Sunday, October 08, 2006
Super Sunday
The team had a super Sunday. They split up for church. Half went with Brad to Genady's house church. Phillip gave testimony of God's work in his life and sang "Give Me Jesus". This was very meaningful to the Russians. They wanted to download the music to their computer so that they can translate the song into Russian and sing it in their church. It was neat for those who had been here before to see the church that exists today. When they were here 1 1/2 years ago, we were just dreaming and hoping for this church to start. The other half of the group went with Lori and Mark Sprinkle to Good News Church, which is the mother church we work with. They were celebrating Harvest Day and had a very special service. Jeremy sang "It Is Well With My Soul" and gave greetings from Crestview Baptist Church.
We pray that each of you had a wonderful time of worship in your church as well. Our God deserves our worship and praise. He alone is worthy!
After church, Natalie, Jeremy and Matt were able to participate with Mark Sprinkle in a conversational English group that he does on Sunday afternoons. They really enjoyed that and they were able to learn a few words of Russian as well.
We all met up at our apartment by 6:00 to have a Baby Shower for Vica and Katya. These are the wives of the church planters we work with. This is not a Russian tradition, so this was a new experience for them. They had so much fun! They really appreciated all of the gifts. They were a little overwhelmed, I think. They said that they could have more babies now and have plenty of clothes for all of them. Vica was able to leave her other children with a friend. This does not happen very often. She said that it was so relaxing and fun to have no responsibilities for a few hours. She really enjoyed the fellowship. Katya was told by her Dr. that she needed to go into the hosptial at the end of last week. This is Russian tradition. Often women rest in a hospital several days before giving birth. Katya decided that she just could not go to the hospital until after the baby shower. She was very happy that she waited. She will go into the hospial today at 2:00. Please pray for her. She will be sharing a room with several other women who are also expecting babies. Because medical care here is free, sometimes it's not the best and the workers are not always helpful and sympathetic. Sasha will not be allowed to visit but they will have to stay in touch by cell phone. This is Katya's first baby, so she is a little nervous. Vica will go into the hospital on Oct. 20. Please remember her in prayer as well.
Today the team is prayerwalking in the regions where they will distribute literature tomorrow. Pray with us that the literature will be received well and that God will use it to draw many to a relationship with Him.
Tonight we will have a party for the elderly ladies from Good News Church and the Gulovinsky Church. We've done this in the past and it's always a really special treat for them. The team will give them gift bags with treats they collected before they came. We'll also have tea, fruit and sweets with them. There will be times of testimony, singing and then special prayer for the ladies.
Tomorrow we'll be passing out 2500 tracts in the Gulovinsky region. We've put Genady's phone number on these tracts and hope to recieve some calls through this. But even if we don't receive calls, the Gospel will go out to 2500 homes tomorrow. Then in the afternoon, we'll be passing out invitations to receive a free Bible in another region. Pray that these tracts and invitations will be well recieved.
Many have asked about Joy. Praise the Lord that she is well now. Thanks for praying for her. The Lord heard and answered. She was back to herself and feeling fine yesterday.
We pray that each of you had a wonderful time of worship in your church as well. Our God deserves our worship and praise. He alone is worthy!
After church, Natalie, Jeremy and Matt were able to participate with Mark Sprinkle in a conversational English group that he does on Sunday afternoons. They really enjoyed that and they were able to learn a few words of Russian as well.
We all met up at our apartment by 6:00 to have a Baby Shower for Vica and Katya. These are the wives of the church planters we work with. This is not a Russian tradition, so this was a new experience for them. They had so much fun! They really appreciated all of the gifts. They were a little overwhelmed, I think. They said that they could have more babies now and have plenty of clothes for all of them. Vica was able to leave her other children with a friend. This does not happen very often. She said that it was so relaxing and fun to have no responsibilities for a few hours. She really enjoyed the fellowship. Katya was told by her Dr. that she needed to go into the hosptial at the end of last week. This is Russian tradition. Often women rest in a hospital several days before giving birth. Katya decided that she just could not go to the hospital until after the baby shower. She was very happy that she waited. She will go into the hospial today at 2:00. Please pray for her. She will be sharing a room with several other women who are also expecting babies. Because medical care here is free, sometimes it's not the best and the workers are not always helpful and sympathetic. Sasha will not be allowed to visit but they will have to stay in touch by cell phone. This is Katya's first baby, so she is a little nervous. Vica will go into the hospital on Oct. 20. Please remember her in prayer as well.
Today the team is prayerwalking in the regions where they will distribute literature tomorrow. Pray with us that the literature will be received well and that God will use it to draw many to a relationship with Him.
Tonight we will have a party for the elderly ladies from Good News Church and the Gulovinsky Church. We've done this in the past and it's always a really special treat for them. The team will give them gift bags with treats they collected before they came. We'll also have tea, fruit and sweets with them. There will be times of testimony, singing and then special prayer for the ladies.
Tomorrow we'll be passing out 2500 tracts in the Gulovinsky region. We've put Genady's phone number on these tracts and hope to recieve some calls through this. But even if we don't receive calls, the Gospel will go out to 2500 homes tomorrow. Then in the afternoon, we'll be passing out invitations to receive a free Bible in another region. Pray that these tracts and invitations will be well recieved.
Many have asked about Joy. Praise the Lord that she is well now. Thanks for praying for her. The Lord heard and answered. She was back to herself and feeling fine yesterday.
# posted by Lori Stamey @ 10:07 PM 
