"Honor your father and mother"—which is the first commandment with a promise— "that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth." (Ephesians 6:2-3 NIV)
Почитай отца твоего и мать, это первая заповедь с обетованием: да будет тебе благо, и будешь долголетен на земле. (К Ефесянам 6:2-3 Russian)
Шануй свого батька та матір це перша заповідь з обітницею, щоб добре велося тобі, і щоб ти був на землі довголітній! (Ефесяни 6:2-3 Ukrainian)
Almighty God, our Dear Father in Heaven ~ Thank you for the gift of life on this new day that pulses with more solid evidence of your watchful presence in our daily affairs. Give us wisdom as we teach young children to grow up with proper respect for their parents who make great sacrifices for them. Help those children who are living without loving parents to know that Jesus loves them. Give us courage to act on the opportunities that arise to do good for orphans. In Jesus name we pray, Amen.
Photos: Yesterday was a wonderful day known to many people as Palm Sunday. It was our first Lord's Day to be back in Nikolaev. In the morning and later in the evening, as we walked around town, we saw many people carrying sprigs from trees with buds on them. This was in place of the palm branches. This reminded me of my first Lord's Day service in the Russian Far East city of Khabarovsk in 1993. Several hundred people attended our service that day and most of them brought these branches and laid them on the stage of the place where we conducted that first Lord's Supper in Khabarovsk 17 years ago. The couple who came to Nikolaev to adopt one boy and are now working to adopt two more children were with us during worship and remained for our period of fellowship. Curt and Stephanie are members of a Christian Church near Indianapolis, Indiana. We will enjoy their company for another week as they wait on more paperwork to be completed so they can take their new children home to join the rest of their family. One of the students from Nigeria was with us and the other sent me a message of apology that he had forgotten to change his clocks for Daylight Savings time that went into effect here in Ukraine and across Europe yesterday. Following our worship, we had a period of fellowship and just went around the table and became better acquainted. Following the time of fellowship, all the members stayed around for an important meeting. After all these activities, we dismissed and Galina and I walked to back to the center of town near where we live. Nikolai Thor told us earlier that March 28 is a very important day in Nikolaev because of something that happened 66 years ago. So, we walked up to the high bluff that overlooks the bay and one of the large harbor areas of the city. There is a beautiful monument with an "eternal flame" that memorializes the heroic deeds of 56 Naval Commandos who volunteered to create a diversion with great explosions and drew the occupying Nazi forces to engage them in battle. They held out for a few days, but ultimately the majority of them gave their lives so that the Soviet forces could come back into the city on March 28, 1944 and free the people from the Nazi occupying forces. All men received the highest medal of the Soviet Union. When we were there it was already late in the day, and many people had already left flowers and wreaths, but they were still coming. We watched two elderly women lay a wreath and stand there and weep for the heroes of this city. A young school girl laid a flower with tears in her eyes. Now, when we walk up to this beautiful part of the city we have a greater appreciation for what it means. My message yesterday was about the death of Jesus upon the cross and why he died. All that had a positive impact upon our spiritual emotions as we ended the day. Thank you for your prayers as we work to spread the Gospel of Christ in this important city of Ukraine.
Почитай отца твоего и мать, это первая заповедь с обетованием: да будет тебе благо, и будешь долголетен на земле. (К Ефесянам 6:2-3 Russian)
Шануй свого батька та матір це перша заповідь з обітницею, щоб добре велося тобі, і щоб ти був на землі довголітній! (Ефесяни 6:2-3 Ukrainian)
Almighty God, our Dear Father in Heaven ~ Thank you for the gift of life on this new day that pulses with more solid evidence of your watchful presence in our daily affairs. Give us wisdom as we teach young children to grow up with proper respect for their parents who make great sacrifices for them. Help those children who are living without loving parents to know that Jesus loves them. Give us courage to act on the opportunities that arise to do good for orphans. In Jesus name we pray, Amen.
Photos: Yesterday was a wonderful day known to many people as Palm Sunday. It was our first Lord's Day to be back in Nikolaev. In the morning and later in the evening, as we walked around town, we saw many people carrying sprigs from trees with buds on them. This was in place of the palm branches. This reminded me of my first Lord's Day service in the Russian Far East city of Khabarovsk in 1993. Several hundred people attended our service that day and most of them brought these branches and laid them on the stage of the place where we conducted that first Lord's Supper in Khabarovsk 17 years ago. The couple who came to Nikolaev to adopt one boy and are now working to adopt two more children were with us during worship and remained for our period of fellowship. Curt and Stephanie are members of a Christian Church near Indianapolis, Indiana. We will enjoy their company for another week as they wait on more paperwork to be completed so they can take their new children home to join the rest of their family. One of the students from Nigeria was with us and the other sent me a message of apology that he had forgotten to change his clocks for Daylight Savings time that went into effect here in Ukraine and across Europe yesterday. Following our worship, we had a period of fellowship and just went around the table and became better acquainted. Following the time of fellowship, all the members stayed around for an important meeting. After all these activities, we dismissed and Galina and I walked to back to the center of town near where we live. Nikolai Thor told us earlier that March 28 is a very important day in Nikolaev because of something that happened 66 years ago. So, we walked up to the high bluff that overlooks the bay and one of the large harbor areas of the city. There is a beautiful monument with an "eternal flame" that memorializes the heroic deeds of 56 Naval Commandos who volunteered to create a diversion with great explosions and drew the occupying Nazi forces to engage them in battle. They held out for a few days, but ultimately the majority of them gave their lives so that the Soviet forces could come back into the city on March 28, 1944 and free the people from the Nazi occupying forces. All men received the highest medal of the Soviet Union. When we were there it was already late in the day, and many people had already left flowers and wreaths, but they were still coming. We watched two elderly women lay a wreath and stand there and weep for the heroes of this city. A young school girl laid a flower with tears in her eyes. Now, when we walk up to this beautiful part of the city we have a greater appreciation for what it means. My message yesterday was about the death of Jesus upon the cross and why he died. All that had a positive impact upon our spiritual emotions as we ended the day. Thank you for your prayers as we work to spread the Gospel of Christ in this important city of Ukraine.
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