Buckner Orphan Care Celebrates 10th Anniversary of Russian Ministry
One of the nation’s oldest faith-based organization celebrated the 10th anniversary of its Russian ministry last week.
One of the nation’s oldest faith-based organizations celebrated the 10th anniversary of its Russian ministry last week.
Buckner Orphan Care International, a ministry of the Dallas-based Buckner Baptist Benevolences, traveled to St. Petersburg with a team of more than 50 people on Nov. 10-20. St. Petersburg is significant to the organization because it is the location of the first Buckner international mission trip.
"It's appropriate to be here in St. Petersburg because that's the place where everything started for Buckner,” said Buckner’s Tiffany Taylor to Mission Network News (MNN). “It's just so exciting to see the changes we've made in the orphanages over the last ten years when we first started working in these orphanages. There [were] literally orphanages that couldn't feed their children."
Get Our Latest News for FREE
Included among the short-term mission team members to Russia were Moody Broadcasting Network listeners, members of Buckners partner churches, and volunteers across the nation who heard about the opportunity. The volunteers all raised their own support for the trip and helped distribute shoes to the orphans among other activities while in Russia.
Moreover, Buckner formed good relations with about a one-third of the approximately 67 orphanages in St. Petersburg, opening an opportunity for the ministry to share the Gospel with the children.
"We have a very developed ministry program to where the children when we come in they're just wanting to know so much more about the Bible. They've heard about Bibles and (some) have accepted Jesus in their hearts and they want to learn more.
“Isn't that exciting to see just (what) 10 years can make?" Taylor asked.
Buckner Orphan Care International ministers to orphan children throughout the world through offering the children shoes, coats and other needed supplies. The orphan care group also assists in adoptions, foster care and humanitarian assistance. The umbrella-organization, Buckner Baptist Benevolences, is one of the largest social services ministries of its kind in the nation and provides children and family services as well as retirement services in addition to its orphan care.
Taylor concluded that the Buckner ministry offers something important to the orphans worldwide.
"The thing they have in their eyes now is hope,” she said, “hope that someone loves them and someone cares about them."
