Why Are You Here?

After recovering from Jet Lag on Sunday, the team was ready to go! We started the morning by visiting a Russian Cathedral called Savior of the Spilt Blood. It is the place where the Czar Alexander II was assassinated. It is filled with mosaic tile pictures of the life of Christ and many other Bible stories. It was a 19th century way of sharing the Bible through pictures to many who were illiterate at that time.

After lunch, we took the metro to a station near Orphanage #24. From there it is about a one mile walk that takes us on a bridge over the Neva River that runs through St. Petersburg. Once we were there we were given a room to meet in and store our supplies. We prepared all our things for our first meeting in the small groups for the kids that were there.

Our first meeting started with a performance by the kids in the auditorium. In addition, I had invited a Russian Christian man who has a Clown Ministry. “Pompa” entertained the kids and helped me “introduce” our team! He certainly brought laughter and excitement to our first day.

After the performance and our introductions, each group was called forward and instructed to lead their American leaders and their translators to their classrooms where they will meet. Each small group was different, but they all got to know one another, play some introduction games, and maybe even a hand of UNO! Some even had some deep questions!

During one of those first sessions as the kids were getting to know us, one of the boys in Debbie’s group asked, “Why are you here?” Debbie responded by saying that God had called her to go to Russia and visit them. He then asked, “Is it true that only 28% of Americans are believer?” Debbie responded by saying that she wasn’t sure of the statistic, but not everyone that says they are a believer IS a believer." She continued by saying, “I know I am a believer because I have asked Jesus Christ to be the ruler of my life.” The boy responded and said he had heard something like that before. Distractions came and the conversation was over, but Debbie had no idea that she would get to share even this much on the first day! Its little conversations like this that helps orphans understand the truth and guide them towards a life with Christ.

Thanks for praying for us. We are hoping for many more conversations in the coming days.