[votemom]

lovestruck - the trip you will soon (Lord willing) take, will indeed alter your life forever.

but in a good way. it's reality. and it changes your worldview.

that is why i think it's so great when older kids can go along on these trips. my kids were FOREVER changed by their experiences there.

my daughter worked building playgrounds at three orphanages for three weeks. the children were at her side, in front of her, behind her. everywhere she looked, she saw them. she helped braid their hair and polish their nails. that experience will never leave her. she came back DIFFERENT. not just less self-involved, but with a new perspective on people and families and hardship and suffering.

my son held two young orphan boys in his arms. he tickled them and chased them and shared his food with them. i cannot even put into words how he was changed. he is a 6 foot 15 yr old teenage boy who will, at the mention of their names, get a look in his eye that is beautiful and haunting.

they ARE and WILL CONTINUE TO BE better human beings because of their trips ro Russia. tears run down my cheeks as i type this.

if sasha never comes home to live in our family, he will forever be in our family. and i would NEVER trade our experiences or this journey for anything.

yes, this article is awful and makes our hearts feel heavy and are stomachs feel ill. but, it's just one terrible reality out of millions on our planet.

a few years ago i would have read this article and felt sad for a few minutes. then, i would have gone on with my life and it would have been forgotten.

i'm so glad i'm not that person anymore. i am different. i've been impacted and changed. it's personal now. and experiencing what i did in russia now has grown in me new empathies and compassions for other "stories" out there that before would have just made me momentarily sad or disgusted.

Thank you God (Slava Bogu!) for sending our family on this detour to russia!!!