A True Story
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 relate the following story in their
own words:
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 the 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.
