...And I Thought My Pain Was the Greatest ...

Ruta from Agenskalns Church in Riga agreed to be the house mother at the Babies' Shelter in Rauna for one month. She came to replace the previous house parent Irena. Her FEAR was great when she was on her way there. But it turned out not to be that terrible. The girls received her well, and in a short while a good contact was established. Ruta said in the beginning that she was Ruta and not Irena with whom the girls were used to live.

"I am happy for the possibility to be here in Rauna together with these girls. Until now, I thought that my pain was the greatest of all (Ruta suffered a tragic loss of her son), but here I see even greater ..." she says. Before coming, she decided not to let anybody into her heart. Yet here, after having heard the destinies of the young women living here, she changed her mind.

Here follow a few sentences what she heard:

"When I was little, I enjoyed very much creeping down the balcony together with my mom and running through the forest to the grandmother's house. I didn't understand then that it was only because dad was drunk again and beat mom."

"I was raped when I was in grade 5. I didn't tell mom since her new husband was all she cared for."

"When I learned that I was pregnant, I was scared to death."

"I had no place to go. The mother scolded me, and the stepfather turned me out of the house."

"The father of my child said that it was myself who wanted a child from him and asked not to drag him in."

"I turned indifferent... Took up drinking, smoking, swallowing drugs and doing all the bad things."

"I don't want to be like my mom who has scattered her children here and there. I want to love my children and raise them myself."

Now Ruta will have a special place in her heart for these girls. She has heard their destiny and to the best of her ability she tries to give them what they need.

"I tell the girls that they should think every while how important, valuable and lovable their children are," says Ruta. "I think the girls need me. I won't be able to leave them. I will come to visit."

Describing the Rauna Baby Shelter, Ruta said: "This is a real paradise for single mothers to be. Here they get everything they need."

WE THANK OUR SPONSORS THAT THE YOUNG WOMEN CAN FEEL LIKE IN PARADISE HERE.