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Helping young and old to find the loving God
Igor Mikhailov, Director of the Bible
Society of the Republic of Belarus, picks out some highlights from
visits he made in August to children’s and old people’s homes MINSK, Belarus — But whatever the reason they are in homes, the children suffer gravely
from the absence of parental love – the most important thing to
a child’s formative years. Fortunately, over recent years, it has
become more customary to find a child foster-parents. Every time it
happens the staff and teachers rejoice, being acutely aware that however
hard they try to create an atmosphere of love in the institution, a
child cannot be truly happy without a family. Parental love and care
are just irreplaceable.
Cliotsk children’s home is situated 160 km (100 miles)
from Minsk, in the village of Damatkanovitchi, and currently shelters
96 orphans. This home is remote from any major road and, although it
receives limited support from sponsors, there were no Christian books
in the children’s library. No wonder the Director of the home,
Sergei Vasilyevich, showed a keen interest in the books the Bible Society
brought. “Many children speak Belarusian, so the Christian ABC in Belarusian
will be of considerable help to them,” he said. “And, what
is more, these books will lead them towards learning God’s truth,”
he added.
Stan’kovo children’s home stands at the edge of a former landed estate in a picturesque location near Minsk. A small lake adds to the beauty of the surroundings. There are beehives, a small pig farm and a garden, all of which encourage the children to work with their hands. The children are taught to appreciate and cultivate the beauty of nature, and the committed teachers and nurses take great pains to show love and care to them. Nevertheless the sensitive children are acutely aware of the absence of parental love, and we pray that, through the literature we’ve given them, our merciful Lord will comfort them and take away the burden of their parents’ sins. May they see – and accept – his love and mercy through this book, so that the Word of God enables them to stand against the temptations and influences of this world. These children, deprived of parental love, are easily hurt and made vulnerable because of their loneliness and feelings of inferiority. Prayer bookThe Garadishchye children’s home in the Brest region is currently home to 200 mentally handicapped children. They are looked after by 175 staff, all but 15 of whom are men. As our car, packed with the Bible Society books, pulled up outside the main building, a boy called Vitya came up. He carried a prayer book around with him, using it regularly for saying his prayers. He was delighted to learn that we were delivering Christian children’s books.
Copyl’ home for the handicapped and the elderly was established in 1957. Located in the Filipovichsky settlement, it currently houses 84 people, of whom 60 are former prisoners. It is difficult to share the Good News with such people, as the life they have led in the past has made their hearts hard. Peace of mind is a rare commodity here; quarrelling and fighting, on the other hand, are common. The story of Leonid is typical. After a bout of heavy drinking one
winter’s day, Leonid set off to the shop in a neighbouring village
to get some more to drink and as he stumbled home his feet got frostbitten.
As a result he is now handicapped, but arguably his spiritual condition
is far more perilous. It is vital to tell Leonid and others like him
about the way to salvation and revival through faith in Jesus Christ.
Bible Society staff presented the library of the boarding house with
sets of Christian literature, which hopefully will help these people
in desperate need of spiritual healing to find the living, loving God. |
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Children
go to orphanages for a variety of reasons. Some come from homes with
only one parent, others have none at all. The rest have parents who
lack all desire to care for them – they may be in prison or are
alcoholics – and have been deprived of their parental rights.
