LOVE 4 THE CHILDREN

I’ve just recently started visiting the kids in Rudensk, and thanks to the summer camp most of them know me. And with the guys, which I was the leader of in the summer camp, I even have great relationships. Sure, they are always glad to meet us, to tell us about themselves, to ask how we’ve been doing. Interestingly, they always notice every change, every detail in one’s appearance. That surprised me at first. Later on I got used to it. There is a girl, when meeting always hugs me and says: ‘ My dear Nadya, I’m so glad to see you! I love you so much!’ It’s worth a lot.Now we tell them Jesus’ parables.  I like that most of His stories teach us about God’s nature, His Love, His character. By these parables we try to reach children’s hearts, to explain, that even though something wrong may happen in our lives, we always have our loving Father near us. Way more near than we think.

Almost each meeting at least one kid tells me about his or her bad dreams, and we always pray for them together. So that the kids know, that if they are afraid of something – turn to the Christ- He will protect you. I always teach them, that God will always remove our fears, we should only ask Him. Hi will never leave us. I’m sure, they will keep these words in hearts. One girl told me that after our conversations even her sleep is getting better. I understand that it’s not because of me. I don’t know how it works, but I believe, that Holy Spirit does His work among them even after we leave. My goal in this meetings is to share what I have in abundance, my Love. God is Love. I believe that even though God is everywhere, sharing our Love we in a way introduce the guys to the Holy Spirit. He shows them His character. It delights me.

I remember that many kids were hooked on the topic of forgiveness. When asked if God forgives criminals, most answered that no – it is not easy for them to accept that God is forgiving. That time, no one shared their story of unforgiveness with me. But earlier in the camp, one girl had told me how she had been offended by her entire family, who abandoned her. I think such stories are common. On the last trip, one girl of about 10 years old cried so bitterly that everyone left her, no one calls or visits her. It’s very difficult to find a proper word in such situation . There is nothing much to say. I’m not sure that at that moment she took my words, which sounded something like this:”Angelina, I can’t imagine how much it hurts you and I can’t explain why this is happening in your life. But I want you to hear me now.

Even when your family is somewhere far away, not near you, no matter for what reason, you always have Jesus. He knows how to wipe away your tears, He knows how to comfort you. He loves you very much and doesn’t want you to cry.” I hugged her and added, “He hugs you like that. When you’re in pain, tell Jesus about it.” She nodded. Apart from spiritual food, of course we do not leave children without entertainment. I noticed that most of all they like outdoor games, where they can run, jump and shout.

Something intellectual holds the attention of only a few and quickly tires them out. The same thing with songs: they get bored with more melodic ones, but sing fun songs  with pleasure and movements. Their favorites are when interacting with other people like “Wave your hand to everyone” – this is how they especially like to communicate with us. And in conclusion, I would like to say that children’s prayers touch your heart – the most sincere and natural: “Lord, help me to be good,” “Excuse me for saying bad words,” and so on. The tradition of praying in circles at the end of a meeting (when each child goes to the adult he wants to) is my favorite. This is how we develop in them a habit of common prayer for each other. And we see the fruits of it.