Yesterday we went out to the street kids center to do a bible lesson. Once a week Masha and I take the bus and and visit the christian shelter 'Living Hope'. Three times a week kids can come there to play, to eat, to hang out and – most important - to learn about God. Yesterday three 13 years old boys I have not met before came. Pasha had to fight against sleep from the very beginning. Apparently they had been up most of the night. Of course they are tired now, they are just boys!
After having some tee with cookies we went upstairs to have the lesson. The kids know that when they come to the center they have to attend the bible lessons, if they want or not. I was glad that today Masha was leading the session. The boys were quite challenging. We talked about the purpose of learning about God and how it is all useless if you choose not to apply any of it in your life. I asked Vitaly: what does your mum say if you don't come home all night long? His answer broke my heart: 'She doesn't care, she just beats me, she broke my arm the other day'. He said it with a sad smile on his face. This is his reality. No wonder his behavior is not as angle-like as one would wish. I was watching the boys during class, making sure Pasha was not falling asleep and I thought of how hopeless the situation of these kids is. Now they are still boys, in a few years they are men - if they are still alive - and I don't even want to imagine what kind of life they will be living. Hopeless cases - if it wasn't for Jesus. This is why we volunteer at the shelter 'LIVING HOPE'; because there is a living hope. I believe God can change these kids - if they let him.
After the time at the shelter we walked for half an hour to go and visit our Gypsy friends. The kids were happy to see us - but even happier when I pulled out an ordinary balloon for them to play with. The whole crowd was running after the balloon, trying to touch it. The little ones just fell over and we had to make sure no one gets hurt in all the glass splitters scattered on the ground. Then we sang some songs. They did pretty well - and even I remembered the movements to the songs much better than last time:-). After about an hour of playing my energy was completely gone. The kids were beating each other up constantly and it was just normal. Sometimes an adult would come and yell something in their language and beat some of the kids. It seems to be part of their way of communication. I was glad when our friends came who are holding Russian writing and reading classes and a bible lesson. We helped with that and at the end we had Tee and plov (Uzbek rice dish) with the ladies. We returned home after eleven at night - tired, but glad that God is doing His work and using us for it!