Adventures in Prayer

Ira is 10, and her sister, Katia, is 8. They live in Zaoksky [zah-OHK-skee], Russia. The sisters have found that knowing God can make life a wonderful adventure.

Ira's Lost Shoes

Like most children, Ira and Katia walk to school. Often the weather is rainy or snowy, and children must wear boots to keep their feet dry on their way to school. Ira had just gotten a new pair of boots for school. They were warm and protected her feet from the wet and the cold. When she arrived at school she hung her coat in the coat room. She removed her new boots and placed them in a bag. She put the bag on a shelf with the other children's boots. Then she slipped her school shoes on and went to class.

But one afternoon Ira forgot to change her shoes before leaving school.

The next morning she could not find her boots. Then she remembered that she had left them at school. She walked to school in her school shoes. When she arrived at school, she looked on the shelf for her new boots. But the bag and the boots were not there.

That afternoon, Ira again searched for her new boots. She knew that her mother would be unhappy if she lost them. But Ira could not find the boots, so she had to wear her school shoes home again.

When Ira told her mother about her lost boots, her mother said, "Ira, we must find those boots. We have no money to buy another pair."

The next morning Ira told the principal about her lost boots. "We prayed last night and again this morning that I would find the boots, but I have just searched again, and I cannot find them."

The principal said, "Let's look again." Ira and the principal went to the coatroom and looked through every shelf. After several minutes the principal pulled a plastic bag out from behind some other bags. Inside were Ira's boots! The boots were not where Ira had left them, and the principal suggested that perhaps someone had taken her boots by mistake, but when they brought them back they put them on the wrong shelf.

Ira was relieved to have her new boots back. She thanked the principal for helping her, and on her way home she thanked Jesus for showing her where to find her boots.

Toasty Treat

Ira and Katia visited one of their friends after school. Their friend offered them a special treat-toast and butter. The girls had never had toast before, and they loved it!

When the girls went home they told their mother about the toasty treat they had eaten. "May we get a toaster, Mother?" Mother explained that she likes toast too, but the family did not have the money to buy a toaster. However, they decided to try to save a little money each week so they could buy a toaster. Mother asked the girls what they could do to save money. "We like bananas," Ira said. "If you buy fewer bananas, we can save money for the toaster." The girls really loved bananas, but they were willing to give up a few bananas if they could have toast.

But after saving every extra cent for two years, still they did not have enough to buy a toaster. The children often prayed for a toaster. They could almost taste the melted butter on the toast they would make when they got the toaster.

Then one day Father came home carrying a box. He told the family that his boss was moving and wanted to give the family something. As his boss held out a box he asked, "Do you think your family can use it?"

A broad smile spread across Father's face as he opened the box. Can you guess what it was? It was a toaster!

The family gathered in the kitchen. Mother plugged in the toaster, then slipped two pieces of bread into it. While the toaster was warming up, the family bowed their heads and thanked Jesus for this wonderful gift.

As the family bit into their first pieces of toast, Father said, "The best part of this is that my boss did not even know that we wanted a toaster!"

"But Jesus did!" Ira and Katia said together. "Jesus knows everything!"

This story originally appeared in the children's edition of Mission, 3rd quarter 2001, edited by Charlotte Ishkanian. Used by permission.