May 26, 2023 - an update from Brother Maxim Belov, ZBS Coordinator of Children's and Adolescent Ministry with the Baptist Union
"Greetings to our brothers and sisters in Christ!
It is very pleasant to know and feel our community in Jesus Christ, this is a very pleasant situation.
I want to share how God has used me recently in the ministry for people who need help.
1. The first direction is service to children from families of forced migrants. I want to tell a short story. One woman came with a request to include her 5-year-old daughter in a group where children are prepared for school. She said that no matter where they turn, they are refused; since the groups are already recruited, and her daughter has a diagnosis of "Speech Development Delay," then they are completely refused. So she turned to us and asked us not to refuse her. Then we offered the girl to immediately join such a group. The girl is very withdrawn, does not leave her mother for a single step, and does not raise her eyes to the mountain to look into the eyes of others. We decided to pray for the girl and her mother. Every day, as a team, we began to pray and ask God to reveal himself to this family so that their lives would change. Three months passed, and we began to notice small changes in the behavior of a girl named Arina. She started talking to other children and started to let go of her mother - it's all thanks to God and our joint service to these people. I believe that there will be real changes in the life of this family.
And we also hold meetings for children from immigrant families, where we give them the opportunity to adapt through creativity and find balance in their inner state. Therefore, every time we buy bright materials so that at this time the children have the opportunity to create bright products and have hope for a bright future. Every meeting is filled with a word from God where we show that only with God is it possible to have a bright and new life.
2. Help with food, hygiene, and children's items for displaced persons, as well as for the elderly and disabled.
It is such an emotional moment when people talk about what they experienced when they were forced to move to Zaporizhzhia from their homes. Each story is a life into which you are introduced. We ask you to pray that we have the wisdom from God to correctly perceive all the stories and all these people in such a way as to help and not harm.
Assistance to families with small children, because this is necessary assistance to such small citizens of our country.
3. We also organize holidays for children and teenagers and do not forget about parents. The Easter holiday was spent for the children; the wonderful book about the Easter Sparrows came in handy because the children started reading right on the holiday itself.
For parents, we hold meetings where we discuss how to build proper relationships between spouses and how to build relationships between parents and children.
4. Weekly meetings with people who want to know God through Bible study continue. People are very open and constantly have questions that bother them.
Sincerely yours,
Maxim Belov"
