Catching Up

Well, our time at Macheyevka and Proletarski is quickly coming to a close. Here is a summary of the past two days:

Wednesday, after our usual UBI chapel time, we made preparations for our two VBS lessons. Since we are going straight from Macheyevka to Proletarski, we have to be ready for both before we leave. The lessons at Macheyevka were good, although we had to meet for singing in a different room than we did Tuesday. They still remembered the "Chicky-Chicky," and they were very excited to sing. Because of the nature of the orphanage, our time there is very busy. Once the classes have begun, the children are usually interested, but getting class started can be a challenge! We studied Joseph and talked about forgiveness. We then taught that same lesson at Proletarski. We had about 12-13 kids there, and many of them are new contacts for the church. When Phil asked what we should do if we were playing with someone and he/she hurt our feelings, the correct answer was obviously forgiveness. One little girl raised her hand and said, "I would forgive him, but I wouldn't play with him anymore!"

Thursday was a wonderful day for many reasons. We kept to our usual schedule, and our time at Macheyevka went much more smoothly. Rather than rotate the children from station to station (as we do in our VBS at Mount Juliet), we kept the kids in the classrooms and brought the different activities to them. That seemed to work well. We also got to talk to Maksim, an orphanage worker we studied with last year. It is evident that follow up by the local Christians has been very effective. He has been attending church camps and studying with the Christians here. One of the teachers in the orphanage was baptized this year, and the children have weekly Bible classes. The director has given the local congregation a room in the building to conduct these classes, and it has just been renovated. We donated about 30 children's Bibles to the room for those classes. The children also have the opportunity to attend worship every Wednesday. It is comforting to know about such active follow up after we leave.

We had 17 at Proletarski that night, which was our record attendance! One child went out and brought back 3 of his friends, because he was having so much fun. We hope and pray that the contacts made this week will help the church here in weeks to come. Lynn Allison, one of the American missionaries here, had us over to her house again for dinner. She cooked meatloaf, and it was wonderful. Her cooking has helped us through some late, post-VBS dinner times. She enjoys spending time with Americans, and we have grown to love and appreciate Lynn and Ray. To repay Ray and Lynn for their kindness, we are taking them to a Russian restaurant this evening. Because of our busy schedules, we usually make sandwiches for a quick lunch and eat a late dinner. We look forward to experiencing more of the culture tonight. We know that when we begin going out to Krasnoarmeysk (a smaller village), we will experience a whole new side of the culture.

Thank you for your thoughts, prayers, and comments. We print out our comment sheet and take it back to the apartment so that everyone can read them. Also, thanks for all the birthday wishes! I've already been served 2 cakes over here, which has been wonderful! I'm not sure how easy it will be to put up more pictures (if Masha, one of our interpreters, hadn't been with us yesterday, it never would have worked), but we will try to give you a taste of the orphanage near Krasnoarmeysk and the Adult Bible Classes each night.

We love you all - God bless you!






Comments:
Hi, everyone! It is wonderful to
read about the great things you all
are doing. I know that you are
staying very busy, and must be tired at times. I pray that things
will continue to go well for you.

Love,
Ann (Andrew's mom)
 
Hello,
I guess your day has been another busy one. This is so neat to be able to communicate like this and be able to read about what you all are doing.

I'm glad Lynn is helping out with your meals.

We are doing good here. David, I got the riding mower started last night and mowed most of the back yard, will try to finish Saturday A.M. I love you and miss you.

We miss you all.

Love,
Melva
 
Hello! Glad you are all doing well. Thank Lynn for us for giving you all great meals. I'm excited that you will be able to taste some of the culture tonight! You'll have to let us know how that goes.

Love hearing about your days and glad that there are so many children that you are reaching.

Daddy (David Fleming), I will check on Momma afterwhile and discuss the riding lawn mower. Sounds like she has it under control though. --this could be dangerous -- lol, just kidding.

Sarah and David had both had a good week, hopefully today will be too. Looks like another trip to Chuckie Cheeses may be in our future. We'll see.

We love you (Grand)Daddy!

You are all in our prayers. : )
 
I've been reading this everynight and just now figured out how to send a comment. Keep up the good Work. I love you all for what you're doing, especially "my little one." Take care. Work hard. Hug the children and the sisters for me.

God Bless,
PD
 
It's so good to hear that things are going so well! Keep up the great work! You are in our thoughts and prayers.

Love,
Nick and Amy
 
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Mt. Juliet Church of Christ

Physical Addrees:
1940 N. Mt. Juliet Road
Mt. Juliet, TN 37122

Mailing Address:
P.O.Box 248
Mt.Juliet, TN 37121-0248

(615)758-2274
Fax:615-754-2351
Email


Worship Services:
Sunday Early Worship: 8AM
Sunday Bible Study: 9:15AM
Sunday Late Worship: 10:15AM
Night Worship: 6PM
Wednesday Bible Study: 7PM


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