Vladimir Yakovlev (above) is a 14- year-old boy who has spent most of his childhood in a Russian orphanage. Vladimir came to the orphanage at the age of six, when his mother, an alcoholic, became unable to care for him. He has never known his father, and with no family or support system, Vladimir is fearful of what life outside the orphanage will be like for him.

Fifteen-year-old Zhenya Tolstuhina (pictured above), came to live in the orphanage when she was only eleven years old. The daughter of alcoholic parents, Zhenya also came to the orphanage because her parents were unable to care.

Vladimir and Zhenya's stories are similar to those of more than 700,000 children currently living in Russian orphanages. Yet they are the lucky few. With more than 1.2 million children currently living on the streets in Russia, Vladimir and Zhenya have found a home in the orphanage and have found faith in Christ through weekly Bible studies and discipleship with the Orphan Outreach Evangelistic Minstry Team.

Please pray for both Vladimir and Zhenya. Vladimir wants to attend the University and become a cook, but as an orphan in Russia he is fearful about his future. Please pray that the Lord will guide all Vladimir's decisions and provide a bright future for him and other children living in orphanages throughout Russia.

Zhenya's greatest prayer is to finish school with good grades and enter the University. Please pray that the Lord will provide for all Zhenya's needs. Zhenya has also had problems with her knees. She had surgery on one knee and must now have surgery on the other knee. Please pray for complete healing for Zhenya.

As you pray for Zhenya and Vladimir, please also pray for the millions of orphans throughout Russia. For those children living on the streets, pray that they may find shelter, warmth and food. For the children living in orphanages, pray that they may come to know Christ and be provided hope for a brighter future. Also pray that these children will come to be part of loving, nurturing families.

Of all the orphans in Russia, less than 8,000 of these children are adopted by Russians each year due to the social stigma that adoption carries in Russia.

An orphan's average life expectancy is less than 30 years. Many of the children begin smoking at the age of 12 or 13, and the orphanages lack the funds to buy the most basic needs such as medical supplies, adequate food, nutritional supplements and winter clothing. Medical and dental care for orphans is almost non-existent.