Trips to the Belynichy orphanage began a little earlier than usual this academic year. We really wanted to 
have time to say goodbye to the graduates, so at the end of August we organized a meeting for them. There we tried to pay as much attention as possible to personal communication with
the kids. Each of them experiences serious fear of something new, like adult and independent future! Our main task was to tell the graduates once again about God’s love for each of them, as well as to pray for them and simply support them in such an exciting period of their lives. The graduates left school. At the moment, we continue our weekly trips to children who are still studying at the orphanage. We divide the children into two groups. Throughout September in the group of older 
children we talked about fears, talked about deception and its consequences and talked about laziness. By the reaction of children to a particular topic of conversation, you can quickly notice what each of them is struggling with! We are glad that 
the guys learn to share their problems and experiences and we try to give them practical keys to solving certain problems. After all, God, in His word, offers freedom, healing, forgiveness and salvation to everyone who opens their heart to Him. This year there were a lot of new children in the group of younger kids whom we are still getting to know. 
That is why we decided to move with the younger children through biblical stories, starting with the creation of the world. It’s interesting that those guys who tried to disrupt classes during the summer camp, today have become our active helpers. Many children are unable to talk or express their emotions due to mental and physical health problems. That’s why we
came up with Bible lessons that we also accompany with gestures. For example, children are happy to show how God created light, so they open their tightly closed eyes or they blow, creating the effect of air that drives clouds in the sky created by God During this month children learned how God created our world, they met the very first people and learned how sin entered the world. Some have already heard these stories and for others it was something completely new and still completely incomprehensible, but that’s why we come to the guys to talk about God, about the truth of what the Bible says, and also just to love them and to be big brothers and sisters for them.
Archive for September, 2023
Greetings, brothers and sisters. We thank God for the opportunity to serve children from the orphanage 
in Smilovichi in September. After the summer break we were very happy to meet the children again, as were they. There we met a new boy, Arseniy, who had previously been in a juvenile refarmatory for a while. Also, unfortunately, the little boy Valentin was in the hospital at that time, but a few weeks later he returned to the shelter and we were all glad to be together again. During our first meeting, the children told us how they spent the summer, if 
they went to any camps and what they did there. We also played and talked a lot, we asked each other interesting questions, depending on what color candy you pulled out. We told each other about our fears, for example, little 
Yaroslav said that he was afraid of spiders and snakes, many children said the same thing, and Arseniy said that he is not afraid of anything. To the question: A place which you would like to visit, the children answered that they would like to return home to their mom. Thank God, a couple of days after our first meeting, the three youngest were able to return home. For the second time Dima prepared a lesson on the topic of our fears. He told the children that if we are afraid of something, we must turn to God and ask Him for help and that He will definitely hear us and help. The children listened very carefully and were involved in the conversation. On our next visit, we talked about the topic of deception, but before we 
started, we asked the children a question about the topic of the last lesson and we were glad that they remembered very well what we talked about and 
they told us how to deal with our fears – trust everything to God and pray. The topic of deception is very relevant, children shared their examples and discussed why they cheat and lie, as well as how they can avoid it. Nastya told us what the Bible tells us about deception, that the Devil is the father of lies and that we must try to tell the truth in order to prevent the devil from winning. On the last Tuesday of September, the topic of our conversation was 
Laziness. Our lesson took place in the form of communication. The children told us what they want to become when they grow up, what qualities they should have and in what areas they should not be lazy in order to have their dream profession. The oldest boy, Maxim, said that he wants to become a driver, for this he must study well and pass his driving tests. Ksyusha wants to become a dance teacher, for this she must not be lazy and dance, move a lot. Anya also told the children, using the example of the ant and the bee from the book of Proverbs, that we should work without dissatisfaction, help each other and be friendly and think about the future, help others, etc., just like these little hardworking creatures. We will continue to pray for these kids and their families. God bless you!
The first trip was very informative for me. I met some guys and from some of them I immediately felt 
good attitude and love towards me. Some guys have a very difficult fate and a very difficult character. But the love manifested makes its work in their hearts. Each of the guys wants to be heard and understood, and we try to fully devote ourselves to them during our time with them through games, communication and discussion of certain
topics. All this makes positive result. I can see changes in them. They become more open, friendlier and more peaceful. The first issue we addressed was the fears. We were discussing it in a playful way. Dmitry Nachina gave a talk on the issue explaining the 
reasons which cause fear. The guys were very actively involved in sharing what they are afraid of and what they are not. They were opened to share with us their thoughts and feelings. In the end of our meeting the guys came up and told that they missed us so much during summer holidays. They shared about how they spent their holidays and what’s going on now in their lives. Some children shared about their fears and asked to pray for them. During the whole meeting we felt very cordial and positive atmosphere. All the children were happy and glad to see us. The second meeting began with communication and acquaintance 
with some new people. Two not really active teenagers who don’t attend our meetings regularly came this time. We talked and played with the guys trying to create cordial atmosphere and get to know them better. Then we switched to discussion. The topic was deception and Anastasia 
Dobrovolskaya gave a talk on it explaining to the guys what it is and what it can lead to. Some guys shared their life stories and did not hesitate to admit that they deceived others. This topic was useful for me as well because each of us faces the problem of deception in our own lives. Some guys came up and asked me to pray for them. Sasha and Nikita asked me to pray that their fear of darkness went away. After they thanked us that we visit them and pray for them. This time guys weren’t only glad to see us but they were also hugging us not wanting to let us go. 
It touched our hearts as we saw that the walls between us are falling and that they need our love. During our third meeting in September, we discussed the topic of laziness. This topic was quite interesting and informative, both for myself and for the children. Alyona Burykina was revealing this topic to the guys. Before starting our communication, we played and found out which news the guys had for the last week.
When we started discussion of the topic they shared that they are lazy both in school and in their everyday routine life. So we discussed how we can overcome laziness. I really liked that the guys actively participated in all games, in communication and in all discussions throughout September. There are even some new children who try to attend our meetings regularly. I want to note that during this month some guys were more approachable and easy to talk to than before. They communicate, play and talk about their lives with us. It is interesting that every manifestation of love, attention and kindness to them has a very positive effect on them, and also had a very positive effect on me personally. You can see how the children want to share the love they receive from us, they
do not hesitate to send greetings to other team members from our ministry and openly say that they love us. I also noticed that children really like to sing and play. When they see us adults playing with them and communicating with them, their hearts open more and more because they rarely see this. The children from this orphanage inspire me the most to move and continue our ministry. Their love and changes that I see in them also have a good effect on me. The team that serves to these children is a support and inspiration for me. During a very long period of my absence from this ministry, I noticed that the members of the team did a great job and each of them made a huge contribution to the ministry, each of them is ready to share all the love he has. The team of the ministry “Life for children” is very cohesive and effective.
LOVE 4 THE CHILDREN 