Lullaby of Hope
Translation from Russian press article
by
Lyudmila Nikolenko
PSKOV
That's what the compact disk, recorded in the United States by the composer and musician, Richard Matthew Silanskas, is called. An astonishing story, by which the residents of the town of Lady Lake in Florida haven't ceased to be astonished, prededed in creation. It began on December 23, 2002.
That night Richard had a dream. He was standing at the top of a staircase which led to a basement. All around him were people. Below, out of the shadows appeared a tiny girl, who sadly looked at Richard and then slipped into the shadows. He was certain that the child was in danger. But the people around him were saying that he will not be able to do anything about it. And then, Richard walked down the stairs. The little girl came out to him, and a pain filled Richard's heart. He took the child in his arms, she put her arms around his neck and together they went up the stairs.
Richard awoke in tears. He went into the kitchen and drank a glass of water. Toward morning he fell asleep once again. It was strange, but the dream continued. In it, it was morning, the unexplained feeling of alarm was replaced by increadible joy. And, in a bedroom in his home he saw the child he held in the basement earlier, now sleeping in peace and safe.
When he awoke, it was around 8:00 AM. Richard had a personal certainty that everything seen was real and the little girl from the dream undoubtedly lived somewhere and was going through something awful. This affected him greatly. He had to find her. Richard talked about his alarm with his wife Stephanie. Three days later, a Christian counselor explained what had happened. It was without a doubt a sign from God. The counselor advised Richard to start searching for the little girl beginning with an adoption agency. So, the Silanskas family started the search. A specialist helped Richard compile a protrait of the little girl in accordance with his description. Then trips on the Internet began and searches at the adoption agency for the specific little girl. Many were at a loss; what kind of fantasy is it to look for a child from a dream. But, Richard did not abandon Hope. He somehow was sure the little girl was Russian. And he even started to arrange documents for a trip to Russia. One day his wife Stephanie called him at work. That morning a photo appeared on a site of a child. "It's HER!"
The little girl, exactly like the girl from Richard's dream as two peas in a pod turned out to be a ward of the Pechory Children's Home. Later, in Pskov, it became clear that the day and the very hour when the little girl's mommy was drawing up the documents for relinquishing her parental rights coincided with the time of Richard's prophetic dream.
For Richard and Stephanie there were no doubts. They will replace the parents of little Nadezhda (so the little girl is named). The Silanskas family waited three more months, while in accordance with Russian law they searched for adoptive parents in Russia for Nadia. But as often happens, a Russian mommy and daddy were not to be found for her.
Now a little about Richard and Stephanie. They are parents of their own four children. Richard is not only a talented musician, he is also the president of the "DreamVision Studios Inc" and a successful businessman. He has recorded several of his own discs and is the author of music for motion pictures. His latest work is, "Lullaby for Hope", which was born in anticipation of meeting with the lttle girl from his dream. Everything that happened with him on December 23, 2002, he feels is a true miracle, which inspired him to look for Nadezhda, and to bring some help in a lot of Russian orphanages. Richard Silanskas has crossed the ocean twice in order to meet with the little girl of his nightime vision, and to provide many provisions for the orphanages in Pskov and Pechory to help make the lives of the children comfortable and happy. Finally, Nadia flew home to Florida with her parents Richard and Stephanie.