Global Aid Network Mission Reports

Sergei V. shared the following story with us on our trip out to the airport.  He called it a “little spice” regarding a school we visited on the first day:
The director of the school received a call from the governor of the regional office to inquire about the group of Americans coming and “bribing the director of the school to make his students pray.”  After the call, the school’s director called Pastor Alexander and asked for prayer from him and his church.  The pastor let the prayer need be known, and local Christians gathered in church and prayed there and at homes for the whole day while our team was at the school.
In the evening the school director called the pastor and thanked him for praying, saying the governor’s office called her back and said that they inquired about our organization, and were told that we are all good and do good work and that they should let us proceed.  That dear lady was one of the few people Tom got to share the whole gospel bead presentation with.  Her response was, “I’ve never stopped believing in the Lord.”
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From Ed & Lori L.: 
 – Tuesday afternoon at the church where the people came to meet with us, I gave the bead presentation and I remember one of the women that was sitting in the front row did not take her eyes off of me.  I believe she was listening with her whole being. – It was very special to have a third grade boy ask his teacher if he could say something to the Americans.  He wanted to thank us for coming and thank us for the gifts.

 – More than once I observed children beginning to look through the Bible story books as soon as they were placed on their desks.  A couple of them looked rather intent as they were turning the pages.  Many of the children’s eyes lit up as we started handing the books out.

 – The aprons were well received by all who received them.  One of the workers felt bad because she didn’t have a gift in return.  I told her that her gift was the lovely tea she had prepared for us and the important role she played in the serving of the children.
 

Thursday, March 15th, 2007

Another day of our ministry, more lives that had been touched, more hearts that received God’s love and forgiveness.

The group visited two more village secondary schools and kindergartens in Bragin district. Those two schools had some things in common - fairly young and creative directors - Svetlana and Marina, wonderful and very talented staff teachers and children.

Both schools had never had American guests visiting them, so kids and their teachers were very excited. The children performed, trying to do their best for the guests to feel welcomed and warmly accepted.

Then the group split into tree smaller ones and had an opportunity to fellowship with the kids in a more personal way. American volunteers shared the Gospel with them, many prayed the prayer of salvation, some did it really from the bottom of their hearts, just like one 10 year old girl, about whom one of the team members who was in the class at that time said that “the most peaceful and divine smile appeared on her face after the prayer, so that it was obvious that Jesus has come into her heart.” Moments like this are really worth coming to the trips like this.

Another probably life changing meeting was with a young mother who had a baby boy with a light form of cerebral palsy, which still can be cured. But the family which is just the mother and a grandma, since the father left his wife with a child as soon as he found out about his disease, does not have enough finances. So the woman was given $100 from the GAIN ministry for her baby to go to the sanatorium to get some special treatment and also was offered an opportunity to consult a Christian doctor, who’s a specialist in this field. Both women (the mother and the grandma) were crying, being moved by the care and love they’ve received from the guests who came from so far away.

One more special event of the day was visiting the local Baptist church with its pastor, which was started more then 80 years ago. That was like going back to the past in a time machine - seeing people, who came to know the Lord at a very early age and who remain faithful through all those severe times of persecution and war even until now, when they’re elderly people. But their hearts are full of faith and love to their Lord and Savior and to this perishing world. They are real heroes of faith and it was a real honor to get to know these people and to be able to pray with them for their beautiful country.              

Friday, the 16th;  Saturday, the 17th

The two last days are over. It was the time of meeting old friends - pastors, local authorities, teachers and children who we’ve already met before.

While visiting a secondary school in Hoiniki, the group had a chance to meet with the Mayor, who, in spite of being ill, came to see guests from America. Some of them, including Tom M., the leader of the group, he knew already and this time kept calling them “my friends”. It was obvious that mayor Nikolai was much more open and the atmosphere of the meeting was like the one of meeting good friends, who have so much to talk about. He also seemed more interested in what protestant Christians have been doing in his district, saying “we did this” (not “they”), or “we’re working on that”. He also granted a protestant church a building for the rehabilitation center for drug addicts and alcoholics which is a unique situation and a miracle in itself.

So the ties of friendship made a couple of years ago and love of God shown in action during the projects like this serve for the benefit of the local church here.

The rehab center we’ve been to was another familiar place for many in the group. It was so good to see what God has been doing to set people free, to see the faithfulness of pastor Slava and the others who had started this center and have been helping those who are in great need for help and salvation.

The highlight of the Saturday was visiting a huge school #3 with about 800 kids in Hoiniki. It was like coming back home, since we’ve been here before and the doors were wide open. Most of the kids did remember some of the American volunteers from the previous visit, which was very nice of them.

A very interesting and unusual program was presented to three different age groups of the children in turns. It consisted of a short introduction and a skit on a ‘Good Samaritan’ followed by the story of Jesus dying on the cross and being risen from the died which explained the coming Easter to the children, most of which don’t know what Easter really means.

The testimonies, given by the members of the team, including one of the Belorussian interpreters, touched the hearts of many of the teenagers who had a chance to hear about the power that changes lives and gives hope - the power of Jesus Christ who’s alive and willing to forgive.   

Wednesday, March 14, 2007

Wow! What a day we’ve had today! One can put it like this - an overwhelming hospitality and openheartedness. The group had a chance to minister to kids at two sites today: a kindergarten with children from 3 to 6 years of age in a town of Komarin and a secondary school plus a children’s social center with the kids up to 16 in a little village near Bragin. Both of them are in Chernobyl polluted area. But the disaster didn’t shut people’s hearts. They are ready to welcome guests and host them the best they can. Tamara, the director of the kindergarten willingly opened the doors of the facility to the American group, and we were able to spend some really great time with the kids sharing the Gospel with them. The little ones were very responsive and full of life no matter how hard the circumstances they live in are. They were happy and excited as well to get their gifts and children’s Bible stories.

Some of the team members also had a chance to pray for Tamara’s (the director) husband who’s really sick because of Chernobyl and she appreciated it very much. And in general people in those places were touched by the fact that there’re those who really care about them, who know about their problems and what is more - are willing to help.

It’s like the local pastor, Yuri, said, that many did come, they were saying a lot, but there were no kids. But this group of American volunteers really showed love in action. And that catches and melts people’s hearts more then any words.

Every person who came to this place was able to touch several lives in different ways, either just being there and listening to somebody’s life-story, like it was with an elderly lady Tatiana, whose dear ones either live too far from her or passed away and she’s living all alone and has nobody to even talk to. But elderly people like her need just simple care and understanding, and having got it today she was so happy and thankful. That visit made a difference for her just as it did for the teachers and other staff of the small village school our group had been to as well.

While watching the concert that was prepared by the children and their teachers you kept thinking how much effort they’ve put into this program, trying to decorate the gym where the concert was on, with little hand-made Belorussian national things. There was warmth and much love in it and one could feel it in a special way there. No matter how hard the life is to them it was amazing to see that light in their eyes, to hear all those warm words.

The highlight of the day was our visit to the abandoned town “Sunlike” in a 30 kilometers zone.

The scope of devastation is unbelievable. Empty flats with the toys and books on the floors, schools with broken windows, and more. You could almost hear the voices of the children, running around, playing…but no one was there. That was an experience one can never forget or get used to, no matter whether you’re local or a foreigner.

Tuesday, March 13, 2007

What a wonderful day God has given us today! Both the weather and the people we met today were just so beautiful and welcoming.

The first site we’ve visited today was a secondary school with 176 kids from 6 to 17 years of age from the 1st to the 11th grade.

The director, Galina, warmly welcomed the American group and shared a little about the school, its students and ex-students etc. The group was also shown a school museum with an interesting exposition of pretty old household items that were used by the kids’ grand grandparents and are a part of Belorussian history.

After that the American group split into three smaller ones and went to the classes where were welcomed and presented with souvenirs made by the kids in their craft classes. Children in each group were very active and excited just as all kids are. They participated gladly in every activity their American guests suggested to them, enjoyed looking through the pictures.

Older kids were racking their brains trying to find out how the tricks showed by the members of the team worked, and enjoyed working together over it.

Gifts were a special moment for the children as well. They all liked the teddy bears, dogs, cats and other stuffed animals they got, no matter how old they were.

At last the children and their teachers had a chance to hear a Gospel bead bracelet story and pray together with their American friends. That prayer was a top moment of the project in this school that brought hope to many who prayed that day.

The fellowship with the kids was followed by a concert where they performed and brought even more joy to the guests and ended up with the traditional tea party with the director and the staff of the school. 

Tom M. shared about international GAIN ministry and the reason why the American volunteers keep coming to the post soviet union countries. He also introduced the local pastor and mentioned that thanks to his recommendations the team had a chance to visit this particular school. So now Pastor Alexander will continue to work with the school and the director on a regular basis.

The teachers were moved by warm words of appreciation and encouragement expressed by the local pastor and the team members.   

Inspired by the results of the first visit American volunteers left for the second site which was organized by “Spasenie” (Salvation) church for the invalid society “Scream of the soul”. The situation in the families who have invalid kids is often very poor. In many cases fathers when they find out about the condition of their children leave their families and moms have to battle for surviving themselves. So such visits bring them hope and encourage them greatly. People were open to hearing the Gospel, many of them heard about Jesus for the first time ever and were touched by the care they were shown by the American team.

One of the ladies who were the speaker of this society heard the Gospel bead bracelet story from the leader of the American group Tom Miller and was so excited to get the bracelet and the explanation to it. In a little while three more ladies came up to Tom and wanted to get their bracelets as well having heard of them obviously from that first lady. So when they got their explanations they immediately started reading them with great desire to find out what was in there. 

So in general people were moved by the care of people who don’t really know them but because of God’s love they come with open hearts and bring them hope and at least a little bit of joy in their hard lives.

The team has successfully arrived to Minsk and checked into the Orbita hotel.  No lost luggage praise the Lord!  We met our interpreters tonight and had a part of Ambassador’s training with them.  Shall continue tomorrow with the Lord help as we start our day at 8.30 breakfast and then drive to Mozyr in the afternoon.