LOVE 4 THE CHILDREN

The next school year began at schools in our country. And also the next season of our ministry to orphans. The first meeting with the children from Rudensk was filled with the most vivid and positive emotions. It was felt that the children really missed us and were very happy about the arrival of our team. Each of them wanted to share there impressions of trips to Italy or local summer camps, about meetings with relatives, about new friends, or simply to say that they had moved to the next grade of the school! And we were happy seeing the children’s smiles and the fact that, despite the summer break, the children came at full strength to our meeting and even brought new children with them!
Throughout the month, we introduced both older and younger children with the foundations of the Christian faith. Despite the fact that the younger children gathered separately from the elders, they had the same theme of biblical lessons. The theme of the first meeting is “God is here, God exists.” At this meeting we tried to show the children that God is alive today, that He is unique and has a great power, capable of changing the lives of people who let Him into their hearts. At subsequent meetings we talked about prayer and its power, and also about the Bible through which God Himself speaks to people and influences their lives. And at the very last meeting of this month we talked about “faith.” To the older children, Dima spoke about how important is human faith for God and how many miracles He can do in the hearts and lives of believing people. He also talked about how faith is born.
I was engaged this month with younger children. I want to say that each meeting with them was special. In the younger group there is a boy called Lesha. Usually he was not the most active child and sometimes very distracted during our meetings. But I was once again convinced that God is great! Today Lesha is one of the most active child. He remembers very well the Bible lessons and actively answeres the questions. Thank God! At one of the meetings, the teacher told me a story about how the children found a tattered Bible on the street, were very upset that someone tried to spoil the “God’s book” and brought it to their classroom. I was pleased that the teacher fully approved the children’s act and supported them in this! Now the Bible is kept in their group. But it’s amazing that this story coincided with my biblical lesson “About the book that changes lives.” I was just introducing the children to the Bible, telling them that this book can become the most important landmark in the lives of people who constantly read it. It is through the Bible that God communicates with people! Now I wholeheartedly hope that the children will not just protect the Bible they found on the street, but they will read it, getting acquainted with the Great Creator!