July 17, 2008 – Retirement Center, Mezhdurechensk

The team visited a retirement community – home to more than 60 people.  After sharing our program with approximately 30 of the residents, the team divided into two groups where some shared with the residents who were unaided and others visited those confined to bed.  Libby S. shared:

“I went in to visit with people who could not leave their rooms and I went into the room of a guy who had one leg.  He was from a different region of Russia – one of the Asian regions near Mongolia.  He was lying on his back and had a lot of junk on his chest.  He didn’t seem as if he was doing very well – he was very frail, only skin and bones.  He wasn’t very responsive until we walked up to him and shook his hands and introduced ourselves.  The moment we did that, he became very alert, hanging on to every word we said.  He had so much emotion in his face – he couldn’t believe we had come to visit him.  The more we spoke, the more he seemed so happy that we had come.  We showed him some pictures and explained our faith using the bead bracelet.  He was very attentive and said he would want to pray later.  He took the card and hung it on a handle he had over his bed.  We asked if we could pray over him and he said we could, so we did.  He was really appreciative of that.  Charles D. came into the room and massaged his hands and he was extremely grateful.  We went to another room and when we came back, he was still waiting for us to pass by so that he could wave goodbye to us.  He craved interaction and seemed so lonely.  I got his address so that we can maybe write to him later.

A second man had just arrived the day before we got there.  He was blind and he was really happy.  We handed him a Cowboy hat that Aaron had and he felt it and laughed.  We tried it on him and asked him questions.  We told him we had a gift for him – the bracelet.  He just held his hand out ready to put it on.  He followed down each bead with his finger as I was explaining the bead bracelet.  In the middle of sharing he asked me to ensure that he had his finger on the right bead – he insisted on it.  He was nodding his head and taking it all in.  When I got to the end, I said, “You can either pray with us right now to invite Jesus into your life or you can pray on your own later”.  He wanted to pray immediately.  The translator read the prayer and he prayed after every phrase she said – he did so quickly and boldly.  It was so good to hear him be so confident in his prayer.  That was a really exciting and blessed time for me.”

 

July 17, 2008 – Center of Social Assistance of Families and Children

The team visited the Center of Social Assistance of Families and Children in Mezhdurechensk to distribute humanitarian aid including CarePacks and share the gospel and love of Jesus Christ to the more than 40 children at the facility.

“We are extremely grateful that you came,” said the director Ivanovna, cherishing the gifts that the team brought for the facility and the children.  She later explained that their program caters for children from low income families and that they were currently hosting a one-month summer camp.

More aid is needed to assist this facility with the work they are doing for the more than 800 children they see each year.  Please continue to pray that God will provide for them, through us, local church partners and other donors.