A new school year has begun as well as a new
eason of our ministry to orphans. In the last days of August we managed to meet with the new graduates of the Belynichyorphanage, that were spending their last days at the school. An adult and independent life awaits these children ahead, life that is very difficult to adapt to. That is why we decided to make a warm friendly meeting for them, where we tried to listen to each of them and just hug them. During this meeting we could remind them of God, to whom they can come at any time and in any circumstances.
We also prayed for them with a prayer of blessing. Then we started visiting younger children who are still in orphanage. At the beginning of the month for these children we made sport games. During such games characters and personalities of children are often revealed as well as their ability to work in a team, support each other and ability to accept both victories and defeats!
At such moments possible difficulties in dealing with this children are especially noticeable. At the same day for younger kids we made chalk painting activity. This is also a good opportunity to see their feelings and fears of by their drawings, see their dreams and ideas about life. Meanwhile other people from our team were with children who could not participate in sport games and chalk painting due to their mental and physical disabilities. Instead of these activities children got hugs and attention.
During following meetings of the month Bible lessons were held. This month we talked with the guys 
about the personality of Jesus Christ,
why He helps people, why He wants to take care of them and how much He loves people. Then we continued the series of Bible stories from the New Testament. Guys were especially impressed by the story of ” the Prodigal Son”. This year a teenage boy named Roma started coming to our meetings with his friend. Before both of them avoided our meetings and instead were playing football, watching cartoons and sometimes were making fun of other guys who come to our meeting regularly. Roma is a leader among older children and therefore he was often the one who would takesome of the children away from our meetings, influencing them in a bad way.
But now we see how God answers our prayers and disposes children’s hearts to hear and perceive God’s word! Thank God! During one of our meetings I saw how one of Roma’s friend began to try in every possible way to take him out of our meeting, constantly saying all sorts of teasing words over and over again: “Are you seriously going to sit here and listen to this odd lecture?”. But Roma firmly stopped him with the words: “If you want go away then do it! Buy I’m staying!” As a result, both teenagers stayed at the meeting. Moreover Roma became the winner in answering the questions that Ilya asked at the end of the Bible lesson! Meanwhile I was touched by the situation and admired how God makes possible what sometimes seems unreal to us!
The second special moment for me was meeting with Yarik. I’ve told you about him before. He has Down’s Syndrome and he mostly communicates using certain sounds or syllables. Previously he was quite aggressive and in a fit of rage he could clearly pronounce cuss words. But now we see how much God is changing him and we noticed that he became much calmer and began to pronounce a lot of clear words, especially the names of the guys from our team. It feels like not only our team is very glad about it, but Yarikhimsel. Sometimes he even manages to say someone’s name several times in a row. It’s funny and at the same time cute! Besides he tries to be the loudest singer during our worship moments, which is also very cute to see and creates an atmosphere of gratitude to the Heavenly Father for His great love for these children!
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.
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!
LOVE 4 THE CHILDREN 