It all began in 2004, when Vova and Valya Vedernikov were newly-married and struggling to have children. Valya was a caregiver at an orphanage and one night, she had an epiphany. She realized that “even a children's home with the most wonderful caregivers could not replace a child's family.” Nine years later, they now have thirteen children! They’ve adopted a sibling set of three girls whose mom died tragically in the hospital after being beaten by their stepfather.
In addition to taking in several children of their own, Vova and Valya have personally connected several babies with loving families. One time, they struggled to find a family for an infant who had been diagnosed with cerebral palsy, hepatitis C, intracranial pressure, and other disorders. As Valya explains it, “We developed a desire to go and just look at the baby... From the first second we just fell in love with him, the perfect peace on his face, while around him all of the other babies were crying in a chorus. That is how the youngest, David, came to our family at 2 months old. A little later we went through the next checkup with David, and not one of the diagnoses was confirmed, PRAISE GOD!!!”
This remarkable family recently moved to a larger home in order to adopt three additional children, but the home was in dire need of repair. Pray that God would provide what the Vedernikov's need to repair their home.
