The time I spend around children reminds me of my own childhood years.
I grew up in the countryside, alongside my grandparents. That was the place where I felt happiest. I remember that my grandmother was the one who taught me to pray to God. From her, I learned the Lord’s Prayer.
As much as they knew, they did their best to teach and raise us to live beautifully among people. They taught us what good manners and respect for others mean. They were simple country people, but from them I learned what it truly means to be human.
Being Orthodox, they did not know how to teach us very much about faith and about God—they taught us only what they themselves knew. I did not understand what repentance meant; I first heard that word at the age of thirty. Our parents never spoke to us about God. They did not go to church, they did not pray, and they did not know how to instill Christian values in us.
I thank God that He allowed me to know Him and to accept the Lord Jesus Christ as the Lord and Savior of my life.
If I did not have parents who spoke to me about the Gospel, who played with us and offered us what was most valuable, I now have that opportunity. God has given our children believing parents, and as much as it depends on us, we will teach them what we ourselves did not know.
As a child, I did not know that we could sing to God—but our children do, and they do it with joy. Winter has come, and they love it when it snows. They enjoy being pulled on the sled and having snowball fights. We rejoice that we have learned to make time for our children and to invest Christian values in their lives.
Please pray for us, that we may be as effective as possible in raising and educating our children.
We sincerely thank you for your prayers, and we also thank our brothers and sisters from the PIEI team who make it possible for these letters to reach you.
May God bless you!
Sfetcu Florin - PIEI Romania Missionary
