.