WORD OF THE DAY - Saturday 17 April 2010

But let all who take refuge in you be glad; let them ever sing for joy. Spread your protection over them; that those who love your name may rejoice in you. (Psalm 5:11 NIV)

И возрадуются все уповающие на Тебя, вечно будут ликовать, и Ты будешь покровительствовать им; и будут хвалиться Тобою любящие имя Твое. (Псалтирь 5:12 Russian)

А всі, хто надію на Тебе складають, хай тішаться, будуть вічно співати вони, і Ти їх охорониш, і будуть радіти Тобою, хто любить ім'я Твоє! (Псалми 5:12 Ukrainian)

Dear LORD God, our Heavenly Father ~ We praise you for this new day and the countless evidences of your tender mercies toward us and all your creation. Give us wisdom as we discover more about your constant protection for the saints. Help us to increase our efforts to expand the borders of Kingdom of Christ so that more people may also learn to love you. In Jesus name we pray, Amen.

Yesterday, we had to spend some time doing shopping for our dear boys at the Orphan's Home we plan to visit today. We ride a bus to the big store where we shop, then call a taxi to take us back to the apartment with our sacks of new purchases of toys, candies and teaching aids. Then we head out again to do the same at a different shop. We had beautiful spring showers all day and we were pretty soaked getting in and out of buses and stores. Our brother Nikolai Tkhor who helped us make this connection (since he was one of the founders of this school/home) overheard us saying that we wanted to figure out which bus ran near this place, and then we can walk the rest of the way. He volunteered to meet us today and ride with us to show us the way to get there. We are amazed at the way his faith grows each day as he studies God's word, prays and has fellowship with other believers. We had a call yesterday from someone who heard about our English classes "long ago". We started doing advertisements about our classes back in July and August. We made an appointment with Oksana for Monday afternoon after we finish up at the University. God continues to bless us with fresh opportunities to teach the Gospel. Thank you for the prayers!

WORD OF THE DAY - Monday 11 January 2010

You will show me the path of life, in your presence is fullness of joy; at your right hand there are pleasures forevermore. (Psalm 16:11)

Ты укажешь мне путь жизни: полнота радостей пред лицем Твоим, блаженство в деснице Твоей вовек. (Псалтирь 16:11 Russian 15-11)

Most Holy and Wise God, our Dear Heavenly Father ~ Thank you for the precious gift of life on this new day. Give us more love as we follow Christ so that we will experience joy in this life and for all eternity. Help us to share this joy with people who are downtrodden. In Jesus name we pray, Amen.

We had 9 people for worship yesterday and nearly everyone remained for our meeting and time for tea. Our men did a wonderful job in leading the worship in songs, the Lord's Supper and prayers. Galina trained Luda to prepare the communion prior to the worship service. Nikolai Tkhor is preparing himself to handle the sermon period of the worship. We will have meetings each day this week and one specifically with him. Nikolai Gargarkin is not able to be here in Nikolaev very often due to his work that carries him all over Ukraine. But, he expressed his desire to help the church as much as possible while we are away. During our time of getting better acquainted, our new brother Tkhor treated everyone to an expression of the joy he has in his life now that he has finally found the Lord after so many years. After everyone left, our first English student appeared very well prepared for our study. Sergey had excellent comments about our study from the Bible. Vlad also came at his appointed time later in the afternoon, and since he has missed so many appointments, we had to do some catch-up with him. He wanted more information about our beliefs before he left. We are hopeful that one or both of them men will soon visit some of the meetings of the church. Galina is a great help in these studies when it comes to English grammar. It's nice to have an English teacher around to clarify the finer points. Thank you very much for your prayers.