Birthday Party Prayer

Olga was 6 years old when her family moved to the village of Zaoksky [zah-OHK-skee], two hours south of Moscow, Russia. Olga did not know anyone in the town, and she felt lonely.

Then she saw two girls playing in the yard across the road. She waved to them. "Hi, my name is Olga. What are your names?" she asked. The girls said they were Katia [KAHT-yah] and Natasha [nah-TAH-shah]. They quickly became friends and played together often.

Birthday Party

One day Katia greeted Olga with an announcement. "Tomorrow is my birthday," Katia said. "Our grandmother told us that we can invite you to my birthday lunch. Can you come?"

Olga's mother agreed, and the two prepared a special gift for Katia and Natasha, a little Bible.

The next day Olga went to her friends' house for lunch. Grandmother had prepared Katia's favorite foods. There was borscht (a pretty red soup made from beets), potato salad, and cooked cabbage. The food was not fancy, but it looked so pretty.

Everyone sat down and began to serve themselves bread and soup. But Olga sat quite still. When Grandmother asked Olga why she was waiting, Olga said, "I cannot eat yet. We have not prayed." Grandmother looked at Father, who smiled. Then he asked Olga if she would like to offer a prayer for the food. Olga nodded. Everyone bowed their heads while Olga asked God to bless the food and her friends.

Grandmother asked Olga, "Where do you go to school?"

"I attend the Christian school in town," Olga replied.

"Where is there a Christian school in our little village?" Grandmother asked, surprised. Then Olga told her it is at Zaoksky Seminary.

"Oh," Grandmother smiled. "I studied in that school before it was a seminary!"

After dinner Olga gave the girls the gift Bible that she had brought. As the sisters looked through the Bible, Olga told them, "This book tells all about God, who loves us and answers our prayers."

The girls thanked Olga for the Bible and told her that they would keep it forever. Olga thanked Grandmother and her little friends for inviting her to Katia's birthday dinner. Then she said goodbye.

At home Olga told her mother about the birthday dinner and added, "I don't think they know much about the Bible. Mother, do you think I could share some of my Bible books with Katia and Natasha, so they will know more about God?" Mother agreed, and the next time Olga visited her friends she took some children's books to read. The girls had fun reading the books, and they even read them to Grandmother.

When Olga's family had to move away, she was sad to leave Katia and Natasha, but she prays for them and hopes that they read the Bible she gave them.

New Neighbors

Olga quickly made friends in her new neighborhood. One of her neighbors had a Bible in their home, and Olga liked to talk to them about her favorite Bible stories.

One Sabbath the neighbor children asked Olga to play with them. "I cannot play with you now," Olga said. "We are on our way to church. But tomorrow I will come." Early the next day Olga went to her friends' house to play. She told them, "I want to read you something in the Bible." She turned to Exodus and read the fourth commandment, which says, "Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy."

"Yesterday was the Sabbath," Olga explained. "When you came over, I was getting ready to go to church. I want to spend the Sabbath day worshiping God, and that is why I did not want to play yesterday. But I will play today if you wish."

Olga asked her new friends if they would like to read more stories about God. They said they would, and she brought them her copy of Uncle Arthur's Bedtime Stories to read.

The following week Olga asked them, "Have you read my book?" They said that they had read almost all of it. When Olga asked what they liked best, the girls told her several stories that they liked.

Olga is glad that God has sent her special friends. She likes to share God's love with her playmates, and she tells them that Jesus is her best friend. When she is afraid she tells Jesus, and He helps her to be brave. When she is sick, she tells Jesus, and He makes her well. Olga tells her friends that Jesus has made a wonderful difference in her life.

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