Heart-To-Heart
Every
year Denise Renner takes a group of American women to Russia on a
missions trip. They call the group “Heart-To-Heart.” They minister in
orphanages and to women in drug and alcohol hospitals, destitute homes,
and hospitals that treat AIDS, tuberculosis, and other incurable
diseases.
The orphanage
ministry began after one of the yearly trips with the women from
America. One group went to an orphanage in the area and asked if they
could buy some plants and do some landscaping around the orphanage, to
make it more beautiful. In other orphanages, they helped with some
remodeling work. These simple acts of service gave them favor to be
able to go inside and minister to the children. (Random acts of
kindness do make a difference!)
To
bless the children, the group brought gifts and did puppet shows. One
particular orphanage has teenage girls, so they brought a fashion-show
video and talked to the girls about hygiene and which fashions would
look best on each girl. It really opened the girls’ hearts to the
presentation of the Gospel. Because of the unmistakable changes that
the Heart-To-Heart ministry has made in the lives of these girls, the
director of the orphanage now takes these young ladies to local nursing
homes, to teach them to minister to others!
Heart-To-Heart
has now been ministering in orphanages for over 3½ years. In general,
since going to the orphanages in Moscow, the percentage of adoptions at
these institutions has increased. At one orphanage the ladies prayed
with two of the directors to receive Jesus.
2007
was the first time they ministered in an invalid orphanage. Many
children did not have legs, or their legs were mangled. There were
children whose arms were deformed and unusable. Many of the babies were
in a vegetative state. One 16-year-old girl, named Galena, drew
Denise’s attention. Galena had been left at the hospital when she was
born. Denise sends her gifts and has repeat visits with her.
3½
years ago, the group also began ministering at a drug and alcohol
rehabilitation hospital. One of the residents, whose name is Lydia, had
found her alcoholic husband dead. After being ministered to, she got
saved and delivered from alcoholism and severe depression. Shortly
after Lydia gave her life to Christ, her only son died from an overdose
of drugs.
Lydia now goes to
the hospital every month. She is determined to give her life for the
purpose of helping others get delivered from drugs and alcohol. She
knows that Jesus is their only answer. Lydia shared, “The rooms are
filled with despair, hopelessness, and shame. But God fills your heart
with love when you go to minister. The people cry when the love of God
is spoken or sung about.”
One
girl, an AIDS patient who had also been a heroin addict for 8 years,
gave her heart to the Lord. She got healed, married, and became a
mother! Another woman had been a severe alcoholic for 13 years. She had
been in prison, and was a lesbian. She is now saved, sober, completely
delivered, and has a job!
There
recently was a fire in the hospital. Although 45 women were killed, not
one woman was hurt in the wing where Denise’s group regularly goes to
preach the Word!
Every
resident who gets saved gets a weekly phone call from a woman in the
group. Because of the regular love, care, and Word these people
receive, the Heart-To-Heart ministry is saving many lives!
It’s
wonderful to hear these testimonies – but it’s not enough to just know
about cases like this and do nothing. We must ask God for similar
opportunities to minister, and then ask that He show us what we can do
to bring healing and deliverance into the lives of others.