After we left the Mercy Ministry House our team went to two new sites. Half of the team went to a Center of Temporary Isolation of Minors--Deliquents and half went to the Rehabilitation Center for Children under 18 years old. Jaye, Sarah, Dema, Zooana, Olya, Natalie and me went to the Rehab Center. The Rehab Center houses children from the ages of 3 to 18 years old. It started about 4 years ago. The Center is for children whose parents are typically battling some sort of addiction, are abusive and cannont provide their child with a stable, permanent residence. The children usually stay at this center for 2 months. The director said that over the past year, 35 children had voluntarily come to the center because they knew they could get help there and feel safe. We toured the very small facility and then we were introduced to the children. We played a game to spark spiritual conversations and I was able to give my testimony at this site.
After leaving the Rehab Center for Children, Jaye, Megan and I went to Olya's (one of our translators) house for dinner. It was quite an uplifting and encouraging time. Olya and her adopted daughter, Katia ate with us, as well as another Olya and her friend, Nina. We talked about our ministry day and we each gave our testimonies so that was really neat. Nina talked about the persecution she has experienced because of her faith and she is only 18. After dinner, Olya played the piano for us. We sang hymns and songs in Russian and English. It was neat to hear how languages could collide to form such a beautiful sound. They taught us the song "Sing Halleluiah" in Russian. It really touched me that I could come overseas and share a meal in the home of a belieiver and be able to worship and praise God together.
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