Nicole is 7 years old and in the first grade. She and her family are missionaries serving in the country of Armenia. Nicole is used to living far from her grandparents and aunties and uncles. Her family has been missionaries most of her life.
Someone gave Suren a paper with bright pictures on it. Suren studied the paper for several minutes. He couldn’t read well yet, but he knew the paper talked about God. He took it to his neighbor, Susanna. She was a believer; surely she would want to read the paper.
Moses is 8 years old. He and his family are Adventists. One day as Moses and his mother were walking to church, he saw a man working in his garden. “Why doesn’t that person go to church?” Moses asked his mother.
Nino and Irma didn’t grow up in an Adventist home. But their aunt took the girls to the Adventist church. The girls loved Sabbath School and begged their mother to go with them. But Mother wasn’t interested.
Luka is 5 years old. He lives in Georgia, where his father is a pastor. Last spring Luka’s father announced that the church would be holding evangelistic meetings. He urged everyone to invite their friends and families to attend the meetings.
Ibrahim [EE-brah-heem] is 9 years old. He lives in the country of Azerbaijan. [Locate Azerbaijan on the map.] He’s in the third grade and likes math and riding his bicycle.
Kiril is an ordinary boy in most ways. He likes to work with computers and make things with his hands. But Kiril believes that God loves him in a special way.
Ikáz and his family came from another country, Armenia. He couldn’t speak Russian very well, and some children in his class teased him. But Sonia didn’t tease him; she wanted to be his friend.
When Sonia started school in the first grade, she met a boy in her class named Ikáz [ee-KAHZ}. Ikáz is smaller than the other children in their class because he has a heart problem. He can’t run and play as most boys do. Ikáz comes from Armenia, a country west of Russia.
Oxana [ox-ANA] is 9 years old and lives in Tomsk, a city in the center of Russia. [Locate Tomsk on a map.] Oxana loves music. She studies at a special school that trains children to be musicians. Oxana’s studies include recitals and competitions.
Sonia is 6 years old. She lives in Tomsk, a city in the heart of Russia. Sonia’s mother works in a dress shop and sometimes takes Sonia to work with her. Sonia likes to go with Mother. She likes the women who work there, even Mother’s boss, who she calls Auntie Julia.
Daniel tells his neighborhood friends Bible stories. He recites Bible verses for them too. Daniel’s friend Pradeep [prah-DEEP] likes to hear about God. The boys sometimes stop playing just to talk about God. Pradeep likes to hear Daniel tell stories from the Bible. Daniel explains to him that Jesus died for him.