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Matthew 5:11-12
Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. |
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Days 2 and 3
Friday, July 23, 2004
We have been having a wonderful time here in Ukraine!!! Thank you for all your prayers. Yesterday’s visit to the orphanage was interesting to say the least. The kids were ages 3 to 8 years old. There were about 80 to 100 kids in all who were very starved for love and attention. We spent time hugging them and holding them and playing games and singing songs. Each of them heard the gospel in a couple of different forms, so we know that our time was not in vain. They were so young that they were very restless. The Lord told me before we closed our time with them, “just let them know I love them”. That is exactly what I did. We shared a song at the end and Lyle shared a couple of magic tricks with them and I was able to share with them that God loves them and always will.
We rushed right to the church for mid-week Bible Study. I was teaching out of 1 Sam 17 about David and Goliath. It was a great service and at the end, 80 people raised their hands to make a commitment to the Lord to trust him even when it seems the problem is too large for them. The Spirit of the Lord was very evident in the whole service. God was very good to us.
Today we went to a village just outside of town to visit the drug rehab facility that our church purchased. We were impressed with all that the ladies there were involved in. We met with the girls who are living in the facility and the pastors that work with them. Whitney and Beth shared a couple of songs with them and Chris Casey shared her testimony and I shared a short Bible Study with them. The Lord ministered to their hearts and seemed to touch their lives. My message was to encourage them from the story of Jesus telling the disciples to go to the other side of the lake and a storm hit in the middle. The encouragement was to keep trusting the Lord even though the storms rage because He will get you to the other side.
Right now we are at the church for a time of fellowship with believers and non-believers alike. They have a Café that has just recently opened and they have a volleyball court and a playground and people come from all over town and it’s a great outreach. We are just playing volleyball and pool and ping pong and enjoying getting to know more of the people.
Everyone including myself is doing just fine. We have had a couple of people get a little sick and we have prayed for them and God raised them up immediately to continue the work He has called them to do. The team is all in good spirits and doing extremely well. I’m proud of each and every one of them.
Tomorrow we head for Udeitse where there is another orphanage for older kids. We go to this place every year and it is a sad place. We will do a sports festival where we basically play games with the kids and swim in the river and so forth. Pray that the Lord’s love will shine through to these kids who need Him so much. I will not be going with the team on this one. With my health a bit tentative right now, I can’t play the games with everyone and I need a day to rest up for the long next 4 days of ministry.
Again, thanks for your prayers for us. God is richly blessing all that He has called us to do.
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