Greetings, brothers and sisters. I am very grateful to God for the November trips to Smilovichi, as well as 
for the opportunity to serve Him and the children
from the orphanage and tell them about the good news!
In last month’s report we wrote that 4 new children from the same family arrived at the orhanage. These are 10-year-old Miroslav (big brother to his 3 sisters), 7-year-old Alisa, 5-year-old Yana and little Darinka, she is 3 years old. We are very glad that we were able to make friends with these children and find an approach to them. God bless!
Arseniy and Ksyusha left the orphanage. That trip was quite emotional for me because Ksyusha is the only child who has been in the orphanage since I first came to Smilovichi to serve orphans and that’s when I met her. Throughout the entire time she tried to listen and remember what we talked about in Bible lessons and she also answered questions well, which we are very happy about. Just like Arseniy, he actively responded in class and was happy to spend time with us. We ask you to pray for these children, that the word they heard will remain in their hearts.
In November, we discussed several serious topics with the older guys, one of them was “Revenge.” Unfortunately, orphans are treated with disdain and are often abused. I thought a good reminder for kids on this topic was the bible verse that says God is the Father of the orphans. And parents will always stand up for their children if they are offended. Therefore, we should not avenge ourselves because we have an impartial God who knows the hearts and intentions of every person on this earth.
Also next time we talked about the topic of Suicide and God’s relationship to human life. About the fact that He is very sensitive to His creation, about the fact that God created every cell of our body with special love, as it is written in the Psalms. Regarding the deprivation of life (suicide), we said that suicide is not a way out to solve some of our problems, but on the contrary, that it is a path to hell and the devil always rejoices if a person chooses this path because his main goal is to destroy, but if we choose life with God, then we have a way out of any situation, even the most difficult one.
During the Bible lessons with older children, there were held some lessons with younger children as well, during which we began to tell them biblical stories, such as “The Creation of the World”, “The Fall,” and the story of Cain and Abel. During lessons, we used visual materials to make it easier for children to understand and remember the story. A big blessing for me was when the girls ran to meet us and immediately recited the Bible verse they had learned in the previous lesson.
Thank God for this month. Blessings to you, dear readers!
year. This month had started with one great event! Several children from the same family, who had been in the orphanage for a long time, were finally able to return home. The decision on their case had been postponed for a long time, and the children became sadder and sadder.
The elder boy, whose name is Maxim, was particularly sad, because he understood more than his younger brothers what was going on in their family’s life. Seeing the changing mood of the kids, our team offered to pray together that these children would be taken home as soon as possible. Arriving a week later, we learned that they were no longer in the shelter! It turned out that God answered the prayers of the kids and they were sent home to their family. Unfortunately, we could not say goodbye to them, but we know for sure that it 
was an answer to our mutual prayers and it was a testimony both for this family and for those kids who stayed in the orphanage, because the kids themselves told us about how God answered, and how Max and his brothers went home!
For the elder teenager Arseny and for the girl Ksyusha, who is about 8 years old. Interestingly, despite the age difference, the children perfectly perceived the Bible lessons that we conducted. Perhaps this is not surprising, because we talked about resentment, betrayal, pride, as well as envy. All these negative feelings and emotions are familiar to people from early childhood, it’s just that someone encountered them more in their life, and someone less, and everyone had their own circumstances. Each topic was given a separate lesson. We talked a lot 
about the destructive power and the consequences of envy, resentment and betrayal, but we also tried to show the guys that all these problems can be solved and that there is a way out in God and His word, because He came into the world so that people would have life and have it in abundance. That is why it is important for every person to cope with their negative emotions, so that they would neither destroy themselves, nor other people. At the very last meeting of this month, four more children came to the orphanage. We are just beginning to get acquainted with them. I hope we can become friends, mentors or older brothers and sisters for them, to support and direct them to Someone who loves them with a special love.
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!
teenagers. All of them are waiting for our arrival, one of them even once said, when the team was going to go home, “I wish next Tuesday would come soon so that you would come again.”
On the last trip, Katya, who is 6 years old, asked why we couldn’t stay longer and leave later. The kids happily go to hug the team members. We play a common game with all the children together, and then we divide them into two groups: kids separately, teenagers separately. The kids were informed in simple words about what God is, that He is Kind and that He loves them. They were also told about prayer, that you can communicate with God and you don’t need any special skills for this. Despite their age, it resonates with them. What we tell them does not pass without a trace, it feels that it is still 
possible to convey to them some truths 
about God at the level of their understanding. There were moments when the kids talked about what was happening at their home. A girl named Zhenya told how her father beat her mother in the face. A girl named Katya told how her mother beat her grandmother, who was sitting in a wheelchair, and how she and her younger brothers waited for dad to come home so that it would end. Katya from the team told the children the story of her childhood and described the difficulties she had to go through.
Older children listen to Bible stories with interest. Some of them actively read the Bible for Teenagers in their free time, which we brought them, and at home they do even more than what we ask them to do. It is clear that they are not indifferent to what is happening: they remember well what they are told, it is felt that they are involved in the conversation, they willingly answer questions in the course of the story. For several weeks, they were told about Who Jesus Christ is, what He is and what significance it has for their lives, analyzing with them some stories from the Gospels and parables that Jesus spoke.
These guys are open to sowing the seed of faith in them. Last week we spent the birthday boy’s day. We gathered all the guys and said that we want to celebrate your birthday with you. We brought a cake and candles with us. When we all sat down at the table, the guys had to put out the candles. And this joy was in the eyes of the guys. They shouted again, light the candles again. We were so glad to see the happy eyes of the guys. I’ve never had such a birthday, the kids said. And we, looking at this joy, simply thanked God. The guys from the shelter will soon leave for the camps. And each member of the eam said his wishes to the guys. We prayed and blessed the guys. Dear friends, thank you for your prayers and support of the ministry! We are glad that together with you we can influence children and that the kingdom of God is spreading.
is about 7-8 years old. When we last visited the children who were with Ksyusha at the same time, she already knew then that she would be left alone, approached each person from the team and said that she would be waiting for all of us next Tuesday. A couple of weeks later, a new girl, Zhenya, who is three and a half years old, appeared in the shelter. It was obvious from Ksyusha that she was jealous. 
When I asked her what was the matter, she admitted it herself that she did not like that all the attention was immediately on Zhenya. It was felt that Ksyusha lacked attention and love. Zhenya and Ksyusha were always glad to see us, they loved to dance, sing, and also play with us. Smart girls for their age. Ksyusha is very good at retelling the biblical stories that we told her, absorbs everything like a sponge, although not diligent.
actually read, and even more than one story. Julia, who is 14 years old, read half of the children’s Bible in a week.
LOVE 4 THE CHILDREN 