WORD OF THE DAY - Wednesday 30 June 2010

Later in the day, we made our 15 minute walk over to the large central market area. We discovered this when the church was meeting over on Frunze Street in the offices of our brother Nikolai Gagarkin. A good time to visit this area is at the end of the day when the sellers are wanting to pack up and go home. We found some good deals on fresh fruits and vegetables. It is also a great place to meet people. Many of the people who work here grow their own crops in small villages, and others are people who live in Nikolaev and devote their lives to buying and reselling these fresh products. It is a very busy place and not the only one in the large and spread out city of Nikolaev. Thank you for your prayers.

Yesterday morning we were at the entrance to the Nikolaev Zoo when the gates opened up. This is another of those things that we have not done yet; and most likely would never find time to do unless we had Sonya with us or some other grand child. This particular zoo is perhaps the oldest continuing zoo in Ukraine. They celebrate 110 years of continuous service this year. There were many large groups of children and lots of families to see the animals from all over the world. We ride by the entrance to this place all the time, so now we know what it is like inside.

The black swans were a favorite of many people.

Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral. (Hebrews 13:4 NIV)

Брак у всех [да будет] честен и ложе непорочно; блудников же и прелюбодеев судит Бог. (К Евреям 13:4 Russian)

Нехай буде в усіх чесний шлюб та ложе непорочне, а блудників та перелюбів судитиме Бог. (Евреи 13:4 Ukrainian)

Most Holy and Righteous God, our Dear Father in Heaven ~ Thank you for the conscious awareness we have that we are truly made in your image on this new day. Awaken among all believers a renewed sense of respect for the sacred bond of marriage. Give leaders of the churches and political leaders the wisdom and courage they need in order to enact policy that will encourage more marriages according to your holy definition of marriage between a man and a woman. Help young people contemplating marriage to seriously consider the joy and beauty of sacrifice that is necessary to build strong homes devoted to Christ. In Jesus name we pray, Amen.