LOVE 4 THE CHILDREN

In November, trips to Rudensk were every week. A lot of children came to the meetings, also, there were also newcomers who had not been before.

After one of the meetings, my friend Artem came to me, usually we discuss different topics with him: about what he has read in the Bible, what challenges now he is fighting. On my question what is he now reading in the Bible at the moment, he replied that now he read the Bible very rarely. (Because of the quarantine of trips to Rudensk) I said that it was very important to read the Bible, because it was a word from God himself, and it changes and transforms our lives. If we do not read the Bible, our faith will weaken. Artem said that after meetings with us, his faith strengthened and his desire appears to learn more about God and thank us that we come to them!

For a variety, on one of the meetings we watched the cartoon: “Supebook:” Queen Esther “”. In the end we discussed with the guys how important it is to trust God and sometimes in order to prove the truth, we have to risk even our lives that we have seen on the example of Queen Esther, but God is always with us and will support us!

At the last of the meetings, our team and children, especially with the boys, went to the gym. We told the boys, that it is very important to give time for your body and even in the Bible it says that our bodies are temples for the Holy Spirit (1st Cor). In order to withstand various difficulties in life, you should also handle and train our body to be strong. Moreover, our mood is changing when we are engaged and achieved good results. We conducted a familiarization training and showed the boys how to do the exercises correctly, to breathe correctly, and how to do at home, if there is no equipment. It was also important for us to show the boys that the life of a believer man is also interesting and saturated and we also engage in sports!

Separately from the guys, a meeting was held for girls from 12 to 19 years, on which we observed the topic of relationships with guys and how to keep themselves before marriage. We talked about the importance of relationships with God, accepting his love in order to get out of school, do not look for love in the guys. Girls said that they really lack love, tenderness, kind words. We answered that all of these they will find in the Word of God and during prayer.

We’re glad to continue traveling to the guys to Rudensky boarding school, despite any circumstances! Thanks to God for the opportunity to be in this place with our dear children! This month we continued to study some biblical stories from the Old Testament. For example, we again remembered Noah and his ark, which was a good example of obedience and loyalty to God, as well as God, as a sign of his promise, presented to people a beautiful rainbow, which we can see after the rain. Later we talked about the history that occurred with Agar’s and her son Izmail in the desert. The guys were delighted with the fact that God hears the prayers of people even in the desert! We talked a lot about the fact that the Heavenly Dad hears us anywhere and at any time, as well as with love and joy takes any person what He is. And for orphans, the issue of adoption is especially important, because each of them has survived the rejection and betrayal from the closest people in his life. The next theme of this month was the history of the life of Joseph, which we wanted to reveal the most deeply. That is why we divided this topic into two meetings. With all these stories, we have already acquainted the guys earlier, but as many new children have appeared at the school, who first began to hear about God, we decided to go through the brightest and most significant biblical plots. It is very pleased that there are children who remember these stories and still independently read them in the Bibles.

One of my favorite moments during our meetings is the time of prayer. At such moments, we can see and hear in practice how God works in children’s hearts. After all, they learn to trust Him! It is joyful that more and more children go to prayer and sometimes there are so many that we do not have time to fit during our meeting! Children pray about the healing of their educators who are now sick, pray that their parents are liberated from dependencies and were able to pick them up. Senior girls pray that God healed them both physically and mentally!

Dear friends, we will be grateful if you support the prayer of these children, as well as our team! Thanks to all those who are not indifferent to the ministry to orphans!

 With the beginning of the new school year, we resumed trips to Rudensk’s boarding school. Children really missed for communicating with us and each of them had a desire to tell about themselves, something new and interesting. That is why in our first arrival, we made a meeting with the guys in communication format and it was a true decision.

Lera told that all summer spent in the hospital and we supported her. Polina, constantly trained to play football and now she is a goalkeeper of the school team. Other guys learned to work in the greenhouse, which we bought for school in the spring. Artem, studies the Bible and asked questions on those chapters that do not understand. Communicating and carefully listening to children, we show love to them and show each of them that they are meaningful and valuable.

In our next arrival, we decided to repeat the topics from the Bible and started from the very beginning, with the history of the creation of the world. Many knew this truth and it’s good, and new guys heard about it for the first time and thanked us for learning the truth. Last week, Dima spoke about the first people created in the image and likeness of God: Adam and Eve. On the first temptation and the first disobedience to God, as well as about what consequences this sin brought to our world. The guys listened very carefully, and then asked questions and shared their experiences and disobediences before God and teachers (who replace them with their parents). We see how the Lord opens the hearts of these children, brings his light and freedom in their lives. We rejoice in the fact that every year they change and become better, because the truth is forever frees them from lies and sin.

Greetings, brothers and sisters! June flew by and we are glad that we could attend the Rudensky orphanage in June. We had three trips in June. But each trip was special, because those children finish their studies at school and the next stage in their life begins. Some of the graduates will immediately start working and usually as a farmer or a janitor. Those who have better grades and health will go to study. The most cherished dream for many is to go to school. Then there is a chance to get a better paying job. During the past month we have been talking about facing insults and being offended. Many children after graduation are faced with the fact that they are often being offended, and when they do not immediately succeed in what they do, bullying begins. We talked about how to forgive, how to cope with inner pain.

Resentment carries a destructive effect that brings destruction from within to the outside. And the key is forgiveness, and we can pour out all the pain to God. The next topic we’ve discussed is “gossip”. There are always a lot of rumors and speculation around orphans. We have highlighted this specifically so that the guys understand and are ready for the fact that different people will appear in their life and not everyone should be trusted at once. Gossip destroys the kids. We were visiting Nastya, who graduated a few years ago. Nastya worked on the farm, looked after the calves. But then one calf died and Nastya was made guilty. People, who gossiped about her, gathered, and then accused her of negligence. After all, she is an orphan, which means that she is to blame! After all, no one will stand up for the orphan, which means that you can do anything you want to! And such examples help to see how gossips are destructive in the lives of graduates. After all, in a boarding school among children it looks like a prank, but in real life it brings pain and suffering to the person. Also, another topic that we decided to raise is obscene words. Because of the wrong example, children allow obscenities into their lives. And then they wonder why there are so many problems in their life. After all, our words attract either success from God, or destruction. There were a lot of questions about how to restrain yourself from using swear words? “After all, a swear word is a reaction to pain or resentment,” the guys told us! Then we started saying that we sometimes can also experience pain, but our reaction is in our hands! We prayed that God would send freedom from bad words and give wisdom and strength when you are in difficult circumstances and a person provokes you. This school year was just incredible! There were all sorts of things, including the temporary closure of boarding schools due to the pandemic. The first visit to the children after the temporary quarantine was full of joy, laughter, hugs! And also the words that were especially memorable: “We don’t need gifts, we need you! We miss you very much”! All this suggests that we are like one family, which strives to raise, not lower a member of its family.

Friends, let’s pray that the graduates of the orphanage will get settled in their new places of work, so that their work team will be a blessing for the children. We also want graduates to find local churches and gain a foothold there. Thank you for your prayers and for being with us throughout the school year!

Every year May delights people with bright, sunny weather, reviving and blooming nature and the sonorous singing of birds returning from the south. Usually, at this time of the year, children break out into the street and it is already much more difficult to gather them in the premises for any events. But this year, it rains almost all May in our country. Therefore, all our beloved guys come to our meetings and together with them we try to create a joyful and friendly atmosphere, support each other and learn to notice all the good that is in the life of each person. The older guys started to prepare for their final exams. Most of them share their experiences and thoughts about what awaits them after graduation, when they will be faced with an adult, independent life.

In our meetings, we talked about resentment, betrayal, as well as destructive anger and what to do and how to deal with negative emotions. It is interesting that all children are usually divided into those who completely deny the existence of certain in them and those who have already learned to admit their problems and look for ways to solve them. At one of the meetings, Katya conducted the topic: “Anger”. This topic is especially familiar to children living in boarding schools. It is very difficult for them, at times, to manage their emotions, and besides, from the very childhood they are deprived of affection and care from the dearest people and simply are not taught how to behave in emotionally difficult situations. Katya did not just talk about what “anger” is and what consequences it leads to, she gave a lot of practical advice on how to cope with anger and guided the children to solve this problem together with God, who can change a person’s heart and give consolation and peace. At the end of the conversation, a girl named Vika shared that she often faces the problem of anger and causes a lot of pain for herself and other people. Vika came forward and asked to pray that God would release her and help her change. Of course, we all supported Vicka’s decision and prayed with her. It seems to me that this is a vivid example of how the word of God works in children’s hearts. At the request of the older children, we held sports relay races in the last week of the month. In the Rudensky boarding school, the guys are very fond of sports and they participate in many competitions, both in our country and abroad. For our part, we try to take into account the requests of children and periodically organize sports events for them. This is also a great time when we can see how the characters of the guys are revealed and their ability to accept victories and defeats. Thank God for this great time!