LOVE 4 THE CHILDREN

Hello brothers and sisters! We are grateful to you for your participation in the ministry of the gospel for orphans. Thank God that He allows us to visit children, gives strength both spiritual and physical, encourages, opens the doors of orphanages and adds people who would like to participate in this ministry – please pray for this so that God supports the ministry team and the children to receive God’s blessing through this. This month we told the guys about such stories from the Bible as: “Jesus heals 10 lepers.” We talked about how important it is to be sincerely grateful to God. “The Healing of Bartimaeus.” We told the children that Bartimaeus trusted Jesus and was persistent in his asking, and God blessed him and told him, “your faith has saved you,” and although Bartimaeus was blind, he saw that Jesus was the Messiah promised by God and the Savior of the world. “A wonderful saturation of five thousand people with five loaves.

” We talked about the fact that God takes care of us both physically and spiritually. We also talked about a lot of other things with the children, trying to answer their questions and explain the Bible to them in a simple and accessible way. We hope to God and pray that the Word of God sown in the hearts of children will bring good fruit. Since the beginning of the month there were about 9 children in the shelter, but last week at the beginning Dima, Polina and Vlad were taken back to the family and then Vika, Tolik, Katya, Roma and Sasha either, and only Ksyusha remained alone. When we were leaving, Ksyusha said that she will be waiting for us very much and that she really wanted to play with us and sing songs next tuesday. We wanted to go to visit her, but unfortunately she got sick, and so now a week later we plan to go to see her. Although she is the only one there, but even one soul is valuable and important to the Lord. When we arrived, the children always greeted us as if we had already become part of their family, it was obvious from their communication, they became more informal, simple and opened. We are grateful to God that we can serve children and tell them about the Bible and Christ. We are also glad that sister Anya joined the ministry, she asked children questions about the story, organized games and prayed for the children, this is a great encouragement for us. Brother David also joined us, he actively helps us in communicating with children, with games and supports us in prayer. We ask to pray that God would send workers to His harvest.

Greetings, brothers and sisters. We want to thank you for your prayers for orphan ministry in Belarus. This month we have an update: Dasha, Yana, Vlad and Stas (which are siblings) are leaving the orphanage. These children were taken from their families to an orphanage so that their parents could improve their living conditions. When they arrived at the orphanage, they watched and listened carefully to everything we said, in addition they didn’t know much about God and saw christians for the first time. The team tried to create an atmosphere where the kids could feel safe. This month we talked about Ruth and about the importance of listening to the advice of elders. We said that Ruth obeyed Naomi and as a result of her right decisions and deeds she became progenitress of Jesus Christ. The kids were amazed by the act of Boaz, who chose a poor girl as his wife and that Boaz became a relative of the Redeemer as well. In conclusion, we said that for all people Jesus is the Redeemer.

The next time we came, we made some crafts with kids. When the children entered the classroom, they were very surprised, because before that they have only seen crafts in stores (as Polina said). We told them that we are going to make some bracelets, as well as thermal mosaic. The kids were excited, full of joy and interest. Polina decided to make a cat, but she was too excited so some small pieces  constantly fell out. Some children have great fine motor skills but unfortunately others don’t. This is so great that the kids can practice and develop new skills! It was nice to see when the guys united so quickly to collect figures of the same color without our help. We said to kids that it’s great how they act when someone of them has a need, because in this case they immediately left their work and helped each other as it should be. Making crafts that evening was really unifying, even the educators were interested in watching how the children enthusiastically were making them. During that, kids talked about themselves and their hobbies, it was a great time to get to know each other better.

When we came for another time, we were told that new children had arrived. There were 11 kids that evening. All of them came from a family where the mother was admitted to the hospital and the children were sent to this orphanage. After we met we played for a while. During the game children were distracted from the stress of moving to the orphanage. Loud laughter filled the hall, where we were playing. When we came back to the classroom I told them the story about Esther, that she was an orphan and how God blessed her that she became a Queen. Children were told that she had fears like each of us. Esther was also afraid when Mordecai asked her to go to the king and ask for the people. This story shows that we should overcome our fears and that it is easier to go through difficult situations with our God. At the end of this bible story we asked them about the most surprising part of it. One of them said: I like that she asked the king for the people despite the fact that she was afraid because there was a chance to be killed. Another child said: Fear is something that binds me but her example inspires me a lot. Thank God for busy February, for answering to prayers and for the fact that kids are leaving the orphanage and come back home. Thanks for your dedication!

Greetings, brothers and sisters! At the beginning of this year we were very happy to find out that in the Smilovichi orphanage Maxim and Alesya, brother and sister, reunited with their family. It has been more than seven months since they were taken from their family for the first time in their lives and placed in a orphanage. Their mother raising her children turned out to be unable to provide for the children and they were taken to a orphanage for some period of time. At our very first meeting Maxim and Alesya were scared and they were very slow with developing a rapport with us. But after some time they felt safe, they began to smile and said they could play with you. That’s how our friendship began. God blessed the team and when we were sharing with our friends about Ales and Maxim many believers donated clothes and when the children were taken away by their mother, she was very surprised at amount of necessary things her children used to lack.

I remember our last Christmas evening with the guys, when we celebrated the Nativity of Jesus Christ. I talked about the meaning of this holiday, that God gave the world the greatest gift — His Son and on the birthday of Jesus we can ask God to answer our prayers and needs. The prayer of the guys was to return back home to their mothers. I can say for sure that for everyone it was a great testimony of how God answers prayers. Alesya amd Maxim are finally home and we praise God for the answer to a simple prayer: – God help mom to take us back home as quickly as possible. There are also other children in the orphanage and we talked with them about the importance of prayer and how God answers prayer. An example of our lesson was Anna. We told about Anna’s life. About Peninnah who often offended Anna. After that Dima asked: Do believers have problems? We say: yes, they do, but let’s see how the story ended. God gave Anna the baby she asked for so much. What does this mean for us? To ask even when no one believes, to believe God even when you don’t see answer yet. It can be difficult to believe till you get the answer, but how happy Anna was when God answered her prayer and how happy we will be when God answers ours.

Prayer is the key that sometimes opens closed doors. The next time we talked about Jonah, who was supposed to come to Nineveh. Jonah surprised the guys with his disobedience to God. Jonah was disobedient to God, just as we are sometimes — Polina said. In our life we often do not listen to God and do not act as He would like us to. We think we know more and we are smarter, but then we wonder why there are so many problems in our life. This story showed how much God loves the lost people of Nineveh, no one loved them because of their sins and only a loving God is trying his best to save them. After that story we were saying to guys that many people make mistakes when they try to hide from God, pretending that He simply does not exist. But in moments of rejection and despair God is near, He is here and He loves each of us. God also loves you! — I said. Vladik smiled he was pleased to hear it. We are very glad that God loves children who need parents and we see that God uses us to show His love to children. We were also glad to hear that Maxim and Alesya are doing well and they are talking to their mother about believers who talked about a loving God. Thank you for your prayers and for your support in serving orphans. Be blessed!

Our trips to the orphanage in December were very friendly and we see how the Lord opens their hearts to us. They trust us and tell their stories, share their joys or experience. We rejoice that God’s love flows through us and heals their hearts, fills the void inside every child! The first two weeks we completed a series of topics about the life of David and Saul, reflecting on where God was in the difficulties that David faced, because he loved God. The guys drew parallels between the reign of Saul and his character, as well as the reign of David. We realized that without a close relationship with God it is very difficult to be a king or other influential person, because only God gives wisdom, love for people and humility, which is so lacking for those who have been entrusted with power.

Before the feast of the Nativity of Jesus Christ, Dima revealed to the children the topic of the birth of Jesus and what we actually celebrate. We broke false beliefs about Santa Claus, different heroes of fairy tales and spoke the truth. The children didnt know that the Savior was born on this day and that he was the Son of God, who agreed to live the life of a man, be brutally killed by people (his own creation), resurrect and continue to love us all. Alesya, she is 10 years old, she was very surprised that Jesus was born in a barn, because He could be born in the best palace on earth. We explained that God showed his accessibility to any person, that he loves not only rich, but also poor people, that for the sake of love for us, Jesus is ready for anything!!!

At the end of the month, we, together with everyone who supports the ministry, bought gift sets for children, with everything they need. We bought a cake and lit candles and thanked God together for His Son Jesus Christ. At the table, we talked, answered questions, ate and rejoiced that we could be with these children and show them how families celebrate Christmas.

Of course, the moment when the guys opened the gifts was the most joyful and emotional, they were happy with everything, even a regular pen for writing or toothpaste, and we were pleased to watch them and be participants in God’s plan for the lives of these wonderful guys. Praise God and Merry Jesus Christ!!!

New guys have arrived in Smilovichi this November. So Alesia and Max don’t feel so lonely now, because along with them there are other children who are in a similar life situation and have similar experiences. At the moments of the arrival of new children we have ambivalent feelings. On the one hand, it is good that there is an opportunity to talk about God to new children, but on the other hand, it is upsetting that some more children are in a difficult situation and for certain reasons are experiencing separation from their parents.

So, let’s get acquainted! The whole family came to the orphanage again. Dima, who is 13 years old, Polina, 11 years old, and Vladik, who is only 4 years old. Unlike Max and Alesya, those children’s relatives often visit them and there is hope that the children will be able to return to their native family. Speaking about the guys themselves, Dima is a more open and cheerful boy who quickly became friends with our team. Polina also tries very hard to be sociable, but because of the stress and rejection that the girl has experienced, she often competes, envies other guys and shows aggression. And little Vladik most of all likes talking about the fact that he has a father and mother who will come for him soon. It’s feels like Vlad misses his parents especially much and seems to convince himself that he definitely has them and that he will be taken away from the orphanage soon. Our team is trying to support the children and direct their thoughts and dreams to God, because there is nothing impossible for Him!

In November, we told the children the life story of Moses, through whom God saved the Israeli people from Egyptian slavery. And the guys also learned the 10 commandments that God left to all people through Moses, which are still important and relevant for all mankind today. At the end of the month, we started introducing the guys to a new biblical hero – David. We talked about the fact that God, unlike people, primarily looks at the human heart, and also that God knows even the most hidden thoughts and secrets and sees the very depths of our hearts. To make the children remember the story better, we had a mini-play in which each of them took part. Someone was the prophet Samuel, whom God sent for a new king, someone was Jesei, among whose sons God chose a king, someone was the shepherd David, who once fought with a lion, and someone was responsible for the hearts that God pays so much attention to. We also told the children the story of David’s battle with the giant Goliath. We hope to continue further study of David’s life story with the children in December. At the very last meeting of November, we met two more new children. Two brothers – a 12 year-old Vlad, and a 2 year-old Roma. They are still a little closed and keep distance, but we really hope that we can make friends with them. Dear friends, thank you to everyone who supports us! This is very valuable! May God bless you!