Dear friends! I want to tell you how another month of our service to orphans passed. The time with the 
guys was truly bright and eventful because 
everyone still had the aftertaste of holidays and vacations. Trips to children in Rudensk began with a Christmas program. We love this time very much because both children and adults are especially inclined to hear about God and for us this is a great opportunity to break false stereotypes about Christmas and talk about the true purpose of the birth of Jesus Christ into our world. Of course we told the children the story of Christmas which is written in the Bible. Then there was a time when we sang together some songs for our 
beloved birthday boy Jesus, simply 
hugged each other and were happy that we could spend this time together. After worship we held a Christmas quiz with many interesting questions and tasks. I was very pleased that the guys responded quite well and actively, which means it’s not in vain that they come to our meetings and remember what they hear from us! After the main program we had a tea party with sweets. And at the end of the evening, according to our good tradition, each child received his long-awaited Christmas gift! The children were delighted!
Many of them later returned and thanked us for the gifts! Thank God for the birth of Jesus Christ, that on His own birthday He gives gifts to the people He loves so much! The topic of our next meeting was “Gratitude.” I really want the kids to be able to be grateful not only when they receive gifts, but also in their everyday lives. For example, they are grateful to their teachers for taking care of them or grateful to each other for their help and support in difficult moments of life. Of course, we also taught them to be able to find in every day of life something for which they can thank Heavenly Father, Who is always there and Who gives everything they need for life! As a biblical example we used 
the biblical story of the 10 lepers, in which only 
one person returned to thank Jesus for healing him from a serious illness. We really hope and pray that the word heard will penetrate into children’s hearts and develop in them gratitude to God and people around them. Then we told the children the story of the prodigal son, who realized how good it was to be close to his father only when he had lost and squandered everything he had and was left completely alone, in poverty and in his own helplessness! We dream that every child who heard this biblical story would open his heart to God and never repeat the story of his parents and waste his life on what brings suffering, pain and loneliness.
At the last meeting Anatoliy talked about how he came to God and how much his life had changed. His story was based on the biblical text from the book of Proverbs, chapter 1. It talks about how dangerous bad companies can be and where they lead. But it also talks about what path God offers people. Anatoliy shared with the guys how difficult his life was before meeting God. He also shared how good he is now, what kind friends he has in his life now, and how great it is to follow God!
Children are very impressed and inspired by the testimonies of the team or the guests, which we invite to our meetings sometimes. We hope that the story from Anatoliy’s life not only impressed the guys, but also motivated them to reconsider their own lives. This is relevant especially for graduates who will graduate from school in a few months and go to study or work in different cities. During this period they are seriously faced with the choice of friends, who subsequently have a significant impact on their lives. We always try to involve the children in local churches, but the graduates are the people, who make that final choice! Thank you to everyone who supports us prayerfully and financially, as well as to those who read us!
we conducted Bible lessons with them 
sins, but also about the father’s love and 
forgiveness, great surprise was visible on the faces of the guys. During the discussion of this topic, they said that their lives are also changing thanks to God’s love and forgiveness. Some of them asked us for forgiveness for disrespect, bad behavior and rude words, which they couldn’t restrain sometimes. We see huge changes in their lives, character and light in their eyes. God works in the lives of His children and it is a privilege for us to be a part of it. For younger children, we taught a lesson about God’s love and how we can show our 
love for God, that our actions and decisions 
months of our communication with them, they got 
used to us well. Darina, who is three years old and who at first shunned us and stayed close to her sister, now welcomes us with joy, hugs us and communicates with us. It is clear that each time they wait to meet with us, and besides, they say it themselves. A girl named Alice once said: I was waiting for Tuesday when you would come. When someone from the team can’t join the trip, the guys ask why this person did not come and whether he will be next time. Once we even received handmade gifts from the guys. At the moment in the orphanage there is one teenage boy named Vadim, who never came to our meetings, despite the fact 
that he was called many times. Despite this, one member of our team managed to talk to him alone and tell him the Gospel. This month we had three girls: Yana, Darina and Alice. Unfortunately, their brother was admitted to the hospital. The girls listen well to the Bible lessons. Before meeting us, they had a poor understanding of God and the Bible, for them it is mostly new information. But despite this, they absorb and remember it very well. They are involved in the lesson and actively, sometimes even vying, answer the questions that we ask them during or after the story. Through the Bible lesson, we try to introduce children to God. For example, in the last lessons we talked about gratitude and told them the par
able of the prodigal son. Through this parable, we tried to explain to them that God is loving and that He is always ready to accept a person, no matter what happens in his life.
We also applied this parable into their lives and explained to them that God is just as open to them as to the prodigal son and that God loves them in the same way. We also play different games with the children every time, which they also enthusiastically accept. Games help to get closer to them and create a fun and friendly atmosphere. Also, the guys love Christian songs with movements and even hum them in their free time. During the last trip, we managed to devote time directly to communicate with them. The girls shared what they like to do in their free time, who they would like to become in the future and how they communicate with each other. They talked about how they lived in a family. Their parents visit them from time to time. Like many who are in such institutions, they want to return back to their family. However, as far as we know, they will still be in the orphanage for some time.
Greetings, brothers and sisters. The last month of the year – what was it like for the Belynichi boarding 
school? I can say that it was eventful and fruitful, filled with hope and joy. This year we were able to meet new guys who came to the boarding school. The team took care of the new kids, helping them to integrate into the school. We were also able to hold the summer camp called “Secret Inside”. There are children at school who cannot travel and attend summer camps due to health diagnoses.
We are glad that we were able to hold a camp, as well as participate in the life of the school, to be close to those who need love and support. Special children need special love. We hold meetings with both younger children and older ones. Meetings are held weekly on Thursdays. We sing, play, pray and also discuss current topics. This month we talked about waiting for the birth of Jesus Christ. The guys and I said that by coming into the world, Jesus Christ brought hope to people. We understand what time we live in, but children also need hope. But what do children need hope for? The hope is that despite the difficulties in studying, God can help. For example, a boy prays to improve his studies, and God has arranged for the teacher to spend a little more time with him.
When we arrived another time, he met us and said: “God helped me, I improved my grades”. Only God gives us hope when we ask Him. The following Thursday, we arrived and talked about how the Birth of Jesus Christ brought peace with God to people. Now we have a heavenly Father and He is our intercessor. Peace is what people and children need. Many examples were told by the guys at the meeting how they reconcile and why it is so difficult to forgive. It turned out to be very relevant. But most importantly, Jesus reconciled us to our Heavenly Father. We don’t live in enmity anymore. On the third Thursday, when we arrived at the boarding school, we talked about the birth of Jesus Christ. We were talking about the
Angel who announced the good news to Mary. We talked about how the angels in heaven shouted to the shepherds about the birth of the Savior. The guys who came this year didn’t know the Christmas story well. Their eyes were burning and curiosity pushed them to ask questions and rejoice enthusiastically. The Nativity of Jesus Christ brought people joy, hope, peace, and most importantly salvation through Jesus Christ. God did not want to put up with the fact that man was going to perdition, so God redeemed us from our sins by sending His Son. On December 26, we had our last trip this year. We decided to hold a Christmas performance.
Diana came with us, she helps us periodically. Diana dressed up in a costume of Joy. And on this day we remembered the birth of Jesus Christ, we talked about the importance of God’s coming into the world. We congratulated each other, sang, played, and at the end of the performance there were gifts. Thank God for all the caring people who helped to buy everything necessary for gifts to children. When we opened the gift bags with the kids, the guys were very worried, because they didn’t know what would be there! But when the first gift was opened, a wave of joyous shouting echoed down the corridor! Look what I have! I never even dreamed of such a thing!
I love to draw so much, thank you for giving me paints and brushes, said Seryozhka! Kirill – look at the lego set! Oh thank you very much, it was my dream! Sasha says I like it so much that my gift included a set of hair clips and elastic bands. When all the packages were opened, some children cried with happiness, other guys jumped for joy. Despite the fact that there are a lot of new kids at school now, we are happy to serve them and talk about the most important gift – about Jesus Christ. We are glad that the children pray and thank God for all the good that they have at boarding school. I am glad to witness God’s care and the changes that are happening to the guys. I want to thank everyone who prays, who serves. Thank God for you. I desire to see more changes and goodness from God this new year! Blessings to you and your families!
gratitude to God in a special way for being able to serve,
because it is a real blessing to see the desire with which the children sing songs with us and listen to the lessons. Returning back to Minsk after meeting with the guys, the team and I usually discuss the past trip and everyone noticed the deep understanding with which these little children glorify God in songs and movements. Thank God! This month we continued to tell the guys Bible stories such as “Noah and the Ark”, “The Tower of Babel”. It was interesting for the children to hear how the Lord commanded Noah to build an ark and gather his family there, so they were saved 
every biblical story and apply it in our lives, and in this 
theme it was obedience, which is relevant for the guys now. The story about the Tower of Babel teaches us not to be prideful, because God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble! Also, on the Christmas eve, Dima told about the birth of Jesus into this world, about this precious gift from our Lord and why God sent Him to earth. I want to remind you that the guys who are in Smilovichi have never heard of God before. Therefore, in our lessons this month we try to make an actual application in our time. We especially highlighted the theme of the Savior’s Nativity. When we told how 
everything happened, we could see the reaction of the
children. They were so excited that sometimes I had to stop to clarify one or another point even more. Angels, donkeys, a manger, a barn, all this caused their delight and questions. Well, since there was no place, I would have given up my room to Jesus, Alice said. Miroslav asked, how strong are the angels? Can angels protect us too? Now the stars will remind me of the star that led the wise men to Jesus, Yana said. For every child, the story of the birth of Christ has found its application. When we arrived on December 26, we prepared a special program for the guys. We played a couple of games, then sang Christmas carols and those songs that the guys like. Dima held a contest 
about different facts of the Christmas story. And this helped the children to remember even more about the birth of Christ. In the last slide there was a question, what would you like to give Jesus on His birthday? And it was so nice to hear: – I would give my love, Alice said, and I would give my heart, Darina said, Yana said that she would give all her sweets, and Miroslav would give his love to God. Then we went to another room, where Katya prepared a cake and treats. We sat down at the table, Katya lit candles and the guys blew out the candles together. Then we started saying congratulations to Jesus. And then Alice said, let’s sing a birthday song to Jesus. Then the guys ate the cake despite the fact that we didn’t have forks and spoons. But it was so nice to see happy children.
The evening went on and there were more gifts ahead. We thank everyone who helped to purchase these gifts for children. We sat down and the guys took turns opening their presents. Joy and anticipation were on the faces of the guys. Oh, I dreamed about it! Oh, I’m so glad! – the guys shouted. We understand that God has answered the desire of their heart. Lord, thank You for responding to the desire of the children’s hearts. We are grateful to God that despite the fact that the children recently came from home from where they were taken, they were able to find, even in a boarding school, a small family represented by the ministry team who cares for and covers the needs of children, and also talks about the most important gift – about Jesus Christ!
LOVE 4 THE CHILDREN 