From the very beginning of the new year the village of Zavorsklo, in the Poltava region, has been the object of Salvation church missionary efforts. Taking advantage of the popular tradition on Christmas Eve, one of the small groups from Salvation Church went through the village, singing carols and handing out invitations to the charity evangelistic program "Christmas 2013". The event was planned for January 12 at the local House of Culture.

 

A month earlier, at a service at Salvation Church, the announcement was made for the "Christmas gift" event. The members were invited to take one or more empty gift boxes and fill them with gifts for children of different ages. God prepared the hearts of many, and 130 gift sets assembled by the deadline!

And then came the long awaited Saturday the 12th of January. The missionary team of dedicated Sunday school workers and a worship team, 23 people in all, loaded equipment, costumes and gifts and drove to the snow-covered village. Everyone was wondering the same thing: "How many people will respond to the invitation to come to the Christmas program?" The program was scheduled for 10:00 am. At 9:45 on the horizon we saw the first five visitors ... from the neighboring village! It turns out that their grandmother started attending a Bible study group in the home of Ira and Roman Kovalenko. So she invited her family: grandchildren and great-grandchildren to attend the Christmas program. Half an hour later the hall was filled to capacity, which exceeded expectations, not only ours, but also those of the head of the House of Culture - 34 adults and 50 children! At the first verses of the Christmas musical performed by the worship team, the audience was amazed, because there had never been a performance like this in the village before. "Do not be afraid to accept the love of God" - these were the concluding words addressed to the audience at the end of the music program. "God really loves you," - the evangelist continued on the theme of God's extraordinary plan for all mankind.

However, it was necessary to remember the children who were waiting for the promised children's program and were already looking toward the stage, where behind the curtains they could see the players for the children's play: "Where can you find the meaning of Christmas?" The main character started out in the woods, asking everyone he met: Zimushka-Winter, the housewife, an Angel, Father Christmas and the Snow Maiden, but none of them was able to explain the meaning of Christmas! When it was time to pass out the gifts the evangelist used the occasion to explain that Jesus Christ is the best Christmas gift for everyone of any age and at all times, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have eternal life." The program concluded with a farewell from the local residents who were deeply touched by the warmth of God, emanating from each member of the mission team from Salvation Church.
Some of the people who came to the festival also expressed a desire to join the Bible study group!

Andre Khudyakov