Mission to Magadan - December 2007

Like I mentioned the other day in a post, I got the latest Mission to Magadan newsletter. There is much going on there to bring the good news of the Gospel to an area that once had little to no hope & was a symbol of all Stalin's evil & repression during his rule of the Soviet Union.

The story in the latest newsletter that I would like to focus on was 1 about the Kingdom Kids, the small theatrical youth group Ola. Ola is 1 of the mission parishes of the Church of the Nativity in Magadan.

The group spent the past Summer in writing & performing plays. The plays are written with the goal of evangelizing youth in the area who don't attend church. How it works is that the kids in the play invite their friends who are unchurched to come & see the production. Often the result is that the friends start going to Church.

Last July they put on a 3-act play in Magadan based on the 7 Deadly Sins. It showed "how we become slaves to sin and how Christ, through forgiveness, can free us." Adults helped with the make-up & costumes. Fr. Michael Sheilds reports that "the young people took their rolls (sic) very seriously."

Next up is the annual Christmas pagent on 24 December. Last year's attendance was 350 kids & 150 adults.

As I read this I thought of the line in Scripture; "A little Child shall lead them." I agree with Fr. Sheilds comment: "It is a great gift that these young people are finding a new way to connect their faith, community and church, which helps them turn from a life filled with alcohol, abuse and abandonment."

Fr. Sheilds goes on to say: "We are proud of these Kingdom Kids! Who knows, maybe someday the Boshoi Theater in Moscow will see them perform, or maybe we will see changed lives as these young people grow into loving Christian men and women."

This is only a small part of the work that God is doing there. & while I know that no 1 person can support every worthy charity that is out there, this is 1 that I feel deserves special support because it is proven to be bearing "good fruit". Also, the fact that Fr. Benedict Groeschel of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal supports it is a big plus in my mind.

But, don't just take our words for it. The Archdiocese of Anchorage has several of the old newsletters on their 2 Magadan donation pages (here & here) for the mission. & the Magadan website also has more info.

Please consider donating. Besides the webpage for donations, you can also mail donations to the Archdiocese. (Note that checks & can have to be sent to the Anchorage Archdiocese. Checks send directly to Magadan can't be cashed.) Send the checks to:

Mission to Magadan

Archdiocese of Anchorage

225 Cordova St.

Anchorage, AK 99501-2409