I immediately called Buckner, put my name down and sent my deposit.” That was 1999. Bev returned from her mission trip to St. Petersburg a changed woman and couldn’t keep what she saw to herself. She became an evangelist for Russia, Buckner and Shoes for Orphan Souls. The first Sunday after coming home to Cumberland she recounted the trip at Grace Memorial. Later that afternoon fellow church members Ray and Martha Delawder called to ask if they could come over to Bev and Clint’s house to hear more. They hardly knew each other, but all four felt a quick bond. After hearing Bev’s testimony from the trip, Ray and Martha knew they had to adopt a child from Russia. They called Buckner and started the process.
•••
Bev’s excitement for Shoes for Orphan Souls was infectious, and the missions committee at Grace Memorial began planning a shoe drive for the following August. But Bev didn’t stop there. She says she spent every Sunday speaking to a different congregation throughout the region about what she saw in the orphanages and how they could help. Don Diehl, a member of Grace Memorial, remembers planning for
West Virginia heard about the annual project and contributed to the effort. Overall, 27 other congregations have joined the cause. Support from the local community and the dedication of Grace Memorial has been huge, and over the past 15 years, the church has collected more than 45,000 pairs of shoes. By Don’s accounting, 45,535 lives have been touched by the faithfulness of his small church. “It’s just an exciting thing we like to do,” Don says. “It’s been a really exciting thing in the community. We’ve had lots of churches involved, schools, our hospital and other local businesses.” 2014 was Don’s last year to chair the drive. Next year, the Delawders will take up the chairmanship. They are eager to continue championing the cause and have plans for new ways to energize the community to participate in the shoe drive. Their biggest motivation, however, lies in the faces of their adopted daughters.
••• After hearing Bev’s story and starting the process to adopt through
Buckner, Ray and Martha brought home Elena – the little girl in the puffy, purple coat – from Orphanage #40 in early 2001. She was 5 years old and had been placed at the orphanage at just 3 days old. Three years later they added to their family through intercountry adoption again when they brought Katya home from Orphanage #2 in St. Petersburg. Katya lived in the orphanage for only nine months, but both girls’ bodies bore the effects of institutional care. Elena had surgery on her Achilles tendon and her foot to straighten
it out and help improve her control over her leg. Katya has always had trouble with the skin on her feet cracking open and becoming infected; doctors guess she may have suffered frostbite from inadequate shoes. “I’ll never forget the conditions we saw when we went to pick up
Grace Memorial Community Church has collected more than 45,000 pairs of shoes in the 15 years they have conducted shoe drives.
the church’s first shoe drive in 2000 with the church’s mission committee. “I said to the group, ‘If we get 300 or 400 pairs, I’ll be tickled
to death.’ That year we collected 3,003 pairs of shoes,” Don says. “Everyone was just shocked.” After that first year, the church was sold on the project, and their enthusiasm spread over a tri-state area. Churches in Pennsylvania and
Elena,” says Ray. “We saw the conditions of the kids and their feet and how they had to share everything. The shoes and coats were in a big pile in the middle of the orphanage floor.” Martha says the girls still remember how they felt on new shoe distribution days.
“They were always excited about getting anything new. They knew it was something special.” Today at 19 and 15, Elena and Katya can be territorial with their possessions due to not having anything to call their own in the orphan- ages. But after more than a decade living in their forever family, the girls are thriving. Martha says Elena’s name means ‘light’ and she lives up to it by light- ing up any room she walks into. She’s always been affectionate, loves
30 Buckner Today • WINTER 2015 ISSUE
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