So here we go, undertaking yet a new way to reach the kids. For two nights we stayed at the orphanage with the kids--sleeping in rooms like they do, eating the same food, walking the same halls.... living their lives, sort of.
It was pretty incredible to stay with these kids. We were so excited about this for several reasons. For one, we were able to trade all the time we would have spent driving from our hotel to the orphanage, for more time with the kids. LOVE IT! This made for even more time to get closer to the kids and invite them to open their hearts to us. Reason number two is how it made the kids feel that we could stay with them. I'm jumping ahead, but when we left the director of the place thanked us for being there and said that our staying at the orphanage meant so much to the kids because we saw them as equal. That we were willing to live where they lived, eat the same food, and not demand a "better" place to stay showed them our hearts, which was a good way to start.
When we arrived the director and a bunch of the kids were outside waiting for us. When Sasha got off the bus they ran to him and hugged him because they knew him from previous visits--oh the joy on their faces! That was fabulous. :D The kids were so great. They immediately helped us carry all our bags to the second and third floor without a moment's hesitation. I love that about kids--such sweet hearts down deep inside... After that, it didn't take long for things to get started. We spent a lot of time just hanging out and playing games: soccer, basketball, football, four-square, and whatever we could think of. It was awesome. And it amazes me how little the language barrier matters when you let your heart do the talking.
We spent the next day and a half doing the same and including crafts, games, music, scavenger hunt and of course our own version of the olympics. It was so great to watch the kids come out of their shell and be a part of the fun we were having! My favorite part was the scavenger hunt. For this piece, I get to lead a station that is focused on Psalm 51:10 and how God completely washes away our sin. I used the dissolving paper and it was so flipping fabulous to watch their faces as they saw it disappear! I tell ya, that never ceases to be cool to me. lol. But I loved this part because I got to tell each group about Jesus and what He did for them. Does anybody understand how cool that is?! We in the church talk a lot about reaching the lost and how people need to know/hear about Jesus, but in all honesty how often do we have those conversations with people? That is not just a conversation that needs to happen in Russia; we should be doing that all the time! And my heart was soaring while God allowed me to do that over and over on this trip. Today in our staff meeting someone mentioned "the lost" and my eyes welled up with tears thinking about the kids/care takers who don't know yet. There is a part of me that wishes I could still be there telling them all that God has done in my life and can do in theirs..........
Anyway, I met some teenagers here that touched my heart in a way I can't explain. There's just something about Igor that I can't forget. When we were getting ready to leave I hugged him and told him I loved him and that Jesus loved him. He gave a me a good hug (especially for a teenage boy) and then I went on hugging kids and trying to get on the bus. But before I did, I see him coming towards me. He takes off the Hawaiian lay we gave the kids and puts it around my neck with a nod and a smile. I gave him a hug again and then he left. People, I can't even tell you what that little action did to my heart! Seriously it was all I could do to keep it together on the bus as we left. What's his story? Why is he in this orphanage? And what are God's plans for him? Sigh... Igor as well as Luba, Danya, Alexi and Vitalik... they are very special kids. God bless and protect those hearts!!! I hope I get to see them again. <3
There is something to be said about having an understanding because you have been, done, or lived through the same thing as someone else. The Bible talks about how we do not have a high priest that is unable to sympathize with our struggles, but one who has lived them. Jesus is not like someone who stands on the outside and wishes they could understand and say the right things to help us through our struggles. He knows exactly what we need and when because He has been there. He has lived what we are living! He knows what it's like to be tempted, to be hurt, to ache for the life that is to come.... Because of that, His love is different. I hope the same showed true for us while we were with those kids. I hope that they felt less like an underclass leftover and more like desired and loved kids. I hope our being there was reflective of who Jesus is and how His heart for us is what drove Him to leave His throne and make a home in the dirt of this world. I pray that our faces looked a lot like Jesus' face those days...
It was pretty incredible to stay with these kids. We were so excited about this for several reasons. For one, we were able to trade all the time we would have spent driving from our hotel to the orphanage, for more time with the kids. LOVE IT! This made for even more time to get closer to the kids and invite them to open their hearts to us. Reason number two is how it made the kids feel that we could stay with them. I'm jumping ahead, but when we left the director of the place thanked us for being there and said that our staying at the orphanage meant so much to the kids because we saw them as equal. That we were willing to live where they lived, eat the same food, and not demand a "better" place to stay showed them our hearts, which was a good way to start.
When we arrived the director and a bunch of the kids were outside waiting for us. When Sasha got off the bus they ran to him and hugged him because they knew him from previous visits--oh the joy on their faces! That was fabulous. :D The kids were so great. They immediately helped us carry all our bags to the second and third floor without a moment's hesitation. I love that about kids--such sweet hearts down deep inside... After that, it didn't take long for things to get started. We spent a lot of time just hanging out and playing games: soccer, basketball, football, four-square, and whatever we could think of. It was awesome. And it amazes me how little the language barrier matters when you let your heart do the talking.
We spent the next day and a half doing the same and including crafts, games, music, scavenger hunt and of course our own version of the olympics. It was so great to watch the kids come out of their shell and be a part of the fun we were having! My favorite part was the scavenger hunt. For this piece, I get to lead a station that is focused on Psalm 51:10 and how God completely washes away our sin. I used the dissolving paper and it was so flipping fabulous to watch their faces as they saw it disappear! I tell ya, that never ceases to be cool to me. lol. But I loved this part because I got to tell each group about Jesus and what He did for them. Does anybody understand how cool that is?! We in the church talk a lot about reaching the lost and how people need to know/hear about Jesus, but in all honesty how often do we have those conversations with people? That is not just a conversation that needs to happen in Russia; we should be doing that all the time! And my heart was soaring while God allowed me to do that over and over on this trip. Today in our staff meeting someone mentioned "the lost" and my eyes welled up with tears thinking about the kids/care takers who don't know yet. There is a part of me that wishes I could still be there telling them all that God has done in my life and can do in theirs..........
Anyway, I met some teenagers here that touched my heart in a way I can't explain. There's just something about Igor that I can't forget. When we were getting ready to leave I hugged him and told him I loved him and that Jesus loved him. He gave a me a good hug (especially for a teenage boy) and then I went on hugging kids and trying to get on the bus. But before I did, I see him coming towards me. He takes off the Hawaiian lay we gave the kids and puts it around my neck with a nod and a smile. I gave him a hug again and then he left. People, I can't even tell you what that little action did to my heart! Seriously it was all I could do to keep it together on the bus as we left. What's his story? Why is he in this orphanage? And what are God's plans for him? Sigh... Igor as well as Luba, Danya, Alexi and Vitalik... they are very special kids. God bless and protect those hearts!!! I hope I get to see them again. <3
There is something to be said about having an understanding because you have been, done, or lived through the same thing as someone else. The Bible talks about how we do not have a high priest that is unable to sympathize with our struggles, but one who has lived them. Jesus is not like someone who stands on the outside and wishes they could understand and say the right things to help us through our struggles. He knows exactly what we need and when because He has been there. He has lived what we are living! He knows what it's like to be tempted, to be hurt, to ache for the life that is to come.... Because of that, His love is different. I hope the same showed true for us while we were with those kids. I hope that they felt less like an underclass leftover and more like desired and loved kids. I hope our being there was reflective of who Jesus is and how His heart for us is what drove Him to leave His throne and make a home in the dirt of this world. I pray that our faces looked a lot like Jesus' face those days...
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