Do you like to run? I must admit. I am not a runner. Nor do I enjoy it all that much. But I do run 5-8 km about 3-5 times a week. It is something that helps me to keep up with my 3 very young and very energetic kids.
So about 5 years ago I was participating in this trail run. The distance was more than manageable. It was only 6 km. But I do remember that day very vividly for two reasons. First of all, it was October 6 which is our anniversary. But secondly that day the weather was particularly miserable. It was the very first day of snow that year. So, the temperatures hovered around 0 degrees Celsius or in that range of low 30 degrees Fahrenheit. It was very humid which made the temperatures all that more miserable and to top it all off the snow was quickly turning into slush and mud. Add on top of that that our trail run was scheduled after 2 groups already ran this track which meant that it was that much muddier. You get the picture. But there was one more thing in that trail – the finish line was about 500 yards up a very steep hill. And that is what stuck in my memory more than anything else from that run – I pushed myself as hard as I could to run as fast as I could to that finish line. Everything in me wanted to quit and give up but that finish line became symbolic to me – I did not want to be the one to slow down before the finish line even though it was up a muddy hill.
I shared that story with our leaders couple weeks ago. We are drawing near to our last Sunday at St. Peter and Paul Lutheran Cathedral. No one wants to leave this place. It is demoralizing and thus the desire to just quit is rather strong. But rather than quit we must push across that finish line because this is our chance to share the Gospel with those who have not heard. This is our opportunity to take advantage of this wonderful facility one last time. We kicked off the Holy Week with yet another baptism this last Sunday. We baptized three more people. We will have three special services this week starting on Maundy Thursday, then we will have our big outreach on Good Friday with the culmination of all of these activities on Easter Sunday. I am sure this week is jam packed with meaningful church events for you too. If you get a chance, please drop a quick note to share about them. And please pray for us as we push across the finish line of our time at St. Peter and Paul Lutheran Cathedral.
PS By the way it looks like we found a place. If everything goes as planned, we will start renting facilities begining in May. We have not signed the lease just yet though we have reached a verball agreement.
And speaking of baptisms one of the girls we baptized this week is a Cornell grad who recently moved to Moscow to work but before moving to Russia came to know the Lord through sports ministry. It is a fascinating story and one I will be sure to share next time.
Yours in praying and hastening the day of revival in Moscow and Russia,
Constantin and Alexandra
THREE PRAYER REQUESTS:
Please join us in praying for God:
- To grow our church as we move to a new place. We have not signed the paperwork just yet so this new location is still a little bit up in the air. Thus I would appreciate your prayers that this transition would go over smoothly.
- To bless our three special worship services this week. Please pray especially for the Good Friday outreach. We would love to see a lot of people come to that special service.
- To bring peace to Ukraine and Russia. Moreover, ask God to use this conflict by bringing reconciliation and revival to both countries.
