In May: ”Belinichy orphanage”

Posted: May 31, 2025 by Dzmitry Nachyna in Belinichy
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May is always a particularly exciting time in our ministry because very soon some of the graduates will leave the school forever. This is a period when they start telling us which cities they will go to for further studies, begin to exchange contact information and at that time we try to support and encourage them, as well as introduce them to local churches in the cities they are moving to. After all it is great that the doors of churches are always open for such special young people, and there they can find support and help during this challenging period for orphan graduates. For them this time is a step into a new, unknown adult life!

At first, it is really difficult for the young people to adapt to society, which always carries the risk that teenage boys might fall into bad company, and girls might enter into complicated relationships. They are very vulnerable and easily influenced during this period, so we try to help them find worthy friends in the church and avoid negative influences. This year, there are 23 graduates at the Belinichy orphanage. We have known most of them since their very first days at the orphanage when they were 5-6 years old. Before our eyes, these young people have grown up learning, falling in love, crying and laughing; being kind and angry; joyful and strong; sometimes weak and defenseless. It was with our team that each of them first encountered God and learned concepts such as faith, love, forgiveness, salvation, and eternal life.

We send these young people into adulthood with special tenderness and fully entrust their futures to our good and loving God! Regarding our trips in May, they were quite interesting and full of activities. We dedicated the entire month to the biblical hero Joseph, who faced betrayal by his brothers, loneliness and injustice throughout his life. But in all these circumstances he remained faithful to God and God consistently supported Joseph by giving him strength and wisdom in various life situations. At the end of the story, the children learned how greatly God rewarded Joseph for his faithful and kind heart and how He gave him strength to forgive his brothers who had once betrayed him.

During our final meeting where we discussed Joseph’s example, we had an opportunity to talk with the children about forgiving themselves, forgiving those who hurt them and forgiving God. This topic is quite relevant for orphans because each of them has faced betrayal and pain caused by the most closest to them – parents. Some children still struggle with resentment towards their parents, others blame God for placing them in an orphanage, some live with feelings of guilt for various reasons. All these issues require time, special attention, patience and most importantly – God’s work in their hearts! On our part, we try to be instruments in God’s hands so that all the good things our Heavenly Father wants to give thesechildren can come true, with love, care and friendly hugs.

In May “Rudensk orphanage”

Posted: May 31, 2025 by Dzmitry Nachyna in Rudensk
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Hello everyone!  First of all, I want to thank each and every one of you who supports such an important ministry — the ministry to orphaned children. Thank you for your prayers, actions, and resources!  Your support is precious.  I pray that the Lord  blesses you in all your needs! 

I’m delighted to share with you some news about our team’s May visits to the Rudensk orphanage.  I want to say that it’s a great blessing that the doors of the orphanage are open and that we have the opportunity to visit the kids every week and build up relationships with them.  This month we had lessons about Joseph. Together with the kids we were inspired by his story and learned from his life experiences. We talked about how important it is to walk with God —that each of us may face difficulties, betrayal, and hardships, but in all of it, we must seek God and stay close to Him. He can comfort us, strengthen us, and He will never abandon us. Our team is grateful to God that the children remember these stories! We pray for their transformation, and we really want each child’s life to change for the better. 

At one of the meetings, the difficult topic of forgiveness was raised. We read in the Bible how Joseph, despite betrayal, suffering, and everything he went through, chose to forgive his brothers. We discussed with the kids why forgiveness is so important.  Ilya, a guy from our team, shared personal stories from his own life when he struggled to forgive but overcame it with God’s help .  I believe adding personal testimonies to lessons  brings everything to life in a new way.  Afterward, we invited the children to pray together, asking God to help them forgive those who had hurt them.  It was a touching moment.  Unfortunately, not everyone wanted to pray, but 5-7 kids did, and that’s already a victory! Glory to God!

We also have kids with health problems who attend our meetings. They are very open and sociable. When we hug them and ask how they’re doing, their faces just light up. What’s amazing is that some of them remember  material and even try to answer questions afterward. They’re really awesome.  One of these kids is a boy named Nikita. He tries not to miss our meetings — always joyful, active, and smiling. Nikita is constantly smiling – we could all learn from him! We also worship God in songs every time we meet. We play uplifting Christian children’s songs, and everyone sings together. It’s so wonderful to see the room filled with praises to our Lord! I encourage each of you to keep praying for the children and our team.  Grace and peace to all of you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!

 

In April:“Smilovichy orphanage”

Posted: May 1, 2025 by Dzmitry Nachyna in Smilovichi
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Another month has passed. I recently realized that I have been visiting my children for almost the entire school year. It’s surprising – time is running fast. When I analyze, I want to see the results of these trips, and I do. Recently, a guy I know asked me how I understand unconditional love. To what extent are we humans capable of experiencing such love, or is it available only to God? I told him that this is exactly what I feel for the children we visit. It doesn’t matter how they behave, we still love them, tolerate them, and admire their successes so much. But, of course, the children’s attitude towards us is also pleasant. They look forward to seeing us again, show interest to our lives, notice the little things, and say goodbye every time as if it was for the last time. 

I am very pleased that they not only participate in what we offer them, but also ask questions, it is clear that they are interested in the stories from the Bible that they hear, they are happy to learn new songs with us, come up with games, etc. It is impossible not to notice the transformation of children. For example the boy Kostya, who had only recently arrived at the orphanage and was at our meeting for the first time, he was so emotionless, like frozen. He seemed to be in contact with us and kept up the conversation, but it felt like his thoughts were in his life’s tragedy and he hadn’t adjusted yet. We have seen a similar situation with many other children who have just arrived. But over time, the ice melts, and the child becomes himself again. I want to believe that the Lord also changes them, and they become better, kinder, more honest. Because talking about good and bad deeds, about Christ’s sacrifice, about His victory over sin, and many others cannot go in vain.

 By the way, we celebrated Easter in April and raised all these topics with the children. In honor of the holiday, I baked cupcakes and we took them to the orphanage, which the children were delighted with, although, of course, we explained that Easter is not about cakes and colored eggs, but about the Resurrection of Christ. I really liked that the children asked a lot of questions and were interested in the details of this important event. I remember 12-year-old Artyom saying, “So it turns out that’s why we say ‘Christ is Risen!” It’s so wonderful that now they know the essence of the holiday. We also gave them gifts that day. The girl Nastya spent only a few weeks in the shelter, she was in shock, when she received the box, and asked: “Is that all for me?” The following Tuesday, when she found out that such gifts are not given every week, she was upset.

In addition, in April we held a creativity lesson. I really like watching children when they create – it shows each child from a different perspective – something that is not visible at first glance. You can see who is more organized, who needs to finish the job, who does not like monotony, who needs to follow the example, and much, much more. And, of course, as a result, all the art objects come out completely different, fully reflecting the character of their creator – it’s incredibly interesting . On our last trip, the behavior of 5-year-old Roma was very memorable, which we later remembered more than once and laughed. In order to motivate children to listen carefully and then answer questions, we give them candy for the answers. Roma is a very bright boy with a good memory, although he is restless and it’s difficult to keep him in place.

Roma remembered the story well from the previous meeting, but this time he listened inattentively and, raising his hand, answered the questions simply by saying what he remembered from the last time. “Roma, that’s another story.” “I just want some candy,” Roma replies. That’s the truth written in the Bible, that we need to be like children – sincere and real.  It’s nice to know that not only we, but also the children can teach us something. So, going back to the analysis, what results of trips I observe, perhaps, is that children change us a lot. I believe that we influence them by bringing God’s love, but they also influence us. These spontaneity, sincerity, desire to learn new things, activity, flexibility, lightness are what we adults sometimes lack so much. And I want to learn this from them. We sometimes have a game where someone hides an object in a room while the others search. There are children who give up after a few rounds and no longer want to search, but there are more who do not want to give up, but are ready to search again and again until they find it. They tell us so much that we can apply in our lives. But we have to listen. And notice.

In April: ”Belinichy orphanage”

Posted: April 30, 2025 by Dzmitry Nachyna in Belinichy
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Greetings, brothers and sisters. I thank God for the opportunity to serve the orphaned children of Belarus. April was a special month when we prepared the children for Easter. In the first two weeks of April, we talked about the election of Moses, how God protected him. It was important for us to tell and show where the Easter celebration started from. And during the topics, we realized that many of the guys had forgotten, and the new ones didn’t know at all. Easter is a celebration of hope for all mankind. It was interesting to hear how the children assume what Easter is. But in the established tradition of Belarus, they often talked about painting eggs, as well as how important it is to bake Easter cakes. I say okay, your answer is accepted, but what does it have to do with Easter? One of the older children said, I’ve never even thought about the meaning. I just believed that it was necessary to do this on this holiday, but I do not know why.

At the third time, we talked about the Easter holiday itself. We talked and remembered what Moses did, how he brought the people out of Egypt. But our main character was a sheep, which was the prototype of Jesus Christ. When we were talking about cooking the lamb and anointing the doorposts, one boy said, “That’s probably why we need to paint the eggs!” Then we talked about Jesus, that He came to earth to redeem us from our sins. That only the blood of Christ cleanses us from sin. We said that God wanted people to be saved, but not all people believed Moses and did not paint their doors, and now many people do not believe in Jesus, and therefore they do not have an Intercessor.

After completing the topic, many guys asked a lot of questions as we walked to the car. And it was clear that they were really interested in knowing more about the holiday itself. When we arrived on the fourth Thursday, we had a stag and hen party. It’s a special time when the girls get together separately and the boys too. The topic was general – “Self-assessment”. During long time, we noticed that the guys have very low self-esteem. They are often told that they are somehow wrong. Accordingly, they are often shy and afraid to try something new. And we talked about the reasons that destroy self-esteem and about God’s view of us and the labels that people put on each other.

After the meeting, many guys came and asked us to pray for them, so that God would destroy the misconception about themselves.Despite the diagnoses of the children, sometimes people are too cruel when they say hurtful words into the lives of children. I want to share that it was my birthday this month and it was nice to see how the children prepared gifts and surprises for me. And at that moment, I thought that they were no longer demanding anything, but learning to give. The problem with orphans is that they say “they owe me everything”. But thank God, I see how orphans open their hearts and begin to give to others.

“We are so glad,” the guys said, “that you are teaching us to believe in God, this is what gives us the strength to overcome difficulties in our lives.” I understand that this is something good that has been planted and constantly cultivated. Dear brothers and sisters, thank you so much for your prayers and for your messages. We believe that serving together will bring great fruit for the kingdom of God. And now I want to ask you to pray for the guys so that the word of God changes lives and gives strength to resist sin. Also, pray for the team so that God will keep them healthy, many of the guys were sick, and that all the plans in the ministry will work out. Thank you very much, God bless you.

In April: “Rudensk orphanage”

Posted: April 30, 2025 by Dzmitry Nachyna in Rudensk
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This month, I was surprised by the boy Sasha. We had a topic about the story of Moses, his life. And one of the tasks for the guys was to read the story about Moses, and next time we said that we would check which of them had read it. The next time we came, we had the opportunity to personally chat with some of the guys. And one of them was Sasha. Who, surprisingly for us, began to tell us the story about Moses with great interest. It was clear that he read it, and not just remembered what we had already told to the guys.  At such moments, it is very joyful that the Gospel touches the children, that they hear and even study the Bible on their own.  On one of our trips, we had the opportunity to get together and talk only with the girls. We talked about self-esteem, about what forms self-esteem. And during the conversation, many girls opened up and shared their experiences. I think it was a special time for each of them. And their hearts were being healed of the pain they had been holding inside. At this meeting the girls learned to compliment each other, to thank each other for the good things, to see the beautiful things that God has placed in their hearts. Not so long ago, we started to organize a culinary club for the guys. For them, this is an opportunity to cook something delicious and unusual, and for us, to communicate more with them personally. At the culinary club, we cooked pizza together, and after that we ate and talked. It was very interesting for the guys to cook with us, they were all involved in the cooking process, each of them had their own task, someone grated cheese, someone sliced sausage. And we helped and told them how to cook properly. The most important thing is that we managed to involve them in the cooking process and chat with them on various topics. They asked us various questions, including questions related to the Bible.  One of the difficulties we have encountered is safety. I had to make sure that none of the guys got hurt or burned, because they were all active. But we always remind them about safety so that all classes were uneventful.

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