Some Quick Updates

Wednesday Service Online

First, I would like to inform you that the young adult worship team will be leading worship for the Wednesday evening service this week. We will be doing a couple of acoustic sets, which I have not seen done before for the Wednesday or Sunday services. It is great that our team is given the freedom to introduce new styles of worship and, hopefully, communicate that worship is not as much about familiarity with the music as it is about familiarity with God. There will be a live broadcast streaming here at 11:30am EST (10:30am CST).

Me, Preaching!

Secondly, I will most likely be preaching for our young adult service on Saturday the 26th! This will certainly be a first for me. It is also coming sooner than I ever thought I would be ready. But I believe that God has been teaching me a lot of truth about my relationship with Him in the seven months that I have been here, and I am eager for opportunities to share some of this. I also feel that if God asks me to speak and gives me the words, then my presentation and lack of practice are His concern, not mine. Of course, I do need prayer. I may be speaking on one of the judges, but I don't know yet which one we will land on in our series for that particular week. I suspect though that this will be a relevant topic for me as I am growing to understand how decisions to trust and obey God wholeheartedly parallel the triumphs and consequences of Israel's actions. The main thought and experience that comes to mind: following God with one foot in His world and another in our own is a rather inconvenient and disagreeable form of service, but jumping in with little reservation is a joy beyond possibility of obtaining on our natural terms.

ATM Fraud

Lastly, to round out prayer requests... my debit card was duplicated and was used at a couple of ATM machines in Moscow, Russia. Thankfully, I caught it on the second day because this was causing problems as I tried to withdraw funds to pay for my Russian lessons. I called my bank and I think that in the end, things will be sorted out. However, I would still appreciate prayer that the bank agrees to credit the withdrawals and that I am able to find the best way to take care of the paperwork from over here. When I spoke on the phone with them they were not sure they would be able to send the paperwork I need to sign by e-mail, and that could cause a bit of a problem.

Important Prayer Request

Hi everybody. This will be a shorter post this time, I promise :)

But it’s also one of the most important posts I could ever make. I want to ask you all please, please, please to be praying for my friend Derek. I do not think that he knows Jesus as his own friend yet. But I know that deep inside, he would like to. I also know that once he sees Jesus as a friend and experiences God taking him by the hand, he will never wish to go back to the way things were before. There is no going back once we begin to personally understand who God is and once we become inseparably caught up in His presence in our lives.

So please pray. I want the very best for my friend. I want a relationship with Jesus Christ to be a reality for him. There is no experience I could ever wish more for him. This is the very top of the list! Please pray that God will say, “Hi Derek. Come and follow me. I will fulfill you and give you purpose and hope like no one else. Give your life to me.” And please pray that Derek will be bold and ready to respond.

This is a friend who has supported me more than I can accurately describe, and in various ways. He has supported me in very large aspects and with small details to make my time and my service in Ukraine possible and to add some comforting touches of America for me. And I know he will continue to support me with thoughtful attention.

Derek, I know you’ll read this. Thanks for giving me the “ok” to post this request. I want you to know how valued and supported you really are.

To everyone who has been praying for me: I know you make a difference and I appreciate your efforts and prayers on my behalf. Right now, this friend needs your prayers even more urgently than I do. I am realizing that just as important as being a “doer,” by role as a Christian should be as a spiritual facilitator. I am powerless by myself but I am strong with Christ and other believers standing with me. I am happy to ask you to join me in this way.

Okay, I have to add this photo. Derek had this cake custom-made for my going-away cookout. That's the Ukrainian flag and national colors. I'm telling you, he thinks of the little details!