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Abandoned in St. Petersburg, Russia within a month of his birth Alex Krutov has no known biological relatives or witnesses to his birth. He is a true orphan. Without any adult to care for him he was committed to the Russian orphanage system. As a bright, pleasing boy he was adopted at the age of ten. Security in his new home, however, soon turned into a nightmare of beatings and abuse. Running away from parents who wished him dead Alex became one of St. Petersburg's street children until the courts allowed him back in the orphanage. At age 15 when Alex was befriended and mentored by one of the early Navigator CoMission team members, he became a committed Jesus follower. Upon graduation from his orphanage in 1995, he began to serve American visitors as a streetwise guide to tourist attractions, as an interpreter, and as a gofer assisting mission teams and visitors in negotiating the inexplicable intricacies of the Russian way of doing things. Sue Gregg says, "Alex provided indispensable service in facilitating my work in St. Petersburg. I extended an invitation for him to train as a personal chef. Hopefully he could then gain employment serving Western business people in St. Petersburg, one small step towards his dream of finding ways to alleviate the suffering of Russian orphans." "Alex accepted my invitation in 1997. We often wrestled with the pain and perceptions characteristic of children growing up without close bonds to parents. It was evident that God was at work in bringing healing to Alex's heart, maturation to his character, and integrity to his motives." During his six months internship Alex prepared over 156 recipes, many of them multiple times, and served 37 guest meals to 277 people. Baked Parmesan Chicken became one of his gourmet specialties. His favorite Russian dish, Vinegret (Russian Beet Salad) reflects a flair for the colorful and dramatic. Alex reflects, "In Russia we have a saying, 'If a mother is willing to give birth to a child, then God must have a reason for that child's life.' God doesn't waste any suffering. When I became a Christian, God became my Father. I still didn't know the reason for my life until I realized that God could use my life story to bring life and hope to other orphans in Russia." In 1998 Alex began to work on his own with orphans. Not long after his vision was encouraged by Melinda Cathey who partnered with Alex and to establish "The Harbor," a ministry to graduate orphans in St. Petersburg. Beginning in the summer of 2001 Alex began speaking to groups throughout the USA sharing his story and the "The Harbor" vision. On August 14, 2005 Alex was graduated magna cum laude in business administration from Franklin University in Columbus, Ohio. During the summers he returns to St Petersburg to work with "The Harbor" and visiting mission teams. READ
THE COMPLETE VERSION OF ALEX'S LIFE STORY 506k (PDF Requires Adobe Acrobat)
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About
Alex Krutov
