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In 1994, two Americans answered an invitation from the Russian
Department of Education
to teach morals and ethics (based on biblical principles) in the public
schools.
They were invited to teach at prisons, businesses, the fire and police
departments and a
large orphanage. About 100 boys and girls who had been abandoned, abused,
and left in the care of a government-run program were in the orphanage.
They related the following story in their own words:
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It was nearing the holiday season, 1994, time for our orphans to hear,
for the first time,
the traditional story of Christmas. We told them about Mary and Joseph
arriving in Bethlehem. Finding no room in the inn, the couple went to a
stable, where the baby Jesus was born and
placed in a manger. Throughout the story, the children and orphanage staff
sat in amazement
as they listened. Some sat on the edges of their stools, trying to grasp
every word.
Completing the story, we gave the children three small pieces
of cardboard to make a
crude manger.Each child was given a small paper square, cut from yellow
napkins
I had brought with me. (No colored paper was available in them city.)
Following instructions, the children tore the paper and carefully
laid strips in the manger
for straw. Small squares of flannel, cut from a worn-out nightgown an American
lady was
throwing away as she left Russia, were used for the baby's blanket. A doll-like
baby was
cut from tan felt we had brought from the United States. The orphans were
busy assembling
their manger as I walked among them to see if they needed any help. All
went well until I got to
one table where little Misha sat -- he looked to be about 6 years old and
had finished his project.
As I looked at the little boy's manger, I was startled to see
not one, but two babies in the
manger. Quickly, I called for the translator to ask the lad why there were
two babies in the
manger. Crossing his arms in front of him and looking at this completed
manger scene, the child began to repeat the story very seriously. For such
a young boy, who had only heard the Christmas story once, he related the
happenings accurately -until he came to the part where Mary put the baby
Jesus in the manger.
Then Misha started to ad-lib. He made up his own ending to the
story as he said,
"And when Maria laid the baby in the manger, Jesus looked at me and
asked me if I had a place
to stay. I told him I have no mamma and I have no papa, so I don't have
any place to stay. Then Jesus told me I could stay with him. But I told
him I couldn't, because I didn't have a gift to
give him like everybody else did.
But I wanted to stay with Jesus so much, so I thought about
what I had that maybe I could use
for a gift. I thought maybe if I kept him warm, that would be a good gift.
So I asked Jesus, "If I keep you warm, will that be a good enough
gift" And Jesus told me, "If you keep me warm, that
will be the best gift anybody ever gave me." "So I got into the
manger, and then Jesus looked at
me and he told me I could stay with him---for always." As little
Misha finished his story, his eyes brimmed full of tears that splashed
down his little cheeks. Putting his hand over his face, his head dropped
to the table and his shoulders shook as he sobbed and sobbed. The little
orphan had found someone who would never abandon nor abuse him, someone
who would stay with him
FOR ALWAYS
I've learned that it's not what you have in your life, but who you have
in your life that counts.
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