LOVE 4 THE CHILDREN

Greetings, dear brothers and sisters. The year has come to an end and I want to thank God for His mercy and grace. This month we had the opportunity to visit orphaned children in Belynichi. December is a favorite month for children, not only because of the winter break, but because they celebrate Christmas and New Year. In this last month of the year, we talked with the guys about the following topics: “The Miracles of Jesus” – with this lesson we wanted to show the Divinity of Jesus Christ to the guys. I was pleasantly surprised that many of the guys, especially those who had just recently arrived, knew about the miracles of Jesus. When we asked what kind of miracle would you like God to create, the answers were different. The guys were talking all over each other, one would ask for his health, another asked Jesus to heal his memory, which would help him with my studies, someone asked for his parents to be fine. Such questions especially create an atmosphere and bring joy to discussions. Another time, when we arrived, we discussed the parable of “The Rich Man and Lazarus.” We talked about the decisions we make here, being on this earth, and how it can affect our future and eternal. It’s nice to see that the guys read and get answers in the Word of God. We looked at the rich man in the parable, and then we looked at Lazarus. The guys said that they understood that it is important in their successes not to be arrogant but to thank God for everything they have.

The following Thursday, graduate Tolya called me. Tolya graduated from the Belynichi boarding school 2 years ago. He said: ‘Dima, can I go to boarding school with you, I want to see the guys?’. I said ‘Tolya, of course, let’s go’. Tolya studied construction and when he was looking for a job, he remembered the believers and turned to us for help. They didn’t really want to hire orphans. And so we found out where we could go to get a job. The job itself was in Minsk, Tolya arrived at the appointed time and when he came to the HR department to get a job, he was met very badly there. Tolya was informed that he would not be hired and generally they wanted to send him away.

Tolya left the office, stood praying and believed that they would suddenly change their minds and still take him. He stood at the door for more than two hours, waiting for the decision to change and still hire him. And then an older man came up and said, why are you standing here for so many hours? Tolya said I’m an orphan, I’ve studied and graduated, but no one takes me to work, so I’m standing here thinking and praying that they’ll suddenly change their minds and hire me anyway. The man entered the HR department and after a couple of minutes Tolya was invited into the office and hired. It turned out that the older man was the director of the construction department, and God opened his heart to Tolya. As a result, Tolya has been working at a construction site in Minsk for more than a year, and he is doing well. On the day that Tolya was hired, he also received a place in the hostel, as well as money for food. Thank God that He arranged everything this way. Tolya said ‘I also want to speak in front of the guys and say that I have a rule of three “NNN” translates like this. Nothing Is Impossible. (in russian all three words start with letter N). With God, everything we can overcome. When we arrived at the boarding school, we held a meeting with the guys, where Tolya spoke, and then we talked a lot about the Nativity of Jesus Christ. We were talking about God, who saw how the whole of humanity was just sliding downhill and there were so many sins that God needed to send Jesus to help people solve the problem of sin. And now God wants us to be reconciled to God through faith in Jesus Christ and put all our worries as well as all our sins, on Him. Only Jesus can solve the problem of sin and rebellion, and also solve the problems in life. The children notably opened up and asked God to be their friend, and also asked God to forgive them for their sins. Dear brothers and sisters, thank you so much for being with us this year, thank God that another year has been blessed in the field of God. May God bless you in the new year and help you every day!

The year keeps rolling full steam ahead, filled with vibrant trips to visit the kids in Belynichi. 

November has already come to an end – how time flies! This month stood out, first, because November 10 marked the World Day of Prayer for Orphans. On this day, countless churches around the globe lifted their prayers to God: for children living in orphanages, for the teams ministering to them, and for families who open their hearts and homes to orphans. This beautiful unity in prayer reminded us once again that God is at work, opening hearts to kindness and love. 

During one of our meetings, we reflected on the parable of the lost sheep. Bogdan, playing the role of the shepherd, threw himself into the part with such sincerity and emotion that the story truly came to life before our eyes. He searched for the sheep all over the room, and his enthusiasm was contagious. Bogdan has become one of those kids who doesn’t just take part actively but also asks deep questions that sometimes make even the adults stop and think. His thoughts and genuine heart are a clear reminder that God reveals His truth even through the hearts of children. 

This month was also filled with lessons on forgiveness and kindness toward one another. At our last meeting, we prayed in small groups, and afterward, I asked the kids: «Should we ask God for forgiveness?» The children paused to think and then answered in unison: «Yes, for our wrong actions». The next question sparked even more interest: «How should we ask for forgiveness?». Matvey, almost immediately, responded: «We can pray and ask for forgiveness.»

But what touched everyone’s heart most was Nastya’s suggestion. Holding my hand and looking into my eyes, she said loudly «Let’s kneel when we pray!». Her words lit a spark in everyone. In the blink of an eye, we were all on our knees, standing in a circle. That day, every child wanted to pray to thank God for everything and to ask for forgiveness. It was a deeply moving and heartfelt moment, as the children’s voices filled the room with warmth and God’s grace. 

This month was yet another testament to how God works in the hearts of children. He teaches them kindness, forgiveness, and sincere faith. Even in the simplest moments – whether through the role of a shepherd or a child’s prayer – His power shines through, transforming hearts and filling them with love.  This month has shown us that we’re not just teaching the children – they’re teaching us, too. Through their trust, openness, and desire to seek God, we see His hand at work, inspiring us to continue this ministry with even greater dedication and love.

Hello, dear readers! Thank God for another opportunity to go to the orphanage in Belinichy in October. At the end of SeptemberI went to Belinichy orphanage for the first time. I was very happy to meet and get to know these children. They welcomed me very warmly and we were able to become friends with them right away and I am very grateful to God for this, because I understood that if I could have a close relationship with the children, then it would be much easier to spread the Gospel tothem, and so it happened! The children listen attentively in class and even when some of them make noise, the children still remember the stories and conclusions from the stories and answer questions well at the end of the lesson.

Every Thursday, when we come to Belinichy the children greet us with love, hug us, say that they were really looking forward to seeing us when we arrive, we really appreciate it! After thatwe divide them into groups as before. The children are dividedinto 2 groups: older children and younger ones. At the beginning of our meeting we always pray with them that God blesses our meeting, after that we sing a few songs and play games with them. After the games the children sit down comfortably and we tell them a Bible lesson. The topics of the Bible lessons in the 2 groups are the same, but it is very good that there is an opportunity to divide the children, because the same Bible story or topic can be told to different ages in different ways so that it is more understandable, for example, with older children you can touch on deeper life themes based on the Bible lesson, while the younger ones understand perfectly well if there is some electronic material, for example, a presentation or colorfulpictures.

In October I was mostly with the younger children, we were able to get to know each other well and communicate. About 20 younger children come to each meeting, thank God for that! This month almost all the lessons were about the parables that Jesus told. For example, “The Parable of the Sower.” It is very important for the younger children to speak in simple words during the lesson, because the parables have a deep meaning, it is important that the younger children also understand it. The main idea of ​​this topic is that if we have a soft heart and not a hard or stony one, like other types of soil, then this helps to remain in our hearts what we hear in our Bible lessons: to believe in Jesus Christ, to try to do well, to be kind, obedient, to help others, not to swear and so on.

Another parable we looked at was “The Parable of the Unmerciful Creditor”. That day, when I was in the group with older children, the guys and I were all sitting on the carpet and listening to the lesson that Vasya was telling us, there was a very friendly and informal atmosphere at this lesson. The children heard a story about a man who owed an incredible amount of money, and his debt was forgiven, but after a while the same man owed ten times less, he did not forgive the debt. The main idea of ​​this parable is that sometimes we cannot forgive a smalloffense from another person, while he forgives us many of our bad deeds, so we must always be forgiving and lenient to others.

I am very grateful that I was able to communicate with some of the children in person, I am very sorry to hear their stories from life, when a small child comes to you and says that one of his close relatives (one of the parents) died recently, it is very painful to hear. However, I am glad that many of those children periodically go home, during the week or on weekends. And at this time they can be with their parents or grandparents and other brothers and sisters. Praise God for this peaceful time to spread the Gospel. Blessings to you!

A new school year has begun as well as a neweason of our ministry to orphans. In the last days of August we managed to meet with the new graduates of the Belynichyorphanage, that were spending their last days at the school. An adult and independent life awaits these children ahead, life that is very difficult to adapt to. That is why we decided to make a warm friendly meeting for them, where we tried to listen to each of them and just hug them. During this meeting we could remind them of God, to whom they can come at any time and in any circumstances.

We also prayed for them with a prayer of blessing. Then we started visiting younger children who are still in orphanage. At the beginning of the month for these children we made sport games. During such games characters and personalities of children are often revealed as well as their ability to work in a team, support each other and ability to accept both victories and defeats!

At such moments possible difficulties in dealing with this children are especially noticeable.  At the same day for younger kids we made chalk painting activity. This is also a good opportunity to see their feelings and fears of by their drawings, see their dreams and ideas about life. Meanwhile other people from our team were with children who could not participate in sport games and chalk painting due to their mental and physical disabilities. Instead of these activities children got hugs and attention.

During following meetings of the month Bible lessons were held. This month we talked with the guys about the personality of Jesus Christ, why He helps people, why He wants to take care of them and how much He loves people. Then we continued the series of Bible stories from the New Testament. Guys were especially impressed by the story of ” the Prodigal Son”. This year a teenage boy named Roma started coming to our meetings with his friend. Before  both of them avoided our meetings and instead were playing football, watching cartoons and sometimes were making fun of other guys who come to our meeting regularly. Roma is a leader among older children and therefore he was often the one who would takesome of the children away from our meetings, influencing them in a bad way.

But now we see how God answers our prayers and disposes children’s hearts to hear and perceive God’s word! Thank God! During one of our meetings I saw how one of Roma’s friend began to try in every possible way to take him out of our meeting, constantly saying all sorts of teasing words over and over again: “Are you seriously going to sit here and listen to this odd lecture?”. But Roma firmly stopped him with the words: “If you want go away then do it! Buy I’m staying!” As a result, both teenagers stayed at the meeting. Moreover Roma became the winner in answering the questions that Ilya asked at the end of the Bible lesson! Meanwhile I was touched by the situation and admired how God makes possible what sometimes seems unreal to us! 

The second special moment for me was meeting with Yarik. I’ve told you about him before. He has Down’s Syndrome and he mostly communicates using certain sounds or syllables. Previously he was quite aggressive and in a fit of rage he could clearly pronounce cuss words. But now we see how much God is changing him and we noticed that he became much calmer and began to pronounce a lot of clear words, especially the names of the guys from our team. It feels like not only our team is very glad about it, but Yarikhimsel. Sometimes he even manages to say someone’s name several times in a row. It’s funny and at the same time cute! Besides he tries to be the loudest singer  during our worship moments, which is also very cute to see and creates an atmosphere of gratitude to the Heavenly Father for His great love for these children!

So the school year at the Belynichi boarding school has flown by. But I am glad that every Thursday there were trips to the guys who became not just friends for us but a big family. This year, more than fifteen new children have been brought to the school, and about ten people will graduate this year. On the one hand, getting to know new guys, and on the other, the release of those who have become dear friends for you. We communicate a lot with the guys who will graduate and that’s what Vanya said: “I’m very worried about how I will be greeted at the training school in the new place and how they will treat me! I love my school very much, because this is my home, where I feel safe.” Andrey said that he is waiting for graduation, believes that everything will work out for him in life and that a lot of acquaintances are waiting ahead. We talked to the older guys about the qualities of God, what He is like.

The fact is that children were told about God in wrong way, referring to the heroes of Greek mythology, and accordingly the children have no hope in difficult circumstances. That’s why we decided that we would tell the guys about God, who loves, protects, helps, and also gives his life in redemption for sins. And it’s so nice to see guys who tell us that when they pray, God changes the circumstances: – We won the football game, passed the exam well, grandma called and said she was already healthy. Only God can help from a distance, and thank God that faith is being formed in children.

Also this month, we talked with the younger guys about Daniel and his lost childhood. We told them that Daniel was taken captive and he was an orphan. But despite this, Daniel remained faithful to God, he and his friends remembered what their parents had taught them, so they did not compromise when they were offered food sacrificed to idols. This lesson was especially told, because although the guys already know a lot, sometimes when they are alone with a problem they often make the wrong decisions. And with this story, we wanted to teach them not to go away from the right path and remember that bad companies will lead to wrong decisions and difficulties. We also talked about faithfulness at another meeting.

The fact is that it is difficult to be faithful nowadays. This quality is sometimes considered a weakness rather than a virtue. But we decided nevertheless to show what faithfulness produces by the example of Daniel. So, we told them about Daniel and how he got into the lion’s den. We said that Daniel was faithful to both God and the king, even the enemies could not figure out how to accuse Daniel, so they went to cunning and deception. Faithfulness is the most precious thing that can be, and when I asked what faithfulness was, the guys offered one definition after another and it’s nice that they know this word. “Faithfulness is good,” Yarik, who speaks poorly, shouted at me. And Edik said that it is difficult to be faithful and fulfill all the duties and requests of the teacher. That’s why this lesson is important. I told the story of Daniel how he was betrayed for his loyalty to God and the king and how he got into the lion’s den. I asked if Daniel got into the moat fairly, whether he did something wrong. The guys answered no. I said that sometimes we will be accused, told lies, but we must be faithful and devoted and then God will help us in life. God saved Daniel from being torn to pieces. Both for him and for us, God can and wants to help. Dear friends, despite a difficult year, we are glad that we could be faithful to God and faithfully convey God’s truths in the Belynichy boarding School. Thank you for your support and prayers! God bless you!