LOVE 4 THE CHILDREN

At the moment, there are five children in the Smilovichi social center. There are four girls and a boy. All of the children are from the same family.  They are very bright, beautiful, and communicative children, who got into a hard life situation. Milana, who is the oldest girl, sometimes behaves like a mum. She tries to discipline her siblings with words or hugs them and holds their hands to comfort them. On the one hand, it is good when children show care to each other, but at the same time, we want so much that their childhood will be real childhood and kids will not have to act like adults! Dasha and Angelina have very noticeable speech problems. Both girls stutter very much and, as a result, they often avoid talking with little known people although they are very sociable and love attention. What is good in this situation is that these girls get a lot of help here. The speech therapist and the psychologist work with them, and they attend a comprehensive school. Nazar, who is their brother, doesn’t usually try to grasp our attention, however, he, like any child, loves when someone hugs him, gives him presents, and just listens to him during a conversation. The youngest girl is Kira. We shared about her birthday not long ago. She turned four at that time. This little girl has serious hearing problems, so we have to talk with her using sign language. That is a good experience for our team! Despite Kira’s hearing problem and her young age, we try to involve her in our program. Christian songs with movements are a great help here because Kira takes part in them with great pleasure. She also likes bright pictures that we use during the Bible lessons. The situation with Kira shows us once again that the word of God is living and active and love destroys all the boundaries! Glory be to God for that! In December, Kura is going to the hospital. She will is going to have a thorough examination, which will show if she has any chance to have surgery that will restore her hearing. We hope for God’s mercy and firmly believe that there is nothing impossible for Him!

In November, we have discussed a few Bible stories. The children have found out about Moses and the journey of the Israel people across the desert. They have also learned about the wise queen Esther through whom God saved the whole nation from destruction. The children were especially astonished and excited about the story of Jonah, who was in the belly of the big fish! While sharing this story, we could remind the children one more time that God hears us any time and in any place. Even in the belly of the big fish! We could also tell them that God was omnipresent. At our last meeting, we had a creative activity, during which we could revise all the Bible stories, that we had shared with the children this month.

Dear friends, we would be glad if you supported little Kira in your prayers and also keep praying for our team that continues serving orphans and orphanage graduates of our country!

The Smilovichi Orphanage occupies a special place in my life! There are children in it who were taken the other day from a family where they were in danger. I am grateful to God that in the most acute phase of stress, we can come and get to know the guys, gradually helping them to recover. We have good news this month! Artem and Arseny were taken to a family-type orphanage. These guys were taken into various families, but then returned back. We have seen how the boys suffered, but now there is certainty in their lives. We’ve been talking a lot about God and prayer lately. Despite their age, the guys prayed and asked God so that they could get into the family, and here’s a miracle – they were taken away! Talking to the orphanage’s teacher, she said that she got used to boys and she misses them now. But the main thing is that they got into the family and now they will find out what having a mom and dad is! This month we talked at the orphanage about the life of Joseph. It was said that Joseph was also betrayed by his brothers and had to become an orphan. The story reached boys, because of how often, as Milana said, they met with envy for their sisters when they were given beautiful things. Dasha told how she envied her little sister Kira when she was given beautiful toys. Through the biblical story we see an actual example for life. For example, when Potiphar’s wife wanted Joseph to do a bad thing, Joseph ran away. We said that sometimes our peers will provoke us to do something bad in order to get rich quickly, cheat, or disobey a caregiver or parent. They say that by such actions we will show everyone that we are independent and already adults, forgetting about the consequences. We said that God watches over every action. Joseph ran away from bad deeds. So we have to run away from bad surroundings and people who want to harm us. Even the teacher said that we have interesting, deep lessons! We just want to show through the stories that are written in the Bible what our decisions lead to. We know that time will pass, and God will put Joseph second after Pharaoh. For us, this means that, despite the fact that you are an orphan, you can achieve a high position in life. If you have a close relationship with God, then God will create goodwill around you in front of people. But you also need to remember that honesty and loyalty are valued in this world.

Natasha also came to the shelter with us. She ran a DIY workshop with the kids. We were making Noah’s Ark. We try very hard to develop children’s motor skills through creativity, and we see that children have problems with this. During the creative process, we remembered Noah and his family. They also talked about God’s covenant with man through the rainbow. Nazar said that now when they walk on the street and he sees a rainbow, he remembers us and Noah, as well as God. “I’m just smiling at the rainbow”! God remembers His promise. We are glad that we could make fakes and repeat the lesson! At the last meeting of this month, it was the birthday of the youngest girl Kira. She turned 4 years old. We all congratulated her and brought her gifts in order to please her. At the request of the educators, we were able to purchase brushes, toothpastes, shampoos and soap for the children. Many thanks to those who helped financially to be able to buy everything you need! We are glad that the trips to the shelter continue! Thank you very much, friends, for your prayers!

Greetings dear brothers and sisters. In following description I want to share the news of our service to orphans in Belarus. A new school year has begun, and we have the opportunity to visit children with our programs. In this particular description I want to tell you about the Smilovichy orphanage.

When we came there, we saw Arseny and Artem. We were very glad to see them, but we were immediately flooded with some bad memories. These brothers have already been taken into families three times and returned to the orphanage. The boys are very developed, interesting and sociable. Before the holidays, they often say that they dream of being taken home as soon as possible. But now they stopped talking about home, stopped telling about their parents. During lessons they sit on someone’s lap and cuddle very hard. We see that they lack both male and maternal attention.

Also in the new school year, a family showed up. These are Dasha, Milana, Kira, Angelina and Nazar. They are all from one family. They are very interesting children. Before they had never met believers and know little about God. Kira is the smallest, she has some ear disease, she doesn’t hear well. Now doctors are deciding what the hearing loss is related to. The most memorable thing about Kira at our first meeting was that she found everything around her to be interesting. She is very dependent on the tutor. She is watching but without making any contact. Fortunately she saw us each visit we made and began to trust us.Kira is 3 years old, she is a giggler. I also want to tell you about Dasha, a girl of 8 years old. She has a leadership potential. She likes to win. Unfortunately she stutters. Despite her stuttering, she is very curious, everything is interesting to her, she always tries to retell the lesson or tell something about school. And Angelina, a blonde girl who has been through a lot. She is very savvy and loves to draw. She misses home. During our meetings Angelina is very active, remembers things well. When she is worried she stutters. Milana is the older sister, she is 12 years old. She is very opened and looks after all her sisters and brother like a mother does. She helps them with self-care and studying. And I want to note Nazar. This little boy is beautiful and very sociable but he can’t pronounce the letters fully. It makes him so cute.

 In total, there are only 7 children in the orphanage. With the guys we started to study how God created the world. And it’s so wonderful to see children’s reaction to that. They believed that the creation of the universe happened exactly the way it is described in the Bible. Next lesson we told them about Adam and Eve. We said that God created man for communication with Him. God is always pleased when we communicate with Him through prayer. Milana said that she asks God to help her when she feels she can’t cope with something. And then I said that such simple words addressed to God is actually a prayer. Such simple words is something that God loves the most. Milana was shy but I encouraged her to continue her communication with God. I told her that there is nothing wrong with her prayer. Another time we visited these children we were talking about Cain and Abel. We said that God sees our hearts. He knows everything that happens in our thoughts and knows when we are jealous. God wants to help us! If we want something, we should ask God for it. God will always tell us that we don’t need to be envious because we have Father in Heaven who always cares for us. I asked them what were they jealous of? Someone said he wanted a jacket like Angelina’s jacket, the other child said he wanted a typewriter, candy and colored pencils. God can give you all these things through people you don’t even know about. The time of the lesson passed so quickly and we were very late. I am very glad that we have the opportunity to visit these children in the orphanage. Thank God that there are open doors for the Gospel there. I see that each our visit causes changes in them. They have more conversation about God and ask about Him. Friends, let’s pray for all these children have families where they will have loving parents.

Good afternoon, dear brothers and sisters! I’m happy to talk about what happened in June today! The Smilovichi orphanage has recently occupied a special place in my life. It seems to me that these children are becoming so close to us that not only they, but also we  expect to meet them! Arseny and Artem are two brothers. They are very smart and cheerful. When we first met them, they spoke little, and if they did, it was somehow incomprehensible and funny. But these guys so often try to climb into my arms: “Dima, take me in your arms and circle!” It can be seen that they lack a man’s hand, as well as attention. “Can you hug me?” – such questions always evoke positive emotions! Recently, their father began to visit them. Mom is deprived of her rights, but sometimes she visits the children at the orphanage. But attention and affection, the boys still really do not have enough. This month we have reiterated on a simple level who God is and how He helps. I asked what to do when it is bad or scary. The guys shouted in eager rivalry: “Ask God for protection”! I see that the seed sown begins to set the direction, and now, in order not to happen, they will ask God for help. Together with them, we pray that God will send them to the family.  Diana is also at the shelter. Recently, Katya talked to her one-on-one. The fact is that Diana is 16 years old and she looks to the future with apprehension. Dad left mom and Diana, and mom met a boyfriend and practically did not deal with Diana, so she was taken to an orphanage. A lot of pain fills Diana’s heart. “Diana, what is the most difficult thing in your life?” – I asked while talking to her. “The most difficult thing is to forgive my dad and  mother”! Katya taught Diana to keep a diary in which she can pour out all her pain. The diary is like a prayer, when you recite everything that has accumulated inside you, you can ask to show God where He was in this situation. During our next meeting, Katya with Diana, wrote a letter to God. In this letter was written the most precious and intimate. “Do you think, Katya, God sees everything that we have written?” Katya said yes with confidence! It is so important to have in life a person who will show a way out in a difficult transitional age. Diana is going to study this year. She dreams of becoming a programmer. She really likes mathematics. One of our acquaintances, when he found out that she liked mathematics, decided to donate textbooks for admission to this university. Thank God that He opens the hearts of people to help and give what will help with admission.! Diana will be admitted on July 20th. Let’s pray for her that God will help her to enter the educational institution she dreams of!

Also Liza, Tima, Vanya, Irka, Matvey are now in the summer camp. They were sent from the shelter for recovery. During a conversation with the administration, we were told that after the camp, their dad should take them home. Now he has corrected everything that threatened the lives of the children in his house and now their house is safe. All these guys missed not only their dad, but also their favorite pets – cats and dogs!

Dear friends, thank you very much for praying with us and serving these children throughout the school year! Your work before God is not in vain! Blessings!

Our trips to the children’s shelter continue and throughout the month we conducted Bible lessons on following the example of the life of Daniel and his friends. Telling this story, we tried to draw the attention of the children to the fact that Daniel has also lost his family and ended up in slavery, and moreover in another country, he went through a lot of pain and suffering. The children were surprised by the courage of these young men and their complete trust in God in such difficult circumstances. Diana, 16 years old, was worried about how to get better and choose the right path, despite the fact that her parents left her and there was no one to help. Listening to the story where Daniel spent time in communion with God 3 times a day praying she realized that she also needed this time with God, as well as reading the Bible and learning more about the truth. She consults with the girls in our team and listens to the advice. We see a good change in her life and want to help her get into college this year. We believe that everything is possible through God! Last Tuesday, 5 children from the same family found out that their dad had collected all the necessary documents and was taking them home. Together we rejoiced and thanked the Lord for the answer that the family would be restored and the children won’t become orphans! We agreed that we would come to visit them if their father gave his permission. Big thanks to everyone for your prayers, we see our prayers answered and give glory to the Father of all orphans!!!