Sunday AM pictures!

It is Sunday night here and we have very little time to post to the blog so this will be a quick one with more tomorrow. We don't even know if the pictures will make it before the deadline so we'll save it without pictures and then try to "edit" it and update with pictures.



Today we spent the day at the church. This morning we attended services and participated during much of the service. The kids played their instruments, we gave testimonies, Amy played her flute and Steve sang. It was very special. Jim mentioned yesterday that it would be like a little slice of heaven with people praising God in different languages. It truly was special.



The pastor also had a friend from Tajikistan visiting and he spoke during the service giving a picture introduction to his country. The people there are much more oppressed religiously than those in Ukraine and it was evident there that giving your life to Christ often really means giving up your life. He told stories of martyrdom and stories of how God is moving in the villages of his home country. We were worried a bit about not being able to understand the service but much of it was translated for our benefit. It was very moving.



We (the Calvary team) outnumbered those as the service and that felt a bit strange but at the same time we were welcomed whole heartedly from the locals. There were visitors that had never attended the church that were taken aback and thrilled with the stories of God's work in people's lives.




This afternoon we went back to the church and spent the afternoon destroying it. Actually we didn't destroy it -- but it looks more like a jungle now than a church. There are fishing docks, alligators, canoes, bugs, fishing nets, party balloons and a variety of things set up for VBS next week.

The dogs just really started barking which means the sun went down and the internet is about to disappear.

I should probably add that the internet is AMAZING. Not only can we publish information to you, but we were able to watch part of Calvary's 9AM service this morning while we were setting up for VBS. Many tears and best wishes for home. It's very special to have a LIVE connection to home from this far away. We must say though, Jim is better looking in person :-) (Ok, that's just for Jim personally -- but I had to say something silly)...

The church, while small, is located in the basement of a high rise building amid a series of high rise buildings. The building in the picture to the left is across the street from the church. It is remarkable the potential audience of a church in this region -- most of whom would call themselves Christian but few of which attend church. Even fewer would say they have a relationship with Jesus.


We had a local mention to their child that it was a "cult" when he walked by. Apparently fundmental evangelical churches are perceived as such in the area. As one that regularly travels to California, this is not something I find strange. Most of my customers think of fundamental Christians as either insane or at least simple minded. Much to pray for.

Love you all! Thank you all for your prayers.

The Calvary Family Team.

More shortly from Sunday afternoon setup!