Rivne Arrival

Suzanne reunited this afternoon with Tolli and his daughter Zjenja.  You may remember Tolli (pictured on the left) from last November, when he preached at First Baptist Paducah while visiting the states.  He is the associate pastor at House of the Gospel in Rivne.  Zjenja is very interested in worship music and will be a huge help this week as we sing in bible school and worship at night.

The second photo is of our accommodations this evening in Rivne.  I was confused leading up to the trip where we would be staying when Suzanne talked about the "4x4 hotel".  Turns out, it's pretty nice!  We are going to eat a late dinner, and do a little planning and prayer with Tolli before we call it a day here in Ukraine.  In the morning, we drive to Ozero and lead our first day of bible school with the children.

Pray for us to lead wisely and make the most of our time.  It's very rainy this week, but we will have a mid-size tent to work with.  Also, pray for the Lord to give us favor with the people of Ozero.  There has been obvious resistance in recent days from local officials concerning a future protestant church being formed.  The local priest threatened to disassociate with anyone who attended services other that the Orthodox church.  Specifically, the locals would not have the priest available to bury their deceased loved ones.  In short, there are both political and spiritual obstacles at work, so we should intercede for this community.  Pray with expectation and assurance.  God's agenda is always for His own glory and for our good.

This may be the last post before we return from Ozero on Saturday.  Thank you for praying for our 2012 team here in Ukraine.  As of this evening, everyone is healthy and eager to serve.