WORD OF THE DAY - Monday 14 December 2009

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” (John 10:11 NIV)

Я есмь пастырь добрый: пастырь добрый полагает жизнь свою за овец. (От Иоанна 10:11 Russian)

Almighty God, our Dear Father in Heaven ~ Thank you for life along with the awareness that you are the source of all that is good in this world. We are humbled when we consider the great love that our Good Shepherd has for his flock – the Church. Give us stronger faith and wisdom as we attempt to follow the many examples of our Lord in what we say and do. In Jesus name we pray, Amen.

Yesterday was another wonderful worship experience as we participated together in praising our risen Lord Jesus Christ. Brother Akinrinde led us in singing. We had ten people present for worship and that gave us much encouragement considering what a cold windy day it was. It is actually colder today, but it is more bearable because we don't have the strong winds like on Sunday. Our newest visitor Nikolai was there with his usual cheerful attitude. He adds so much to our meetings with his positive attitude and friendly disposition with a kind heart toward others. At noon today we meet with him to answer his "ten questions" as he stated. He has already located a place and investigated how much it will cost to rent a swimming pool for his baptism into Christ. God continues to bless His work here in Nikolaev, and for that we are most thankful to have a small part in this harvest. Thank you for your fervent prayers.

WORD OF THE DAY - Monday 23 November 2009

Grace be with all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with undying love. (Ephesians 6:24)

Благодать со всеми, кто бесконечно любит нашего Господа Иисуса Христа. (К Ефесянам 6:24 Russian SZ)

Most Honorable and Holy God, our Father in Heaven ~ Thank you from the depths of our hearts for your undying love toward us. Give us more capacity to love others that Christ also loves, so that we will be able to more fully love our Savior. In Jesus name we pray, Amen.

Yesterday was another wonderful Lord's Day with 8 souls gathered for worship. Since it was 10 degrees C, we had no steam heat again and nearly everyone compensated by keeping their coats on the entire time. We shared the last of our little bottles of hand sanitizer. We will be scouting around for more today. After the worship service, everyone was mingling around talking so we sat down and had some tea and coffee. While we were talking together, the phone rang and we had our first response to our advertisements for our English classes. We made an appointment with Dima at 3.00 yesterday afternoon for a get acquainted session. This bright young man came by and had many good questions about faith and the Bible. This was encouraging because at first we thought he was only interested in English. I made certain that he understands that we will be studying English using the Bible. He seemed pleased about that. We have a problem with his time that we will try and work out. He is working in construction projects while trying to improve his chances for a better job abroad. He doesn't get off work until 6.00. Dima said he can only come to a class with us around 7.30 or 8.00 at night. This is not suitable since our regular group meets each night at 6.00. We usually have questions and discussions until 7.30 and sometimes 8.00. We have another meeting set up and will offer him the option to meet with us on Saturday and Sunday afternoons. We hope this will work out. Thank you for the prayers!