Vanguard: First day of camp!

Tuesday in Novgorod…

It’s hard to believe that we left the United States nearly a whole week ago.  Today was our first day at the TB Children Center, and therefore our first day of hands-on ministry with the kids.  We were all so excited to finally meet the kids, start the summer camp for them, and really step into what we came half way around the world to do.

As we were heading over to the center, a few of us were feeling a bit nervous–not sure how the kids would respond to us, not sure how our skits, lessons and crafts would go, etc.  But from the moment we arrived to the TB Children Center, all of these worries quickly vanished.  The kids were so excited to meet us that they had prepared a few songs to sing for us when we arrived.

For our first day, all of us were surprised at how smooth things went.  After starting off with a skit for the kids, we divided the younger kids from the older kids and did a Bible lesson with them as well as a craft and some games.

The younger kids (from age 3 – 10) turned out to be quite a rambunctious group.  During our short Bible lesson and some indoor games, we found it difficult to hold their interest for more than a few minutes.  However, when it came time for the craft, they did a lot better paying attention and really had a fun time with it. In the afternoon, we spent another four hours with them playing all sorts of games outside such as: variations of tag, hide and seek, soccer, and a zombie game that they taught us.  With some of the girls we played some jump rope games, which they could play all day long if you let them!

Our whole team was really surprised at how quickly they began to cling to us.  Several of them would randomly come up to us and just hug us really tightly. While some of them act like normal kids, it is evident with most of them that they come from such broken and abused backgrounds, and are in desperate need of someone to love them in a genuine way.  They really are the sweetest kids, and it just breaks our hearts to hear that the only thing they are used to is abuse and neglect.

It has only been our first day with them, and they have already stolen our hearts away.  Please pray for our team continually these next two weeks, as we pour out ourselves to these kids.  Pray that God’s relentless love flows through us to the kids in a very real way, and that God can use our short time with them as the beginning of a transformation for the better in their lives.

From Russia With Love,

-The Vanguard Russia Team 2011