Faithful

"Morning by morning

I wake up to find

The power and comfort

of God's hand in mine.

Season by season

I watch Him amazed

In awe of the mystery

Of His perfect ways.

All I have need of

His hand will provide

He's always been faithful to me.

-------------------------

I can't remember a trial or a pain

He did not recycle to bring me gain.

I can't remember one single regret

In serving Him only and trusting His hand.

All I have need of His hand will provide;

He's always been faithful to me.

--------------------------

This is my anthem

this is my song.

The theme of the stories

I've heard for so long.

God has been faithful;

He will be again.

His loving compassion

It knows no end

All I have need of His hand will provide.

He's always been faithful,

He's always been faithful,

He's always been faithful to me.

He's Always been Faithful by Sara Groves

I feed on His faithfulness.

Expose the Lies

Sacred Singleness

For my eighteenth birthday I received a copy of Leslie Ludy's newest book Sacred Singleness.

I had wanted this book, but I wasn't so sure I really wanted to read it. I mean, singleness? Who wants to read a book about singleness? Ever since I was a little girl I have hoped I will one day marry a wonderful man of God and raise a family. But singleness?

Well, I realized that no matter what, I will be single for at least a few, if not many years! And God has greatly used Leslie's books to impact my life in the past!

So I read it.

And then do you know what I did? I started it over again!

With a highlighter at hand, I read the whole book again.

It is beautifully written, different than the rest of the Ludy's books, and yet still containing the same deep, underlying theme: Absolute surrender and abandonment unto God alone.
Besides Leslie's challenging message, it also contains stories and encouragement and challenges from many single girls who are serving the Lord now in their own season of singleness. These is especially touching to hear other girls share stories about their own battles and struggles, yet always end with the same truth: God is SO faithful!
The last section of the book is filled with websites, information, and practical suggestions toward pouring out your life for those in need, whether it be through serving the poor, caring for orphans, helping foster care kids, adopting, or serving as a missionary.

Here are some of my favorite bits of the book! :

"Singleness is an incredible opportunity to be fully consecrated in body and spirit to Jesus Christ alone--to be undistracted by any other romance and free to be consumed with Him."

Here is the crucial truth that all too many of us miss in our quest for true love: Even a beautiful God-scripted love story can never satisfy the way Jesus does. Even the most heroic and Christ-like man on earth can never fulfill the longings of our heart like the true Prince and Lover of our soul. And until we are able to truly make Him our first love, until we are willing to give up our dream of an earthly love story for His sake, we will never know the fullness of Him who fills us all in all. We will always be looking to a mere man to meet the desires of our heart, rather than to the One who created us, who knows us better than we know ourselves, and who gave His very life's blood to rescue us.

"Until we are content with Him alone, we aren't truly ready for an earthly romance that will stand the test of time.

"The gently voice of Christ's Spirit was challenging me to become so completely consumed in my relationship with Him that I no longer pined after an earthly romance...To be so fulfilled in Him that I had no urgent need to have someone at my side. To embrace singleness joyfully, no longer seeing it as a curse, but as an amazing opportunity to build my entire life around my heavenly Prince. "
"There would be plenty of Christian voices in my life that would shout with indignation that such a sacrifice was completely unnecessary and extreme. But they did the same to Mary when she poured out her valuable perfume upon Jesus. Mary did not have the understanding or approval of others, but she had the smile of her King. And I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt which one I would rather have."
"I was willing to gladly endure the pain of self-sacrifice, knowing that unspeakable joy lies on the other side of obedience."

"Yes, I still desired to get married and raise a family someday. But those desires no longer controlled or consumed me the way they had before... It wasn't easy. There were many lonely nights wondering if I had made the right choice, wondering if a life of such extreme consecration to Christ was really necessary. But in those moments I would call out to the One who faced the most intense loneliness of all time. He would gently remind me of the struggle He faced in the Garden of Gethsemane. He had asked His Father if there was any other way--but there was not. And so willingly, joyfully, He had endured the greatest test of time... all because of His love for me.

"That season of surrender was the foundation of everything I have now, from my love story with Eric to my daily intimate walk with Jesus Christ to my message for today's young women. When I laid everything down at the feet of my King, that's when I discovered the beauty and romance of the Christ-life. The moment I died to self's agenda was the moment I truly began to live for the first time. Obedience, when it flows out of a genuine love for Jesus Christ, is never wasted or regretted."

"American Christianity tells us to exalt our emotions and desires above the call of Christ to die to self, lay all our dreams and hopes on the altar, and take up our cross daily."
"Precious sisters, let us never profane the sacred sacrifice of our King by seeking the benefits of Christ without the cross! Just as He gave up His life, so we are called to give up ours. It doesn't matter what makes us happy or what makes us feel good. Yes, the way is narrow and rocky and causes pain, but that's the very road Jesus walked-- and may it be our greatest privilege and joy to follow in His steps.
"Let us not fall for the ear-tickling, lackadaisical messages that require less than absolute abandonment to the One who gave His very life for us. He took up His cross, and He asks us to do the same."

"I was to expect to be single--and to become fully content with singleness--unless at some point God made it clear that He had different plans for me.
"No, this is not over-spiritualizing singleness. It's applying the gospel to singleness."

"Often, He will delay bringing marriage into our life until we've learned to find perfect contentment in Him. It's the same with ministry opportunities, children, and other dreams and desires He's placed in our hearts. The dreams themselves are good and God given, but keeping a death grip on them is not."

"In this single season of life, we are freer than we'll ever be to give our lives to those in need and become Christ's advocates for the least around the world...

In your single years, more than ever, you have the ability to give your life for them; to pour out your time, your energy, your love, and your resources to those that have God's special favor...the poor. Are you using this gift for the benefit of those in need, or are you squandering it on yourself?"

"My first challenge to you is to dedicate your singles years (and all the years beyond, but it starts with where you are today) to be poured out for the glory of Christ. Are you willing to lay all your own pursuits upon the altar and allow Him to make your body a living sacrifice? This is not a decision to take lightly."

There are 143 million orphans in the world today. They are hungry, sick, scared, and alone. They ache for love, for a family, for an advocate...

Ask God to show you where to start. Sometimes, He asks us to begin with one."

"My precious sisters, we are not in a time of peace. We are in a time of war...
By God's grace we must do everything in our power to see living, vibrant, and relevant historic Christianity rise from this conflict as the emergent victor to represent Jesus Christ for the next century and beyond with love, honor, and power...

Singleness is a short season. Marriage is a short season. Heaven is for eternity.

My Reading List

Recently Finished Books:

The Pursuit of Holiness by Jerry Bridges
Living in the Light of Eternity by Stacy and Paula Rinehart
Sacred Singleness by Leslie Ludy
The Believer's Secret to Waiting on God by Andrew Murray

I highly recommend ALL of these books! The Pursuit of Holiness and Living in the Light of Eternity are classics, quick to read, and very powerful. I look forward to reading them again. Sacred Singleness is way too exciting to tell you about in one sentence, so I will save that for another post. And Waiting on God is so inspiring. God brought it to me just when I needed it, and it encouraged me in a thousand ways. I learned that "waiting on God" is not the means to get something we want, but a wonderful opportunity to get to know the Giver of all, a beautiful picture of the abiding life! I hope to read that one again more like a devotional. The chapters are short enough to read one each morning along with my usual page of My Utmost for His Highest.
If you have any questions about any of these books, or any of the books on my "favorites" list, feel free to ask!
I love to read books like these; in fact, these are the only type of book I read. God always uses books to teach me different things, leading me to just the right book at just the right time. I could tell you story after story about how God brought a book to me that "just so happened" to tie in perfectly with my current Bible reading and even the recent podcast I listened to. I'm always so amazed!

Current Reading:

Rees Howells: Intercessor by Norman Grubb
My Heart in His Hands (Ann Judson of Burma) by Sharon James
With Christ in the School of Prayer by Andrew Murray

Future Reads/ Wish List:

Appointment in Jerusalem by Derek & Lydia Prince
George Muller: Delighted in God by Roger Steer
The Family Nobody Wanted by Helen Doss

the Vestibule of Heaven

"When you are so possessed with the Living God that you are, in your secret heart,

pleased and delighted over His particular personal, private, jealous guardianship

over your life, you will have found the vestibule of heaven."

-G.D. Watson

Oh, What a Beautiful Morning...

It was so frosty this morning! I ran out in my wet hair and a big coat to get some pictures just as the sun was coming up... it was so beautiful out!

Perhaps it just might SNOW this year!

I'm sorry this blog has been so neglected lately. I will try to post more soon.
I can't wait to tell you about some of the books I've been reading!

How Could We Not?

"Is not the Lamb who was slain worthy of the reward of His suffering?"

-Paris Reidhead

You live among the least of these, the weary and the weak

And it would be a tragedy for me to turn away

All my needs You have supplied. When I was dead You gave me life

So how could I not give it away so freely?

And I´ll Follow You into the homes of the broken

Follow You into the world

Meet the needs for the poor and the needy, God

Follow You into the world

Use my hands, use my feet to make Your kingdom come

To the corners of the earth until Your work is done

Faith without works is dead. On the cross Your blood was shed.

So how could we not give it away so freely?

And I'll Follow You into the homes of the broken

Follow You into the world

Meet the needs for the poor and the needy, God

Follow You into the world

And I give all myself, I give all myself, I give all myself to YOU

And I'll Follow You into the homes of the broken

Follow You into the world

Meet the needs for the poor and the needy, God

-"Follow You," by Leeland

The Waiter

"It is on God that we should wait, as a waiter waits--not for but on the customer-- alert, watchful, attentive, with no agenda of his own, ready to do whatever is wanted. "My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expection is from Him" (Ps. 62:5) In Him alone lie our security, our confidence, our trust. A spirit of restlessness and resistance can never wait, but one who believes he is loved with an everlasting love, and knows that underneath are the everlasting arms, will find strength and peace."

-Elisabeth Elliot Quest for Love pg. 163

2010 Set Apart Girl Conference!!!

For all the young ladies, this is a glimpse into next year's conference!

My sister and I were so blessed to be able to go this past summer,

And we greatly recommend it!

What is the secret of great living? Entire seperation to Christ and devotion to Him. Thus speaks every man or woman whose live has made more than a passing flicker in this spiritual realm. It is the life that has no time for trifling that counts."

-Amy Carmichael

Foolish Things

I just finished reading Chasing the Dragon by Jackie Pullinger.

I was greatly inspired and amazed at this first-hand account of God's power to transform lives.

Jackie Pullinger was twenty years old when God called her to go to Hong Kong. She obeyed, bought a one-way ticked on the cheapest boat she could find, and sailed away...asking God to show her where to get off. God led her to the Walled City of Hong Kong, called "Hak Nam", or "Darkness" in Chinese. She arrived in Hong Kong with HK $100 (which was about $14.50 in English dollars at that time.) This city was truly dark, both physically and spiritually. Lawlessness abounded, and policemen hesitated to enter. It was filled with filth, crime, pornography, brothels, and drug dens. In the six acres of land that made up the city there lived 30,000 people stacked in crazy-angled apartment blocks.

Jackie found herself inexpressibly joyful in this city. This was where God had called her! She began living the simple gospel, loving the least of these, which in her case were the innumerable drug addicts, gang members, and prostitutes which filled the city. She spoke to them of the love of Christ, but more than that she lived His love, because so many people that she spoke to had their minds so deadened by drugs that words were useless, and Christ's love had to be shown to them. For years she lived there and poured out her life for these people. While other missionaries came and "shared the gospel" for days, weeks, or months and then headed home, Jackie stayed. The top gang leaders who were watching her guessed that in six months she would be gone with little effort on their part to get rid of her... it wasn't until four years later that they decided perhaps she wanted to stay.

God is mighty, and many began to find new life in Christ. Addicts who had been on drugs for decades came off of them instantly and painlessly---by the power of God. Women who had been prostitutes since they were young girls, either by force or because it was the only way to earn a living and survive, left their trade and found new life and freedom in Jesus. Whole gangs were brought to the God who is Love, and ceased their violence and crime to follow Him.

----------------------------------------------------------------

This is only a brief overview of this amazing story. You will have to read it for yourself! Our God will use anyone who is willing to forsake all and follow Him. His yoke is easy and His burden is light. He is looking for childlike people who will become the foolish ones of this world and trust Him with reckless abandon. He is looking for people who are desire not to save their lives, but to lose their lives for His sake. He is calling to those who are His body, who call themselves by His name, to lay down their lives for the lost and the least. He is calling you.

Go

------------------------------

(I posted a similar video before. This one has different pictures, but still taken by the same person- Annie Wesche, the Ludy's assistant. The words are the same as the other video- Jackie Pullinger. It is definitely worth hearing again.)

The Sacred Claim

"The principle of the gospel is this: the gospel always brings life to the reciever and death to the giver."

----------------------------------------------

Also, I have been listening to several podcasts by Jackie Pullinger. They are so good and so challenging. Here is where you can get them:

http://www.sermonindex.net/modules/mydownloads/viewcat.php?cid=117

Some of my favorites include: Eyes to see, Lord, give my Your heart, Intimacy, and God uses foolish things. I challenge you to listen to them.

----------------------

"The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest." -Matt. 9:37

And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and one earth.

Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." -Matthew 28:18-20

"

The Sin of Sodom

"Look, this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom:

She and her daughter had pride, fullness of food, and abundance of idleness;

neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy."

-Ezekial 16:49

Redemption

The Bias of Degeneration

"Wherefore as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned." Romans 5:12.
The Bible does not say that God punished the human race for one man's sin; but that the disposition of sin, viz., my claim to my right to myself, entered into the human race by one man, and that another Man took on Him the sin of the human race and put it away (Heb 19:26)---an infinitely profounder revelation. The disposition of sin is not immorality, but it has the one basis, my claim to my right to myself. When Our Lord faced min with all the forces of evil in them, and men who were clean living and moral and upright, He did not pay any attention to the moral degradation of the one or to the moral attainment of the other; He looked at something we do not see, viz., the disposition.
Sin is the thing I am born with and I cannot touch it; God touches sin in Redemption. In the Cross of Jesus Christ God redeemed the whole human race from the possibility of damnation through the heredity of sin. God nowhere holds a man responsible for having the heredity of sin. The condemnation is not that I am born with a heredity of sin, but if when I realize Jesus Christ came to deliver me from it, I refuse to let Him do so, from that moment I begin to get the seal of damnation. "And this is the judgement" (the critical moment), "that the light is come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the light."

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Bent of Regeneration

"When it pleased God... to reveal His Son in me." Gal. 1:15-16

If Jesus Christ is to regenerate me, what is the problem He is up against? I have a heredity I had no say in; I am not holy, nor likely to be; and if all Jesus Christ can do is to tell me I must be holy, His teaching plants despair*. But if Jesus Christ is a Regenerator, One Who can put into me His own heredity of holiness, then I begin to see what He is driving at when He says that I have to be holy. Redemption means that Jesus Christ can put into any man the heredity disposition that was in Himself, and all the standards He gives are based on that disposition: His teaching is for the life He puts in. The moral transaction on my part is agreement with God's verdict on sin in the Cross of Jesus Christ.

The New Testament teaching about regeneration is that when a man is struck by a sense of need, God will put the Holy Spirit into his spirit, and his personal spirit will be energized by the Spirit of the Son of God, "until Christ be formed in you." The moral miracle of Redemption is that god can put into me a new disposition whereby I can live a totally new life. When I reach the frontier of need and know my limitations, Jesus says---"Blessed are you." But I have to get there. God cannot put into me, a responsible moral being, the disposition that was in Jesus Christ unless I am conscious I need it.

Just as the disposition of sin entered into the human race by one man, so the Holy Spirit entered the human race by another Man; and Redemption means that I can be delivered from the heredity of sin and through Jesus Christ can receive an unsullied heredity, viz., the Holy Spirit.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

*Note: See 1 Corinthians 15:12-17,

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Reconciliation

"For He hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew not sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him." 2 Cor. 5:21

Sin is a fundamental relationship; it is not wrong doing, it is wrong being, deliberate and emphatic independence of God. The Christian religion bases everything on the positive, radical nature of sin. Other religions deal with sins; the Bible alone deals with sin. The first thing Jesus Christ faced in men was the heredity of sin, and it is because we have ignored this in our presentation of the Gospel that the message of the Gospel has lost its sting and its blasting power.

The revelation of the Bible is not that Jesus Christ took upon Himself the heredity of sins, but that He took upon Himself the heredity of sin which no man can touch. God made His own Son to be sin that He might make the sinner a saint. All through the Bible it is revealed that Our Lord bore the sin of the world by identification, not by sympathy. He deliberately took upon His won shoulders, and bore in His own Person, the whole massed sin of the human race---"He hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew not sin," and by so doing He put the whole human race on the basis of Redemption. Jesus Christ rehabilitated the human race; He put it back to where God designed it to be, and anyone can enter into union with God on the ground of what Our Lord has done on the Cross.

A man cannot redeem himself; Redemption is God's "bit," it is absolutely finished and complete; its reference to individual men is a question of individual action. A distinction must always be made between the revelation of Redemption and the conscious experience of salvation in a man's life.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

-Oswald Chambers, My Utmost For His Highest, Oct 5th-7th, pp. 279-281

Bring ALL... and Open Wide

"Bring all the tithes into the storehouse,

That there may be food in My house,

And try Me now in this,"

Says the LORD of hosts,

"If I will not open for you the windows of heaven,

And pour out for you such blessing

That there will not be room enough to recieve it."

-Malachi 3:10

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Murom, Russia

(Here are the remainder of the Russia pictures I never posted. Sorry it took so long!

Note: remember I had been posting the trip in backwards order, so this is the beginning of the trip, which we spent in Murom and Papolina.)

After nearly 30 hours of travel time, we arrived in Murom. The last several hours had been spent in a little bus taking us from the Moscow airport to the city of Murom. After checking into our motel, we headed to a busy center where many young people could be found. As we walked up we saw benches full of teenagers smoking, drinking, or just hanging out. Kolya, leading the way with Sasha, looked back and said, "Who wants to talk first!?" I smiled at him, so he picked me. Trembling yet excited, I glanced up and spotted a group of girls my age, nodded to Sasha with a nervous smile, and we headed over to them. Some seemingly hilarious joke had them all laughing loudly, when suddenly they spotted me. I stood in front of them while their roaring laughter turned to dead silence in the matter of two seconds and all eyes turned to stare at me. (talk about uncomfortable!) But God gives strength and boldness to His children, and as I began to speak God's beautiful mystery He gave me the words and I relaxed a bit. These girls were genuinely open to His word, for even in the midst of their seemingly joyful exterior, one look in their eyes gave away the fact that they were painfully searching. Pray that God captures them all for Himself!

Kolya shared with this big group of teenagers next. Boy were they a rowdy group, full of jesting but also full of questions. One girl named Sveta was also listening, and then she came and asked many many questions. I think I told you about her before. She is the one who asked, "Why doesn't God just come down here to earth and show us that He is real?!", to which Kolya replied, "He already HAS!"




These are Kolya's wanna-be sons. They wanted him to adopt them and bring them to America in his suitcase.



Notice how they can freely drink on the streets, even this boy who is probably younger than me.

Here we are at Yazik and Natasha's house for some fellowship. We had yummy Russian pizza, then tea and cookies (of course), watched a little Russian Winnie the Pooh (so cute!), wrote our first email home, and played UNO.

I didn't play since I was preoccupied with Yaz' little daugther Yulia. I made friends with her without saying a word. (Isn't it amazing that without a word being spoken, you can love someone? I think that saying "actions speak louder than words" is quite true.)

Yulia is three years old and very cute. At first she was very shy, but soon she was chatting up a storm and telling me everything. I had no idea what she was saying; Russian is hard enough to understand, let alone Russian baby talk! Then she was running to her room and getting all her toys to show me. Soon my hands were piled with all kinds of toys while I said, "How beautiful!" or "cool!" or named all the animals that I knew the names for.

When Sveta saw Yulia chatting away and me not understanding any of her questions, she laughed and said (while Sasha translated), "Capa, you should just say 'Yes', 'Yes', 'Yes'!"

So Yulia would chat away while I said, "Da, Da, Da". Sveta is actually Yulia's aunt, since Natasha is Sveta's older sister.

We had such a good time of fellowship together!

Pastor Yaz was so happy to recieve the gift of a mandolin! He did not know how to play it at all, but once I told him what the strings were, he began figuring out chords.

He loves music and he must teach his older daughter Aleena to play some, because she picked up the mandolin right away and started picking out a tune.

Yulia

My Master

I love my Master

I will not go free

I'll take Your name

And live in liberty

My life is Yours forever

I'll serve You faithfully

I love My Master

I will not go free...

-"My Master" by Christy Nockels

Seeing Him

"The carnal mind sees God in nothing,

not even in spiritual things.

The spiritual mind sees Him in everything,

even in natural things..."

-Robert Leighton

Ruhamah

Your mercy reigns

Your mercy comes

Your mercy falls

It rises with the sun

----------------------------

I will abide in Your love

-----------------------------

-Shane and Shane, "Your Mercy Reigns"

My mind works by Bible verses and song lyrics, and sometimes they just burst out! Hope you don't mind...

And ruhamah is one of my favorite words.

It comes like a gentle whisper with the sweet fragrance of Heaven, like the breath of the Spirit, or a song in the night. And the only response is to rise and worship the Holy God who speaks it.

I do believe that it can only be whispered.

Fun With Kiddos

Sometimes looks are worth a thousand words...


I love doggy and doggy loves me.

Girls will be girls...

...and boys will be boys.

-----------------------

Have a great day!

Running

If I ever find my life then I've lost it.

There is nothing more to life

than to lose myself while I'm running,

running, running, running after You.

-Watermark, "Constant"

Russia Pictures

Pictures from the mission to Russia are posted below. (Sorry they ended up down there; I was uploading them whenever I could get a chance and sorting them according to where we were at the time. But they are finally up now!)
With most of the pictures I included a little note, but if you have any questions about a specific picture or anything else about the trip, feel free to ask.
The Murom pictures are still on their way; be watching for them too.

-Capa

"Wait Thou Only Upon God"

"My soul, wait thou only upon God" (Ps. 62:5)

"Wait only upon God"; my soul, be still,
And let thy God unfold His perfect will.
Thou fain would'st follow Him throughout this year,
Thou fain with listening heart His voice would hear,
Thou fain would'st be a passive instrument
Possessed by God, and ever Spirit-sent
Upon His service sweet---then be thou still,
For only thus can He in thee fulfill
His heart's desire. Oh, hinder not His hand
From fashioning the vessel He hath planned.
"Be silent unto God," and thou shalt know
The quiet, holy calm He doth bestow
On those who wait on Him; so shalt thou bear
His presence, and His life and light e'en where
The night is darkest, and thine earthly days
Shall show His love, and sound His glorious praise.
And He will work with hand unfettered, free,
His high and holy purposes in thee.
First on thee must that hand of power be turned,
Till in His love's strong fire thy dross is burned,
And thou come forth a vessel for thy Lord,
So frail and empty, yet, since He hath poured
Into thine emptiness His life, His love,
Henceforth through thee the power of God shall move
And He will work for thee. Stand still and see
The victories thy God will gain for thee;
So silent, yet irresistible,
Thy God shall do the thing impossible.
Oh, question not henceforth what thou canst do;
Thou canst do nought. But He will carry through
The work where human energy had failed
Where all thy best endeavors had availed
Thee nothing. Then, my soul, wait and be still;
Thy God shall work for thee His perfect will.
If thou wilt take no less, His best shall be
Thy portion now and through eternity.

-Freda Hanbury
-----------------------------

Sweet Jesus, cause us to wait only for You.

With eyes of expectancy and adoration

We will wait for Your perfect will.

Our hope is in You.

Papolina, Russia

We visited this little village outside of Murom with the team from CC Murom.

They had rented a bus, and that morning most of their church plus our team of 6 piled into it and headed to Papolina (note: I have no idea if the village name would be spelled like that, but it is a guess. The pronunciation is more like: pahp-OO-lee-na. Anyway, that's it's name).

Pasha came also with a trunk full of literature: small new testaments for younger people, larger print new testaments for the babooshkas (grandmas), tracts, and a book called The Foundation of Christianity by John Stott. We loaded up with armfulls and bagfulls, split into groups of three or so, and headed out. It was raining and muddy, but we were excited. We knocked on the door of each house that we came to, and, if they were home, we gave them a Bible. Then we began to share the gospel with them. Many people were overjoyed to recieve a Bible and wanted immediately to start reading. We would tell them about Jesus and how he is the way to Eternal Life and the only way begin to understand the Bible. They were so happy.

This woman was had never seen a Bible in her life. She loves to read. She said, "All my life I have been told there is no God. But I believe there is Something there. I just don't know."

Isn't it amazing that people naturally think there is a God? For truly even creation testifies of Him. But they have not heard, or perhaps have been told, as she was, that God does not exist. Now she knows of Jesus her Savior and she holds His precious word. God is so good!

Here is some of the group with the bus.

Vladimir, Russia

This is Daniel and Anya.

Anya was our translator, and Daniel is her brother whom she has raised since he was seven.

This is Sasha, our other translator.

He translated for us last time I went also.

He speaks English so well that people have asked him, "How did you learn Russian so well?"

(My favorite time was when, after speaking to another American we met in Red Square, Sasha walked away imitating the man's "southern" accent. It was hilarious.)

Sasha has a beautiful wife named Sveta.

Two years ago when I met them, they were (nearly) engaged, and now they have been married for a little over year.

The picture below entitled "king and queen" is of them.

They met us at the airport this year, and we spent the whole time with them.

This is the concert that was held at the church.

A group from Murom came that day, and this is their band "The Tree".

You may have seen the video of them playing Jesus Lord of Heaven.

This is Volia and Volia, two ladies we shared the gospel with. Many women of their age want nothing to do with strangers and will not even speak to us, but these women were very open and excited to hear why we came to Russia.

There's something really neat about this time also. There is a law that will not allow us to share the gospel with children below the age of fourteen if a parent is not present and consenting. We were not even allowed to give them Bibles or tracts. I didn't much like this law and did not really have much regard for it since I believe that God's call for us to speak trumps all such laws, but I didn't want to get anyone from the church in trouble. Then again, there are ways to get around things like that. (As decievers and yet TRUE.)

So as I was speaking to these ladies, there were several young boys on a bench slightly in front of us and to the left. I could see them listening very intently, even though they pretended not to. It was very neat! In fact, they weren't the only ones listening in; there were several other benches of people nearby that heard the gospel too. Praise God!

Hanging out at the church before the prayer meeting

Here are some of the girls from the church having fun.

The girl on the right is from Murom. She is twelve and started coming to the church in Murom without her parents knowing. Now she is just part of the family, and a young woman from the church brings her every week. That was such a cool story to hear.


Here we are saying goodbye to the Murom girls. They had come for a day of evangelism, a ladies tea, and the concert.

At the ladies tea.