CBU – St Petersburg: Three more days of camp

With only three days left of our camp in St. Petersburg, we are amazed at the relationships being built. The kids have settled into a routine of a daily skit and games in the gym, followed by group time with the teenage guys, teenage girls and younger children and ending the day with a trip to the park to play games. Keeping with the Olympic theme, the daily skit has reoccurring characters who are competitors in the “Olympics of life” and “the trainer” who is always there to guide them. Each day’s skit has a theme or moral such as hope, love, courage or victory. The kids have really responded to the skits and every day we have a question and answer time with them. They are truly starting to understand the messages we are trying to get across. Several of the kids that we started with have left for home or a long term orphanage, and it’s always sad to see them go after creating relationships, but there seems to be new kids arriving daily. We have received two new little ones and about three older kids. One of the new girls that came is fifteen years old and from Uzbekistan. What’s really exciting is that she knows Tadzhik and has the ability to communicate with Shuchrat, the little boy we mentioned earlier. Hopefully that will open up opportunities to share the gospel between the two.

The boys have finally begun to open up to the guys on our team. Two have shared their life stories, and three more expressed interest in doing so also. Both of these boys are nearing the age of eighteen and will be on their own soon. One boy, traveled all the way from the eastern coast of Russia, a ten day train ride. He ran away because of abuse by his step father and has fluctuated between living with his grandma in Moscow and living in orphanages as well. Both boys have been baptized into the Russian Orthodox Church and have given credit to God for some of the good things in their lives. The oldest boy Jenya seems interested in God because of the way he talks about life and relating certain events back to Him. The older girls are still a little reluctant to share their stories, but have been very responsive to the crocheting and sewing lessons, while we discuss the theme of the day and the skits. They also have many questions for us when we share about our lives. The smallest children are still enjoying their crafts and have really started to listen during the Bible stories and even try to outdo each other in answering the questions. They also continue to be open and affectionate to our team members.

Our team is taking comfort in the fact that we are here to show love and that has come fairly easily with this group of children. More so, we hope to plant seeds in their hearts, so that in the future they will remember the love and compassion that was poured into their lives by our team. Basically, we just want to create an interest in the Bible and be an example of Christ. Keep praying for the hearts of these girls and boys.

~ Russia A Team (written by Bekah Emerine  &  Matthew Nolen)