Finally brothers, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so even more. (1 Thessalonians 4:1)За сим, братия, просим и умоляем вас Христом Иисусом, чтобы вы, приняв от нас, как должно вам поступать и угождать Богу, более в том преуспевали. (1-е Фессалоникийцам 4:1 Russian)
Most Holy and Righteous God, our Dear Heavenly Father ~ Thank you for this new day that arrives with opportunities to demonstrate our faith by our deeds. Give us wisdom as we learn more about our perfect Savior so that we will know how we should consistently live the abundant life in a pleasing and worthy manner. In the name of our Lord Jesus we pray, Amen.
Yesterday was a very blessed Lord's Day that included a variety of activities that gave us much encouragement about this work for our Lord here in Nikolaev, Ukraine. Our new brother Stepan was the first one to arrive after we put the sign out front. Normally, he comes with his friend and neighbor Luda. He leaves his house early and stops by her apartment and they walk a good distance to the bus stop, then after that they catch a streetcar that drops them off several blocks from where we meet. It never matters what kind of weather we have, they will make an effort to be at the meetings of the church. Of course, I've told before that our maritime students walk all that distance in order not to waste money on public transportation. They also come rain, snow or sunshine. It was very encouraging to learn that Stepan has his own determination to be with the church whenever we meet. Luda brought him in the first place, and we wondered if he would come without her. Now we know that he has his own strong convictions. Our brothers Afolabi and Akinrinde led the church in songs and the Lord's Supper. I asked our new brother Nikolai to lead the church in prayer and before he began his prayer, he made some comments about his previous life in the Godless Communist dominated Soviet Union as a young Pioneer, Komsomolsk member and member of the Communist Party. It was very moving to hear him tell of his personal joy at discovering Jesus Christ and this local church. After worship and a time of visitation, our afternoon appointment with our student Sergey showed up with all his homework completed. We had a wonderful time together with him for a little over an hour as we studied lesson number one of the World English Institute course. He is already an advanced student and has so much potential. We had a good discussion about God and His word. Since he has many years experience working with shipping goods in and out of the country, he will speak to some officials and learn exactly what we must do in order to receive material that John Kachelman has offered to get shipped here to the regional Children's hospital that we visited in May and again in August when we helped them with a TV for the young orphan children who must stay there for longer times. After he left with an appointment for today, our new sister Zhenya showed up to spend time with us since she could not come to the worship service. We had a good discussion with her, and as she normally does, she walked us most of the way home in the dark. We often pray that a few more workers will leave some worries behind and come share the joy of 'bringing in the sheaves' here in Nikolaev. Please join us in prayer for teachers and preachers to help get this young church grounded in the faith and for more souls to obey Jesus Christ for salvation.
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