Christmas is a time for giving therefore, it is really about grace. One of the greatest verses in the Bible says it all, “For God so loved the world, He gave His only begotten Son” (John 3:16). The greatest gift anyone will ever receive can not be found wrapped under a Christmas tree. Instead, it is found at the foot of Calvary’s cross. There we see the true gift of Christmas.

Yesterday I received a phone call from Emilia, a young girl who has three younger brothers who all live with their mother in a small wooden shack in Jozefow, near Warsaw. Emilia asked me if I could bring her family some food for Christmas. This family has been on our list of dependants for several years now and every month we bring them certain amounts of milk, pasta, flour, sugar, cheese and other food items that we receive from the Food Bank in Warsaw. Emilia and one of her brothers have been invited several times to our camps, which they enjoyed very much. Normally, five days of the week these two older children, along with 120 others live at a boarding school for poor children, where they are well looked after. The school, “Jedrus” is a wonderful Social Therapy Centre and the kids love it. Many of the children from our dependant families attend there during the week but on the weekend they return to their homes.

It is a great joy for these mothers to have the children back home for a couple of days, but the problem often arises that sometimes there is not enough for them to eat at home. This is when I begin to receive phone calls, especially when the school break is longer as it is now for Christmas. The joy of a mother able to have her children back at home is often mixed with the real concern of how to feed them. It has been our great privilege to be there when they need us.

It was recently my privilege, on behalf of the Christian Joy Foundation, to receive an award from the children and staff of Jedrus - “A Friend of Jedrus“. I believe that this special honour will open new doors for our ministry at Jedrus, as we really desire to continue working with these children, inviting them to our Christian Camps and disciplining them through other events. We are praying that God would allow us to even organize one of our camps at the centre.

Recently it was our great joy to spend a few hours with around 150 children at Jedrus, presenting them the Gospel through a special performance of the Christmas story and giving to each child a Christmas parcel. Half of these parcels were prepared by volunteers and the rest came from the organization Samaritan’s Purse.

This winter there will be another break from school here in the Warsaw area. This is when we desire to invite these poorer children to our camps. There is the chance that many poorer children and orphans will be able to attend the camp planned for 18-22 January 2009, in the town of Wisla in the Polish mountains.

At this time we do not have the resources needed to pay for all of the children we would like to invite for this camp, but we believe we should move forward with our plans and have made a great step of faith; that God will provide the finances for this camp so that these children will be able to be with us in Wisla.

Please pray and ask God how you might be a part of their happiness this coming Winter Break. Thank you for your consideration and support.

The Christian RADOSC Foundation

For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich. 2 Corinthians 8:9