Friday - October 3rd

Slow days come and go without a lot of fanfare. This was one of those days. There wasn’t a lot on the schedule. In fact, there wasn’t anything until 6:30 this evening. So we were able to do some preparation for the coming days that will not be classified as “slow days.”

I thought I would be wise and instead of preparing a list of the scriptures in Russian for my interpreter, I would do them in Ukrainian. Why? Because that is the norm for being here in Western Ukraine and it has been requested that way in the past. But to my dismay Oksana turned to me during the worship time and said, “I will borrow a Russian Bible from someone because that lady does not understand Ukrainian.” So I guess you never know which to have prepared but from now on I’ll have both.

Tonight we were with Vitaliy and Ira Pavalenko and the people of the Church their pastor for their Friday evening prayer meeting. The group was small tonight but the spirit of their worship was excellent. They have been a long time in getting started with the official status of having a Church. The delay has been getting over the past disappointments and hurts. It has only been in the recent weeks that they added a Sunday service. So my message was directed toward that goal with the challenge from Exodus 14:15 – “Go forward!” The content dealt with forgetting the past, with not looking back but acting out their faith by moving toward the goal they have spent months praying about. There does come a time when God says, “Stop praying and go forward.” There is a time when faith must be acted upon if it is faith.

O Yes! This weekend Chernivtsi is celebrating its 600th Anniversary. The main part of the city will be closed to transportation. They have been redoing many of the facades of the building in preparation for this day. We were here last year for the 599th Anniversary and it was a nightmare trying to get through the people and traffic. I can’t wait to see what it will be like this weekend. The celebration begins tomorrow so I will not have to wait long.

Thanks for your prayers.

Dr. D. & Marilyn