A few years, our ministry took a mission trip to Moscow. Everything we believed God for came to pass! This entire time of ministry was bathed in prayer. Not only were you and our other partners praying in the United States, but so were the 22 women from our church who participated in the mission trip. Four weeks before the trip, they began to fast and pray for the trip, meeting together every Wednesday for a time of corporate prayer. By the time the trip began, we definitely sensed the backing of Heaven!

The 22 women were accompanied by 20 other women leaders and coordinators from our church and members of the church drama team. Altogether we had a group of 42 people that we divided into three teams. Each day each team went to two different places to minister God's love.

We visited three different kinds of orphanages:

• "Internet orphanages"—established for young teenagers who are in trouble with the law and awaiting sentencing.
• "Baby houses"—orphanages for children under three years old. This is where abandoned babies are sent, as well as infants with Downs Syndrome or AIDS.
• Orphanages for children between the ages of 7 and 18.

We also visited:

• A mental hospital for children
• A drug-and-alcohol rehabilitation hospital
• A hospice where homeless and cancer-stricken people receive care
• A home for invalid children who can't walk normally
• Homes of destitute families

Because of your offerings, we were able to buy quality gifts for the children we ministered to. In all, we gave 1,500 gifts to children, to sick people, and to administration staff members! Here are some of the gifts we brought:

• Paint sets and personal-hygiene items such as soap for the children
• Supplies for the teenagers (pens, paper, lotion, etc.)
• Umbrellas and small, decorative boxes for the girls
• Pearl bracelets (left over from our women's event in March) for the women at the drug-and-alcohol hospital

In addition, everywhere we went, we brought new clothing donated by our church members, including 200 pairs of plastic shoes and 200 pairs of underwear. We also gave a nice gift to each establishment we visited—a vacuum, a CD player, outdoor paint for playground equipment, or toner cartridges for a printer. Finally, everyone received a New Testament and books by Rick, me, and Joyce Meyer.

The Bible says that a person's gift will make room for him (Prov. 18:16). This was certainly true during the mission trip. As we gave these gifts, people's hearts were softened, and they were better able to receive our evangelistic programs. The listeners' hearts were touched by God's love as the drama and puppet teams performed. Everyone was so happy to see the clowns and the puppet theater!

This was especially true wherever we ministered to children. Their young hearts were so open that many of them even began to cry as the Holy Spirit touched them with His amazing presence. The women from the church came ready to love and serve and to give themselves fully so these children would see Jesus "with skin on." Many of our ladies had to get up at 4 a.m. to arrive on time—but they did it willingly and cheerfully.

Our visit to the drug-and-alcohol hospital was also very fruitful as the women received God's Word. I want to give a huge praise report about this hospital. For the past four years, we've been going to only one floor of this institution. But when we asked if we could bring the mission teams to the hospital for a special visit, the head psychiatrist told the staff on another floor, "You need to open up and receive these people." This was a profound thing for her to say, since she isn't even a Christian woman! God has given us such favor with this head doctor.

So instead of ministering to only 40 patients, we were able to share God's love with 80 women! The team members gave their testimonies, sang worship songs, and shared the hope that is in Jesus with these 80 precious ladies. By the time the team was done, their ministry had been so powerful that all 80 women wanted to be prayed for individually!

Looking into the eyes of these women, we can see that they've lost all hope and feel like they are complete failures. They know they've made so many wrong decisions, suffering the loss of their families and their dignity. But when the church women came during this mission trip, they were filled with God's love for these precious ladies. The team members were able to communicate to the women in the hospital that God didn't want to condemn them—He wanted to heal them and set them free! The women learned that Jesus had died on the Cross for them, carrying all their burdens so they could experience a life with hope. They asked questions, and many of them prayed to receive Jesus as their Savior.

Finally, we ministered to families in our church who need financial help, bringing them food and clothing for their children. Most importantly, we provided a tangible touch of love and tender care from their church family and from the Lord.

As you can see, this mission trip was a complete success! I just want to add one more thing regarding what happened to our ladies who participated. For almost all of them, this was their first time to reach out in this way to minister to others in need. These women experienced the love of God rising up in their hearts and were filled with compassion for each hurting child or woman they encountered. Many of them said they would never be the same. They also experienced the joy of working together and serving as a team. They saw that God could use them, whether through the laying of hands in prayer or just by putting their arms around someone to show His love.

Let's continue to take every opportunity we can to "break out of the box" and find new ways to bring God's love to someone else! Opportunities to help others are all around us every day if we'll just look for them.