Little did I know that Jane actually lives in a small city outside of Moscow that took us about 40 minutes on the Metro and another 30 minutes by bus to get to. (Which makes me appreciate even more the fact that she comes to our home every Thursday night.) And, after the two-mile hike into the woods after the bus ride I was more ready for a nap than for a picnic. As you can imagine John was enjoying being in the woods and looking for and then talking to all of God's "little guys."
We joined the many others who had made the trek to the large lake in the woods that was surrounded on most sides by a sandy beach. Frankly, it was hard to believe that we were as close as we were to a city of 15-million people because the setting was so quiet, beautiful and totally different to what we have become accustomed to in the city. The men (John-John, Sergey, and myself) built a small fire so we could grill our meat while the girls spread out blankets and the rest of the spread.
They had asked me to bring some recreation stuff, so I grabbed John's frisbee and at the last minute decided to grab the football off my shelf. When I unpacked my backpack and they saw the oblong ball they nearly went crazy. It was the first time any of them had ever seen, let alone touched, an American football and they were dying to learn how to play. Now, I don't know if you have ever tried to explain how to play football to someone who has no concept of the game. But try then to explain it in another language...one that you have only scratched the surface in learning! We had so much fun they have asked me to organize a football party for them in a park nearby our home.
On a more serious note, we have been working with these students, along with about 25 more, in English Club for the past six months. During that time we have tried to live our faith out in front of them and be an "incarnational witness" for them. This week we sent an email to each of them inviting them to join us for a Bible study in our home on Sunday afternoons, starting tomorrow. We are praying that God's spirit will move in them and draw them to our home on Sundays to study more about what God might have for their lives and how they can join us on our journey of faith.
On the walk back to the bus station, Sergey asked me about the invitation. "It is something about the Bible, right?"
"Well," I said. "Our family studies the Bible every day."
"Oh yes, I know that," he replied.
"So it is something that is important to us and we wanted to share it with our Russian friends," I said.
So, please start now to pray for Sergey, Jane, Dasha and the rest of our English Club students as they consider our invitation to join us to learn about what God is doing in their lives. While we will be surprised to see any of them tomorrow we would be thrilled if any of them decide to come. I do feel that God is moving in their lives and that we were prompted to make this invitation when we did. So, we are excited to see what God is going to do in the lives of these young Russians.
Finally, it is time for Sooner Football, so this is were I wrap things up. It was an interesting day and I believe that God is orchestrating these opportunities for us to live our faith out in front of folks who don't have any more of a concept that Jesus can be a real part of their lives than they do of how to play American football. Fortunately, I happen to have a copy of the rule book...for both!
Blessings,
Marc
1 comment:
Did they come?? Did they come???
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