I received this from a relative today and just had
to share it with you.
TWO BABES IN A MANGER
In 1994, two Americans answered an invitation
from the Russian
Department of Education to teach morals and ethics (based on
biblical
principles) in the public schools. They were invited to teach
at
prisons, businesses, the fire and police departments and a
large
orphanage .
About 100 boys and girls who had been abandoned,
abused,
and left in the care of a government-run program were in the
orphanage. They relate the following story in their own words:
It was
nearing the holiday season, 1994, time for our orphans to
hear, for the first
time, the traditional story of Christmas. We
told them about Mary and Joseph
arriving in Bethlehem. Finding
no room in the inn, the couple went to a stable, where the baby Jesus
was
born and placed in a manger.
Throughout the story, the children and orphanage staff sat
in
amazement as they listened. Some sat on the edges of their
stools, trying to
grasp every word. Completing the story, we gave
the children three small pieces of cardboard to make a crude
manger. Each
child was given a small paper square, cut from
yellow napkins I had brought
with me. No colored paper was
available in the city. Following instructions,
the children tore
the paper and carefully laid strips in the manger for straw.
Small squares of flannel, cut from a worn-out nightgown an
American lady was throwing away as she left Russia, were used
for the baby's blanket. A doll-like baby was cut from a tan felt we
had brought from the United States.
The orphans were busy assembling their manger as I walked
among them
to see if they needed any help. All went well until I
got to one table where
little Misha sat. He looked to be about 6
years old and had finished his
project.
As I looked at the little boy's manger, was startled to see
not
one, but two babies in the manger. Quickly, I called for the
translator to
ask the lad why there were two babies in the manger.
Crossing his arms in front of him and looking at this completed
manger
scene, the child began to repeat the story very seriously.
For such
a young boy, who had only heard the Christmas story
once, he related the
happenings accurately -- until he came to the
part where Mary put the baby
Jesus in the manger. Then Misha
started to ad-lib. He made up his own ending
to the story as he
said, And when Maria laid the baby in the manger, Jesus
looked
at me and asked me if I had a place to stay.
"I told him I have no
mama and I have no papa, so I don't
have any place to stay. Then Jesus told
me I could stay with him. But
I told him I couldn't, because I didn't have a
gift to give him like
everybody else did. But I wanted to stay with Jesus so
much, so I thought
about what I had that maybe I could use for a gift. I
thought maybe if I
Kept him warm, that would be a good gift. "So I asked Jesus,
'If I keep you warm, will that be good enough as a gift?' And
Jesus told me, 'If you keep me warm, that will be the best
gift anybody ever gave me.' So I got into the manger, and then Jesus
looked at me and he told me I could stay with him -- for always."
As
little Misha finished his story, his eyes brimmed full of tears
that splashed
down his little cheeks. Putting his hand over his face,
his head dropped to
the table and his shoulders shook as he sobbed and
sobbed.
The little orphan had found someone who would never abandon nor
abuse
him, someone who would stay with him -- for always.
Resent by Joe
Gatuslao
Bacolod City, Philippines
