Imagine celebrating Christmas in America and being part of a family - what a sweet reward for winning an art contest!

Each year, over 50,000 children, living in orphanages spanning all eleven time zones in Russia, participate in TEAR's Christmas Art contest.

To participate in the art contest, the orphans must study the true meaning of Christmas by reading the bible. Then, in addition to painting their picture, the orphans must also complete a questionnaire that further reinforces the message of Christ's birth.

The top 1,000 paintings are sent, along with the completed questionnaires, to Moscow for final judging. A panel of judges selects the best ten paintings from this group of 1,000 and TEAR brings the ten winning orphans to America to spend about two weeks celebrating Christmas with an American family.

The artwork is simply amazing. In fact, the top 150 submissions have been displayed in the Moscow Art Museum for the past two years.

Orphanage directors everywhere have sung the praises of the results they see when orphans under their care participate in this contest. Grades improve. Attitudes improve. In fact, because of the demonstrated results, even the Russia Ministry of Education and members of the Russian Congress have heartily endorsed the annual art contest!