LOVE 4 THE CHILDREN

The next academic year in the schools of our country has come to an end and the next stage of our service to orphans as well! Summing up the results of this year, I would like to note that the children from the Belynichi orphanage school had a serious soul-searching. It was caused by our several months absence. Due to the pandemic we had to put on hold our trips to the guys. They missed us very much during this period and a thirst for communication with us and God developed in their hearts. Therefore, the children became more obedient and concentrated during our Bible lessons. They began to value our meetings and new knowledge about God more. Also I would like to acknowledge the greatness and power of our Heavenly Father, who, despite the situation in the world, gave us the opportunity to constantly visit the children after a break and hold not only weekly meetings, but also holidays, such as Christmas and Easter! Thank God for this opportunity! We said goodbye to the graduates. Very soon they will go to different cities to study and we believe and hope that the word sown will bear fruit at the right time. We really hope that every local church will be open to accepting these children into their homes and hearts! In June, we talked with the guys about swearing and gossiping, as well as about the terrible impact of both on the lives of people who swear or gossip. The children were impressed by both topics because these things are very common in orphanage schools, especially among high school students. Many of them considered such behavior and this kind of words to be the norm. And some thought that it makes them cool and emphasizes their independence. But we really wanted the guys to stop cursing themselves and other people, thereby destroying their lives and the lives of those who are near them. Our goal is not to show children their shortcomings or humiliate them, but on the contrary, to show them God’s view of the situation and give them a way out. We dream that every child will get freedom from sin and be with God! At one of the meetings young people from the local Belynich Church joined us. They prepared a small musical program and performed for the children. And at the end of the meeting they had personal conversation with children, which is always very valuable for orphans who are really short of love and attention. We were glad that the youth of the local church did their best to prepare a program for our children!

Thank you to everyone who reads us and supports us financially and with prayer!

April was very active for us. The trips to the children continued actively and were full of various activities. One of the brightest events is the “bachelor party” and “bachelorette party”. I want to tell you more about the bachelorette party, for which we had prepared for a long time and carefully. The meeting took place over a tea party with sweets, which all girls enjoy so much. But in addition to pleasant fellowship over tea, we talked a lot and glorified God together with our singing. The main topic of conversation among girls: “True beauty”. We examined the components of external beauty, but we focused on our internal beauty. The girls actively participated in the conversation and asked questions. The example with a beautiful outside, but rotten, spoiled inside apple, they especially remembered. They confirmed that it is better to communicate with a not very pretty, but kind and sympathetic person than with a beautiful, but with an evil and spoiled heart and behavior. However, the most important point of the conversation was that without the relationships with God, without His guidance in our lives, we can NEVER be truly beautiful inside ourselves, on our own, without His help. The girls agreed with this. In the end, we prayed for the girls and wished them to strive for the very true beauty that is possible only with God. In mid-April, we also visited Yulia, a graduate student of the Belynichsky boarding school. She found herself in a difficult life situation – an unplanned pregnancy, difficult conditions for the life of the baby and Julia herself, and many other difficulties for which the girl was not ready. They grew apart with the child’s father. We came to her to support, encourage, give advice, show that she is not alone and we are ready to help. She was very glad to meet us! Another great event of this month was the festival program dedicated to the Easter. The children listened with interest, actively participated in the program and joyfully proclaimed: “Christ is risen! He has risen to the truth! ”, And at the end of the meeting, they accepted gifts with great pleasure! Thank God for the opportunity to be close to these guys and show them the beauty and love of our Lord!

The trips to the Belynichi orphanage continued this month as well and this trips give a great joy to our team and to the children we visit!  Of course we keep the distance and mask mode, but this does not prevent us and the children from maintaining a spring mood and enjoying every minute spent together!  Thank God for the opportunity to be in this place and tell the good news! This month we have been talking about time.  During every meeting, we talked with the children about forgiveness and peace in relationship with God.  Of course, the most difficult thing for orphans is to forgive their parents.  Despite the age of the child and the time spent in the orphanage, the pain of memories, resentments and disappointments are still fresh.  Each of us understands that only God can completely heal and restore these children.  That is why we try to speak on such topics, despite all the complexity.  God works in the hearts of children and adults and there are victories – there are those who were able to step over the barrier of unforgiveness and forgive their offenders, but there are those with whom we still have to work if God permits. A new girl, Julia, appeared at school, she is already a teenager and it is especially difficult to be in a orphanage at that age.  At first, the girl tried to stay aloof and did not make contact.  But within a month, she began to come closer and closer and slowly, with very small steps she begins to open her heart and start to smile.  We hope that over the time we will be able to support Julia and introduce her to Heavenly Father, who heals any wounds and gives comfort and peace. We have allready spoke in our previous articles about taking a break from trips to the orphanages.  Now it is very strongly felt that the children have had a reassessment of values and now they value every minute spent with us.  Even in the classroom, they try to behave better. This month I’ve managed to talk with Lesha and Igor.  Very soon they will be graduates who will live a new, independent life.  Lesha will still go to study as a builder, but Igor will go to a home for the disabled.  Both, already  adults, with tears in their eyes told me how difficult and scary it is for them to leave the school and how much they value every minute at school, in communication with their teachers, friends and our team.  We really hope that they will remember the word that we have sown in their lives and will remember that Heavenly Father is with them! Thanks to everyone who supports us financially and prayerfully, as well as everyone who is not indifferent to the destiny of orphans in our country!

Dear friends! We send greetings to everyone who’s reading us! You are in our hearts and prayers! We are grateful to God that we can serve together with you! I’d like to share the happy news that this month God has opened the doors to boarding schools. We have been praying about this for a long time and God has answered us. But for safety reasons, no more than three or four people from our team are allowed to visit the boarding schools, and they are also asked to comply with the security measures due to the epidemiological situation. Every time we came, almost all the children who are currently in the boarding school, as well as their tutors, came to meet us. We haven’t seen the children for a long period of time. And when we arrived, the children wanted to share their news, needs and experiences with us as soon as possible. It’s so great that we have a relationship of trust with them! Every time, we spent time with joy and fun. We played outdoor games, and also told the children about God. Throughout the meetings, we stuck to a series of topics about time: “Time to dream”, “Time to be happy”, “Time to love”, “Time to help”. We are happy that the children usually remember our topics. When we talked about the time to help, we recollected the story of the Good Samaritan. Despite the fact that we had not returned to this story for a long time, the children remembered it well enough and were even able to retell it. We believe that they will not only remember the Bible stories, but also learn to apply them in their lives. The fact that the children are changing for the better is already noticeable now. Glory to God! God also works with the hearts of tutors, and we can see how they are changing for the better too. The children also thanked us for the gifts they were given for Christmas. Even though it’s been quite a while, the children are still under the bright impression of this wonderful time! They were happy to talk about sweets, toys, clothes, and even personal hygiene items that they found in Christmas boxes. We thank everyone who participated in the collection of gifts and we believe that God will bless everyone who participated in this action! Dear friends, let us pray that the pandemic will end soon, so that we will have even more opportunities to serve orphaned children! Be blessed!

Hello dear friends! We live during hard times, but life goes on! This month we visited Belynic boarding school. I am glad that in difficult times like these we have the opportunity to serve God in places that need Him the most! This month we started a series of talks: “Your time has come.” This topic has prompted many children and adolescents to build a closer relationship with God. Orphans often look at their lives like this: “Well, as soon as that perfect moment comes, then I will make a decision.” Children often dream about the future, forgetting that they live in the present. That’s why, we think that by skipping the “today”, they are deprived of their “tomorrow”. How do we identify it? The fact that many want a good job, but are too lazy to do their homework, someone dreams of health, but continues to run out into the street dressed in summer clothes on the cold days, and then gets sick for a long time, since the immunity is already not in a good condition. Children come up to us and tell us that they do not sleep well at night and ask us to pray for them. When I ask the guys if they are praying themselves, someone says yes, and someone answers that they forget about it. The purpose of the talks held in boarding schools is to push children to a solution. Decisions are made every day. It is sometimes difficult for children to make up their minds because of low self-esteem and childhood trauma. But thanks to our seminars, children gradually overcome their insecurities, as well as their fears. I’m glad to see how kids change! The teachers come up to us and tell that the kids are becoming more confident. Thank God for these results! When we were in the boarding schools, children told us that they prayed that our team would be allowed to come to them. Now they can see how God answers their prayers! We meet weekly with the children at the boarding school and pray that covid-19 will be done for as soon as possible. Despite the masks and the distance, the children say that they miss the times when they could freely come closer and hug us, because they really lack hugs.  Also teachers are facing some challenges and win battles! After conversing with us, they often ask: “How do you not lose your optimism during this time?” I said that we’ve found encouraging words in the Bible and realized that everything will be fine for those who believe in God! Sometimes you can hear: “ Judging by what we see, Dmitry, we understand that you are full of faith in good.” And I say, “I just don’t watch the news.” Fear infiltrates small cities through uncertainty about the future and virus data. But we know that God warned about such hardships long time ago. Through speaking with us, teachers can see how the Bible does not lose its relevance. For our team, October is a month of opportunities, and we are so excited about it! We are glad that we can serve both big causes and the small ones! This new school year has brought us over 15 new children who are not familiar with the gospel at all. Let’s pray that our Heavenly Father will open the hearts of children, and that the word, like a seed, will be sown and grow in children’s hearts! We thank everyone who is praying for Ministry to orphans in Belarus! These children, during the pandemic, were left alone to face problems in their lives and they need the hope that only God can give!