believe it or not!!!

Greetings everyone, believe it or not practically all the snow has melted. global warning? Even so called global warming will not keep the snow away from Moscow. I am one of the few people I know that is looking forward to snow. Snow to me is still a wonder, living in California my entire life, those few times in my life when it did snow (a quarter of an inch) were unforgettable. So I anxiously wait for that white stuff to fall from the sky.

Prayer retreat. On November 5-7 we had our prayer retreat and believe it or not praying was the focus. Starting from 10:00 pm on Sunday night to 4:00pm Tuesday afternoon we had the opportunity to pray continuously. Everyone picked their hour or hours (even the kids) to pray so we all had our alarm clocks ready to go. Rumantsevo the camp that we stayed at is about an hour plus ride out of Moscow. It is located where nothing at all resembles the monster city we live in. It is a place where the busy pace of Moscow is left behind, where the air is fresh, and the sounds of a big city are not to be found. It is interesting in the book of Exodus that Moses found a place out side the populated camp of a million plus Jews to go and seek the Lord at a great time of sin among the children of Israel.

Ex 33:7 Moses took his tent and pitched it outside the camp, far from the camp, and called it the tabernacle of meeting. And it came to pass that everyone who sought the LORD went out to the tabernacle of meeting which was outside the camp.

I found for myself and I know for others, getting out of the city where our only focus was on the Lord was very beneficial. Through out the two days we had simple teachings on prayer which was good and well, but the great lesson of the power of prayer was in just making a step to pray for an extended period of time. For some an hour at a time, others 3 hours at a time. Just praying teaches us so much about prayer. Natasha as always, organized the retreat and made it very special with many little touches that were a blessing, and honored the Lord.

Please continue to pray for the Lord’s perfect will in our next move to a more permanent place which we can use 24/7 if we like. Pray for Dr. Tom as he now has entered the hospital for a much needed hip replacement surgery. Dr. Tom as some of you know has been a great help to many homeless men and women who need medical assistance. Tom being from Gambia, is well know in his region for his service to the forgotten. Please pray for Sveta a precious sister in the Lord (see the June prayer retreat on the blog regarding her) she is suffering from the cancer, she is a great woman of faith and needs a miracle. Her mother is a Muslim and God will get the glory from all that Sveta has suffered. God Bless, dean