This year, September was sunny and warm just like in summer. Usually, in such weather, children spend 
most of their time outside and they have a choice between coming to our meetings and rushing outside and spending time there. We tried to organize our meetings so that we could communicate with children who did come and with those who ran away outside. We spent the very first trip of this month completely outside. Our team was divided into several groups, in which we communicated with the guys on topics of interest to them, found out how they spent their summer, what good things happened in their lives, and also learned their prayer needs, for which we then prayed with them.
And also, each person from our team shared their testimony from life, telling how Jesus can help us. At one of the meetings, we organized sports relay races for the guys. I like this time because we have the opportunity to learn more about the character of children, see how well or poorly they get along with each other, how they are able to accept victories and defeats, as well as how they are able to work in a team and support players who may be weaker due to their physical limitations. We were there with the guys to guide, correct and support them in critical situations.
In the following meetings, we talked about why Jesus helps people, and also that He is ready to accept 
them as who they are. We also discussed why 
Jesus went to the cross. Next, we started a series of topics on Bible stories from the New Testament. The children especially remembered the “story of the prodigal son”. It was difficult for them to understand and accept that the father forgave the prodigal son without any reproaches, let him back into his house, fed him and gave him all the best. But God does the same thing – forgives and accepts everyone who opens their heart to Him! At the end of the meeting, a girl, Polina, came up to us and said that she really wanted a Bible for herself.
At such moments, I realize that each of us, no matter if you are an adult or a child, still needs God’s word. We know that there is a Bible in the school library, but for children who ask for it personally, we always try to bring a separate book for them personally. During our ministry to orphans, we have become convinced that children who read the Bible not only know the biblical story well, but God also heals their minds and hearts, making them able to accept and accommodate the truth. A lot of these guys, after graduating from school, when they come to new cities to work or study, find a church for themselves and stay there. For me, this is joy of victory of God in the lives of the orphaned children we serve!
from the Rudensky school, where we have been coming on Wednesdays since 2008, but each time we were refused. We did not give up, held camps for other children from other schools, believed that God could open this door, prayed constantly and a miracle happened! We were given permission to conduct a 10-day camp on the school grounds for 146 children. Praise God for the opportunity to share his love and truth through Bible lessons, joy through games and creativity, new skills through communication and learning!
Our camp was called “The Secret Within,” and every day we revealed a new facet of the beauty of our inner man according to God’s plan, and not the depravity and destruction of this world. We chose this topic not by chance; when we arrived on Wednesdays and talked with the children, we noticed that they completely devalued themselves and believed in lies that resulted from mistreatment and rejection by parents and close relatives. In recent years, we have seen that children need adult mentors who will help them gain the necessary experience that will help them in life. We chose the most relevant topics in which we saw that children have big problems, especially after graduating from school.
We divided the children into two large 
groups: children from 6 to 12 years old and from 13 to 17 years old. All the children were very open to actively discussing topics and participating in our meetings. I would like to note that thanks to these meetings, the children began to cope with low self-esteem, criticism, guilt, envy and unforgiveness.
Examples of lesson topics: a heart that is 
wise, a heart that is obedient, a heart that is grateful, a heart that is forgiving, a heart that is faithful, a heart that is loving. During the lesson about obedience, there were a lot of questions from the children, and from their reaction it was clear that they really wanted and tried to be obedient, but the internal pain from the traumas they had experienced was preventing them.
Vladik (he is 10 years old) said that
his parents often offended and punished him just like that, for no reason, and then abandoned him forever, sending him to a boarding school. His question to God was: is it his fault that he was abandoned? For what actions does God punish people? And how to become obedient?
We said that he was not to blame for
his parents’ lifestyle. And that parent’s hearts and lifestyle were destroyed by sin. We talked about the qualities of God, His mercy and justice, and that His love never fails. After the lesson, Vlad wanted to pray and ask for forgiveness from God. And he also decided to forgive his parents.
During the camp, we saw changes in the children’s
behavior towards each other and their teachers. They began to react more calmly, support those who were weaker, ask for forgiveness if they were wrong or called names, in general the atmosphere in the camp became more friendly. On the day of gratitude, we gave an example of the healing of 10 lepers and the children from the third grade said that they would pray for the healing of Ksyusha, because she does not speak, but only nods her head and has difficulty pronouncing even her name. Together with them, we asked Jesus to heal her and take away her fear. Next day, when we were making crafts with our own hands and the adults were helping, Christina from the team decided to help Ksyusha and began asking questions about the craft and what she wanted to do and in what color. Suddenly Ksyusha spoke up and began to list all the colors and was even surprised herself, from what he said. Children from her class began to jump, scream with joy and thank God for the miracle. We are all very grateful to God for Ksyusha’s healing!!!
There were also many interesting games and clubs in our camp, where children learned to work together to win as a class and have a good time. At first, they humiliated those who were weaker or could not cope with the task, but we, on the contrary, encouraged and helped, taught them to be friendly and value each participant. After each game, we made conclusions and explained that we all have different abilities, talents, and that we even think differently, but only by supporting and respecting each other can we achieve our goals and be winners. The children said that we taught them to play very interesting games and gave them many bright moments in life and, of course, they were happy with the gifts they received for their participation!
During creativity classes, Natasha prepared crafts in such a way that everyone could try themselves in drawing, modeling, weaving, and creating their own toys. This develops creative thinking and hand motor skills in children and teaches perseverance and accuracy. All the children enthusiastically went to work and rejoiced at what they did with their own hands.
The school administration included 
one hour of daily work in the garden in the camp schedule. We also decided to take part in this work and be an example for the children. Our help in such boring hard work became a great testimony for educators and each child. Working together, we were able to communicate with children on various topics and show that work is an important part of our lives and after graduating from school they can choose the profession of a vegetable grower or farmer.
The most important part of each day was the evening meetings in the assembly hall, where we sang songs with a biblical meaning. And at such moments the children’s faces glowed with love and they calmed down in the atmosphere of God’s presence. One evening, after Vlad’s topic about how we are all very dear to God and He will never leave us, teenager Kirill said: I think God has left us and forgotten us, because all the circumstances are against us. And it was so nice at the end of the camp to hear his words of gratitude to God, who sent such volunteers to serve all the children in their school.
On the last day, we invited all the older
children to make peace with God and about 80% of the children consciously prayed and asked God to change their lives! We were very happy to serve every child and believe that the seed sown will grow and bear fruit!!! Thank you all for your prayers and participation! May the Lord bless you and strengthen you!
still in the hospital, so we spent time with Darina and Timofey. On the one of our last meetings, we told them the biblical story of how Jesus healed a sick man who was lowered through a roof. The guys listened carefully and actively answered questions.
Unfortunately, it is very clear that their parents did not work with them much, although the children are very intelligent. They also have very little idea about God, but they listen with interest when we tell them about Him. Therefore, I would really like to continue to visit them so that they learn who is God, what He is like and how this relates to their lives. Last time we met, we drew with chalk crayons on the street, which helped us communicate with them 
even more. Children treat us completely differently than they did on the first day we met, they are much more disposed towards us. For example, Tima smiled very sweetly at us and actively hugged us when we said goodbye. Let’s hope that we will continue to be able to build relationships with the guys.
There were always children there, and our team actively visited them. This year there were children of different ages: from two years old to teenagers. There were children who were taken from their family and towards the end of the year they were returned back to their family, there was a teenager who was taken from a family-type orphanage and who had been in a colony before the orphanage, there was a girl who had been in the orphanage for a long time and who was taken to family-type orphanage. During this time we told them Bible stories, parables of Jesus, talked to them about the qualities of God, raised various practical topics and we wanted the guys to get to know 
Christ through all this. The children were not from Christian families and before meeting us they had a very weak idea of God, but they listened carefully to what we told them and remembered surprisingly well. It was very clear how the guys understood biblical truths better and better after each meeting. In addition, our meetings were accompanied by games, songs, and communication with the guys, which helped us to create a friendly atmosphere. The children had holidays for Christmas and Easter along with wonderful gifts. It was clear that the guys were friendly to the team and were looking forward to meeting us, and besides, they talked about it themselves more than once. Thank God that He gave these wonderful guys the opportunity to serve. It was truly a special time.
were trips to the guys who became not just
friends for us but a big family. This year, more than fifteen new children have been brought to the school, and about ten people will graduate this year. On the one hand, getting to know new guys, and on the other, the release of those who have become dear friends for you. We communicate a lot with the guys who will graduate and that’s what Vanya said: “I’m very worried about how I will be greeted at the training school in the new place and how they will treat me! I love my school very much, because this is my home, where I feel safe.” Andrey said that he is waiting for graduation, believes that everything will work out for him in life and that a lot of acquaintances are waiting ahead. We talked to the older guys about the qualities of God, what He is like.
The fact is that children were told about God in wrong way, referring to the heroes of Greek mythology, and accordingly the children have no hope in difficult circumstances. That’s why we decided that we would tell the guys about God, who loves, protects, helps, and also gives his life in redemption for sins. And it’s so nice to see guys who tell us that when they pray, God changes the circumstances: – We won the football game, passed the exam well, grandma called and said she was already healthy. Only God can help from a distance, and thank God that faith is being formed in children.
Also this month, we talked with the younger guys about Daniel and his lost childhood. We told them that Daniel was taken captive and he was an orphan. But despite this, Daniel remained faithful to God, he and his friends remembered what their parents had taught them, so they did not compromise when they were offered food sacrificed to idols. This lesson was especially told, because although the guys already know a lot, sometimes when they are alone with a problem they often make the wrong decisions. And with this story, we wanted to teach them not to go away from the right path and remember that bad companies will lead to wrong decisions and difficulties. We also talked about faithfulness at another meeting.
The fact is that it is difficult to be faithful nowadays. This quality is sometimes considered a weakness rather than a virtue. But we decided nevertheless to show what faithfulness produces by the example of Daniel. So, we told them about Daniel and how he got into the lion’s den. We said that Daniel was faithful to both God and the king, even the enemies could not figure out how to accuse Daniel, so they went to cunning and deception. Faithfulness is the most precious thing that can be, and when I asked what faithfulness was, the guys offered one definition after another and it’s nice that they know this word. “Faithfulness is good,” Yarik, who speaks poorly, shouted at me. And Edik said that it is difficult to be faithful and fulfill all the duties and requests of the teacher. That’s why this lesson is important. I told the story of Daniel how he was betrayed for his loyalty to God and the king and how he got into the lion’s den. I asked if Daniel got into the moat fairly, whether he did something wrong. The guys answered no. I said that sometimes we will be accused, told lies, but we must be faithful and devoted and then God will help us in life. God saved Daniel from being torn to pieces. Both for him and for us, God can and wants to help. Dear friends, despite a difficult year, we are glad that we could be faithful to God and faithfully convey God’s truths in the Belynichy boarding School. Thank you for your support and prayers! God bless you!
communicate with them and lead them 
to Jesus Christ. Many thanks for your prayers. In May, we told the children that God is an omnipresent God, that He is near, that He hears our prayers and He is not far from each of us. Just as God is Light and there is no darkness in Him. We told the children that if they believe that they walk with God but walk in the dark: they slander each other, offend, steal, call out, do not listen to the elders and educators, then God does not want this and that such a person is still in the dark, we tried to make the children look at their fruits. We constantly pray 
for children and together with them 
during our meetings, children tell us what to pray for them and share their experiences and their lives, it really encourages me to continue to come and participate in their lives, helping them come to Christ, pointing them to Him both in prayer and in words, and in business and in our games with them.Also in May the children did crafts and thank God that they can just chat with believers and sometimes a whole lesson just to do something together, I believe that this also strengthens our friendship with them and communication.Also in May, we held a lesson with them on the topic “the impossible is possible” and we took the topic about 
how Jesus pacifies the sea and that 
everything is possible for Jesus. So that the children would know that He is God and that we need to trust Him and go to him. It is always very interesting when someone asks questions about the Bible, it shows that children think what they are talking about. I am very glad when we can sing songs with them and just play something fun and interesting. During the games, too, the children’s hearts are very open, you can immediately see who behaves and how who treats each other. We also have to constantly admonish them so that they do not slander each other and do not offend.
This part of the trip is always present. But we also try to encourage them. I was surprised when one of the guys named Sasha took me aside and asked: “but I’m reading the Bible and praying, and then what? What should happen?” – I was very glad that he asked this question and was just as glad to give him time and explain why God wants to communicate with us and that we communicate with Him and what prevents our communication and how we reconcile with Christ. Also in May, my wife and I took 2 girls for foster care for the weekend they are Sveta and Bojena, we were happy to go with them to nature, light a bonfire and chat, we were also glad that on Sunday they could be with us at a meeting and watch how the church gathers and what it does. We are also always glad when we can once again personally tell them the good news about Christ and the Kingdom of God.
Please pray for the service of children in the boarding school. I see how Scripture speaks about the importance and value of us, the disciples of Christ, being a light for children in boarding school all the time, they need it more than the children of believing parents. They don’t have believing parents, they don’t have a church, and if not we then whom will tell them about Christ? and if we don’t tell them, then how can they be saved? Even if sometimes they are not attentive or often you do not see in them an interest in Christ, unfortunately, our responsibility before God is to be a light for them and bring this light about the glory of Christ directly to their home in boarding school – so that they can hear. Romans 10:17 “Faith comes from hearing, and hearing comes from the word of God.” and it is also written: Proverbs 22:6 “Instruct a young man at the beginning of his path: he will not turn away from it when he is old”.
LOVE 4 THE CHILDREN 