Home safely

Praise the Lord, the team made it home safely Friday evening. Thank you for your part in this project through your prayers and support! Praise the Lord for His blessings throughout the preparations and the trip.

The last stop in India

There were several important events on our last day in India. The day began in the morning with God's Word and prayer. We fasted that day. We bought food to give to poor families in the slums and bought gifts for the children. The pastor who serves in the slums met us, and our first question for him was about how we could find the boy whose picture we have here on the blog. We were quickly shown to their living quarters, but he and his parents had gone to his grandmother's in the village. However, someone promised to give him the gifts we had brought and take a picture of the family. The visit to the slums touched our entire team. This is an integral part of India – poverty, need, and a huge number of children. In the afternoon, we spent time praying for the “10/40 window,” and we went from room to room praying for the needs of the local team. We finished our fasting and prayer with a service and the Lord's Supper. Then we fellowshipped and packed till midnight. India will stay in the hearts of the entire team for a long time. Some are already thinking of coming again. India left its mark on the life of our team, and it was a big mark for some. To be continued...

Pastor Pavel

Tuesday and Wednesday

For those who read the blog regularly, I would like to say that we did not get lost but were very busy. Yesterday was a day to buy souvenirs and to minister to the children in the children's homes. The highlights include how the day began – with Bible study. The interesting topic was “initiative and responsiveness.” Then brother Vladimir led a Bible meditation for the local team on the topic of what our sacrifice means to God. We returned to these thoughts many times throughout the day. That evening, the team talked for an hour and a half on Skype with the missionary who headed up this project. He got to know the team and asked each person several questions. That night, Irina left for Russia, and when we got up in the morning, we prepared a program for visiting the slums. Today is a day of fasting and prayer for the ministry in India, for the ministers who serve here, for the children, and for our understanding of God's will in the ministries in India and in missions.

Pastor Pavel

A monument of death in the name of love

Pastor Pavel wrote on Tuesday:

Yesterday we visited the seventh wonder of the world – the Taj Mahal. Not going to this place means not having been to India. For us, visiting this place was not just an excursion, but was spiritual meditation. The Taj Mahal is a mausoleum-mosque in Agra, India on the banks of the Yamuna River. It was built by Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan, in memory of his wife, Mumtaz Mahal, who died in childbirth. Construction began in 1632, a year after the death of Jahan's favorite wife. This monument of the emperor’s love for his wife is immortalized for the ages. Construction continued for 22 years with 22,000 workers and is completely of marble and precious stones. From 3 to 5 million people visit the Taj Mahal every year, with 200,000 of them being from abroad. These are impressive numbers. Today, it is not only a mausoleum, but also a Muslim shrine. The purpose of the building amazes me – a sign of love and faithfulness to his wife, who gave the emperor 14 children and died in childbirth. How great is God's love for us! Jesus Christ's tomb is empty. He is risen! His love is far greater than the love of emperor Shah Jahan. But in our lives, what do we dedicate to our living God, Who gave us life and His love? How much do we love our Lord, and are we ready to devote to Him the best that we have?