(oops... slightly out of order....)
September 15
Church today!
Today was the first opportunity to meet with the whole congregation from Pastor Oleg's church. Another hour or so on three different metro lines and the bus, and we were back at the church. It was wonderful to be able to greet many of the people we had worked with last year, and see some of the art pieces that we had left there. (They were showing off Sue's quilt that she made last year, which they still have in the children't area.) We also got to see the new Kindergarten which the church is starting. Sue was able to give her testimony in the morning. The service was about two hours (short by some standards), and between the three languages, pretty mentally tiring, but a great encouragement, as the church was praying for us and blessing us.
We were then invited to attend a second church in the afternoon, led by Pastor Oleg's father. I really shouldn't have been surprised, but they caught me a little off guard when they asked if I wanted to preach... with just a couple minutes notice. I wasn't ready to give an entire sermon, but I was able to give my testimony and an encouragement. (Yes, I am thankful for all those years of training in Toastmasters!) Again, it was very mentally tiring sitting trying to filter through three different languages, but a wonderful opportunity to have the church praying for us, to encourage the congregation to participate with us in the outreach, so re-connect with many of the people we had worked along side of last year, and of course, to be fed all the wonderful Czech and Russian snacks and pastries that they fed us afterwords.... ;-)
You can continue to pray for preparations for the outreach. We are still praying and seeking the Holy Spirit together to form a common vision or theme -- not something that would force us down a common path artistically, but a focal point which we could branch out from.
Continue to pray for our location, as the church will be setting up the tents for the outreach starting on Tuesday. These are much lighter weight tents than last year, so pray we don't have a lot of windy weather!
Pray for the two churches as people are making plans to participate -- handing out fliers, coffee, cakes, talking with people, interpreting for us as we talk with people, and generally reaching out to their friends and neighbors here in this area. Pray for them for boldness, faith and a deep sense of love for each other and for those around them who have no hope...
Blessings!
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