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All Alone: The Plight of the Orphan

Reel Reminders

I sat in stunned silence while the credits of the film rolled by. Even though I had started watching the DVD knowing that it was a documentary, I still couldn't believe that the story it told was actually true. Filmed by award-winning Polish cinematographer Hanna Polak, The Children of Leningradsky is about orphaned kids who take up residence in Leningradsky, an underground train station in Moscow.

I learned from the film that there are around 1,000 children who live in the train stations, tunnels and streets in and around Leningradsky, and that there are hundreds of thousands of orphaned Russian children who are looking for homes. These are kids who have been abandoned by parents, beaten by parents, abused by parents — and overlooked by everyone else. They sleep in the halls, as people walk by on their way to work; they try to leave their palms open so that they can hold coins that some good soul might drop in. Their faces are dirty and life on the streets is dangerous.

The Reality

Someone would have to have a stone for a heart not to be moved by this film. If the movie makers had been overtly trying to play on my emotions (and we all know when we run across the late night infomercials that do this), I would have dismissed this story. But these kids tell their own stories. It is their reality. And although they live half way around the world, it's my reality, too.

Orphans are a growing part of the world's population, but they have no voice in our culture. Most estimates put the number of orphans worldwide at close to 143 million.¹ You read that right: million. If you're like me, you see a number like that and immediately think, I can't do anything about 143 million. You're right — you probably can't. But you can do something about one. In fact, that is what Scripture calls us to do.

The Word on the Street

It is mentioned in the Law. Exodus says, "Do not take advantage of a widow or an orphan" (22:22, NIV). If that weren't enough, God is pretty clear that He takes this very seriously: "If you do and they cry out to me, I will certainly hear their cry. My anger will be aroused, and I will kill you with the sword; your wives will become widows and your children fatherless" (vv. 23-24). Ouch. I think He means it.

It is mentioned in the prophets. Isaiah writes, "Stop doing wrong, learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow" (1:16b-17). Ezekiel shouts Jerusalem's sins out for all to hear: "In you they have treated father and mother with contempt; in you they have oppressed the alien and mistreated the fatherless and the widow" (22:7).

It is mentioned in the teachings of Jesus. He assures us in John 14:18 that He "will not leave [us] as orphans." And He follows that idea by saying something fairly simple, yet profound: "… I will come to you." Jesus cared for the widow and the orphan and taught us all about being like Him. I wonder if, when He left, He wanted us to play a similar role in the culture. What if we were to be the ones who came to the orphan? What if we were much more active in sharing with others the comfort and belongingness of our relationship with Him. What if we did that for orphans?

It is mentioned in the letters to the early Church. In a very forthright statement (from a book that is pretty much "in your face"), James writes, "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world" (1:27).

After having watched The Children of Leningradsky, I have come to the conclusion that we really don't get what it means to take care of orphans. I think we have been polluted by the world; we have calloused hearts and our minds are bent on ourselves. We might shed a tear for the orphan, but we forget about her as we head to Starbucks for a latte. I'm angry at myself for being one of those people. I'm disappointed with the Church for letting us get away with being "those people."

An Amazing Alliance

If there is one issue that should bring Christ followers together, it is the plight of the orphan. Though there are many like-minded ministries that are dedicated to that cause, these groups have never worked together on a large-scale initiative.

Until now.

Steven Curtis Chapman's Shaohannah's Hope, Family Life Ministries, and Focus on the Family, along with more than 35 other ministries, have dedicated the month of November to what we're calling "Orphan Care." This is not just about awareness. It is about the Church in the world (and especially here in America) stepping up to do what we've been commanded to do. If you want more information on this effort, check out voiceoftheorphan.org.

It Is a Challenge …

There are so many great agencies that are doing incredible work, but I really believe it is up to us to do something. "OK," you say, "I'm in college and I really can't do anything." Bunk! You are probably in a church, and this is the church's role to play. Stand up and remind them of that. Lovingly and gently bring this issue up again and again and again.

Do some simple math with me. We've established that there are roughly 143 million orphans in the world. According to world religion research there are an estimated two billion Christians in the world.² Let's say their numbers aren't even correct; perhaps there are only one billion Christians in the world. Let's see … 143 million into one billion. Guess what? If only 1 in 6 Christians responded to this call, we'd eradicate the orphan problem altogether.

On a more local scale … I am writing today from the lovely foothills of Colorado. There are, at present, roughly 700 children awaiting adoption in this state.³ And there are somewhere around 3,300 churches in the state of Colorado.⁴ Again, do the math. See how this might work?

And here's a story that should inspire you and help you realize that we can make an impact: A Texas church of less than 200 people took this issue seriously. Their pastor challenged them to do something about the orphans in their area. As a result, the members of the church adopted more than 70 kids in a relatively short period of time. It freaked out the Texas authorities, to the point that they sent a caseworker to be assigned just to that church.⁵

A Peek at History

This is not a new problem — it's been around since the time of Christ and before. In Roman culture the practice of either abandoning babies or killing them (usually by throwing them off a bridge into a river) was common. This was one of the many atrocities Christians found when they came to Rome. The tide of infanticide was stemmed by the Christian community, who would literally wait along the bank of the river to snatch these drowning children out of the water and care for them.⁶ It took a long time, but the practices of killing and abandoning babies was eventually outlawed.⁷

Somewhere in the development of the church, caring for orphans became such a priority that churches began to establish orphanages.⁸ And though those were of great assistance to the cause, their creation was the beginning of the Church's "forgetfulness" of orphans. Soon, the state took over control of the orphanages, and the Church let it happen. But now the state can't keep up, and we sit on the sidelines and sadly shake our heads.

Time to Stop

The plight of orphans is squarely in our laps. I really don't know what this issue looks like for you, but you must face it. It might look like pushing yourself beyond your comfort zone and doing a mission trip simply to hold babies in an orphanage somewhere on the other side of the world. It might mean helping care for orphans in your own neighborhood or city. And maybe you have a seed planted deep within you that will one day grow into a full-fledged adoption of an orphan.

C O F F E E  S H O P

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What are some ways that TrueU could be involved in caring for orphans?

Join the discussion!

Talk to God about this one. No, you can't solve the problem of 143 million, but you can make an impact in the life of one.

Scripture speaks to us. They are calling to us. What are we waiting for?