Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. (Romans 5:3-4 NIV)И не сим только, но хвалимся и скорбями, зная, что от скорби происходит терпение, от терпения опытность, от опытности надежда. (К Римлянам 5:3-4 Russian)
O LORD our God, Dear Father in Heaven ~ Thank you for this new day and the awareness of your kind and righteous presence in every aspect of creation. Give us wisdom and deep spiritual insight to understand that physical pain and suffering in various degrees is part of our expectations in this life on earth. Open our eyes to see that very often these same sufferings carry blessings that may help us to become stronger in our faith, hope and love. Strengthen us as we strive to live before the people of this world as true followers of Christ. In Jesus name we pray, Amen.
Yesterday in our Thursday Bible study, Nikolai was concerned that since we will be gone for several weeks, and he didn't know how to read music, could we please sing several hymns and he would record songs on his telephone, then he could learn the songs and be able to lead singing. He is actually a good singer and learns by ear as my Mom used to say was how she learned to play piano. Prior to the Bible study, we had an individual meeting for an hour and half with Nikolai Thor so that we could give him the instructions that he wanted on how to conduct worship services and what to say to visitors. We are just amazed at how God is working in the lives of these dear saints here in Nikolaev, Ukraine to help them be the church that God wants them to be. As we discussed several Bible questions and practical matters, I brought up the subject of visitors. He commented, "You remember how I first came to you with a long list of questions, and you just took the Bible and showed me the answers from God's word. That satisfied me, and that should satisfy any visitors." He went on, 'when I explained to you that it seemed to me that it was not necessary to be baptized now, but wait until next summer, you went to the Bible and had me read the examples of how people were baptized immediately upon confession of their faith in Christ, and repentance.' Furthermore, in our conversations about some recent Bible studies, he demonstrated that he has been reading and studying deeply into God's word and he proved it to me by repeating several textual lessons from Truth for Today that I recently gave him to study. The church here will be in good hands while we are away. Nikolai explained his feeling of anxiety as a new Christian and we prayed for God to help him overcome this feeling. Galina recently showed Luda how to prepare the Lord's Supper and she is doing this with pleasure. On Saturday, we plan to have another meeting with everyone to go over their questions again. Today we must many errands to take care of at the place where we meet, the Post Office, and our apartment. Yesterday morning it began to snow, and since the temperature was at the freezing point and just a little below, we had about 24 hours of mostly wet snow. It was beautiful and at the same time difficult to walk around town. Some of the fir trees already fell over due to the heavy weight of the wet snow. We are supposed to have more snow today, but it seems nothing can keep our people away. Afolabi plans to leave Saturday to go over to Crimea in order to catch a flight to Turkey, then on to Nigeria. We didn't see Akinrinde yesterday since he was taking some special course to prepare him for work on a tanker in Nigeria. These brothers are optimistic that their education here at the Maritime University will help them land a good job in their country where jobs are very scarce. In any event, they are prepared to serve Christ in their native land. Thank you for the prayers.
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