Everything God creates is a masterpiece … but sometimes sin and "the
world” put their fingerprints on the masterpiece. Sometimes hurtful words and actions cover the
masterpiece with dust and dirt so the true beauty of the masterpiece is not
easily seen. With one gentle blow, the
Master and Creator will blow away the dust and dirt and remove every
fingerprint that detracts from the beauty of the created thing. This is a story about a masterpiece whose
name is Sasha.
God only knows
the many roads this child has walked. I
am thankful that one day Sasha, at the age of nine, walked down the road that
led him to me! Watching God blow away
the dust and dirt to reveal unimaginable beauty has changed my heart
forever. I first met Sasha at
Myakovskogo, the government shelter where I work as an EZRA volunteer. Both parents were in prison. Sasha had known a life of begging and
stealing. He told me that he was going
to be a thief, that he would kill people and burn Myakovskogo down. He often seemed depressed and wanted to be
alone. He initiated many fights with
other children and talked about killing gypsies. I was told by another child that Sasha had
urinated on a gypsy child while he slept.
Sasha usually lost the many fights he started, but I never saw him
cry. I thought to myself: What will become of this young life?
The
children at Myakovskogo had the opportunity this summer to attend a ten-day
Christian camp led by an American group.
As I ministered at this camp, God intensified my love for Sasha. He was starved for attention, and would do
anything for it. Once he climbed on the
railing of a balcony and threatened to jump from the third floor! He said "nobody loves me”. Later when I attempted to talk with him he
seemed to not even remember the incident!
I stopped him from throwing a brick at one of the counselors. Everyday he took pens into his room and
colored his body from head to toe. He
usually took a gypsy boy named Robert with him and they covered each other with
ink. When asked "why”, Sasha said,
"because we are not beautiful”.
One afternoon two other counselors
were burdened to intercede for this child.
We cried out to God to rescue Sasha from this horrible life!
One day Sasha asked me to walk with
him. He walked with me to the edge of a
forest and told me to run. I asked "why”
and he said, "I know you want to run away from me, so I am letting you
go.” I told Sasha that I love him and
that I did not want to run away. He
smiled, took my hand, and we walked back to camp.
I overheard
Sasha tell some of the counselors "I love you”.
He went to the counselors for hugs, and began to socialize with other
children. On the day the Jesus film was
shown, many of the children were inattentive, but Sasha sat in the front with
his eyes glued to the screen. Children
in the film told about how they came to know Jesus and Sasha moved closer to
the television and watched and listened.
After Sasha
watched this movie he was changed. He
did not paint his body again. He wanted
to sit with us and be cuddled. He would
ask us to read the Bible to him. He
rarely got into fights with peers, and became friends with Robert, the gypsy
boy. He asked counselors to pray with
him. What brought about the change in
this child’s life? When Sasha watched
the Jesus film, he believed. He started
down the road of faith.
When Sasha left the camp, it was the first time
I ever saw him cry. He was placed back
at Myakovskogo. The teachers could not
believe the change in Sasha! He asked me
to help him write letters to the camp counselors and cried as he told me to say
that he loves and prays for them. He
held a cross in his hand and asked me if Jesus really died for him. The Master and Creator has set Sasha free,
and the beauty of the masterpiece is magnificent!
Sasha now
resides at Father’s House, a Christian orphanage outside of Kiev.
He continues to heal and grow.
What will become of this
young life?
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