WORD OF THE DAY - 29 January 2010

So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ. (Romans 10:17)

Итак вера от слышания, а слышание от слова Божия. (К Римлянам 10:17 Russian)

Тож віра від слухання, а слухання через Слово Христове. (Ukrainian Bible)

Merciful and Kind Father in Heaven ~ Thank you for granting us the privilege to experience another new day that arrives with fresh opportunities and blessings. Help us to be more effective in communicating the message about Jesus Christ so that people who hear will clearly understand what is necessary for them to do in order to receive eternal life. Give us wisdom as we read and mediate upon your infallible Word. In Jesus name we pray, Amen.

We have not heard anything from our dear new converts to Christ since we left Nikolaev on the 17th. We are not overly concerned since most of them do not have normal access to e-mail. That seems strange to us in the USA, but there are still many people in this world who do not have a PC at home or the necessary Internet connection. We can communicate with them by text mail (SMS), but that is not so convenient except for one or two people. We pray for God to strengthen the church as they study and obey His word. I am confident in the level of their faith even though it is new. Yesterday, I finally had a message from our brother Ruslan in Inta, Russia. He is the man who does shift work in the mines in a remote region far from home. The good news he sent is that the church continues to meet and that they sincerely want to do more work in spreading the Gospel. To that end, he asks that we will come again for another visit while he is in town and they will work to invite people to our meetings. When we were there in January of 20009, we had regular daily meetings but many times only two or three people were present. In Russia, it is not possible for foreigners to publicly advertise religious meetings. However, the local Christians can invite their friends and neighbors to the meetings. Now, we are praying and considering a visit to Inta on our way to Magadan before we return to Nikolaev. We are confident that God will be with us and help us on this long and difficult mission trip that we are currently planning. Thank you for the prayers.