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journal entry from May 4:
"There some people brought to [Jesus] a man who was deaf and could hardly talk, and they begged him to place his hand on the man. After he took him aside, away from the crowd, Jesus put his fingers into the man's ears. He looked up to heaven and with a deep sigh said to him, 'Be opened!' At this the man's ears were opened, his tongue loosened and he began to speak plainly." Mark 7:32-35
Another day of victory and demonstration of the Lord's faithfulness. As a gentle rain fell on Theodosia we headed to the School for Children with Internal Disorders (gastro-intestinal problems and spinal disorders). After touring their facilities we determined they have a great need for new beds--the current ones are awful, probably 30 years old and not fit for children who are already suffer enough. So Ruth is organizing a bed drive when we return to Grapevine (note: she just concluded this and raised money for more than 80 beds!). We gave the kids ice cream, a special treat for them, and I enjoyed visiting with them for a few minutes in my limited Russian. Wish we could've stayed longer--they were precious and upbeat and fun to talk to.
Our next stop was the School for the Deaf, a suprisingly happy place. The children there put on a Ukrainian dance show for us that was impressive, especially considering most of them couldn't hear the music they were dancing in perfect rhythm to (reminiscent of the evening programs at Camp Smena and Young Builder). The kids were all so friendly and I enjoyed visiting with them and watching them play volleyball later. The highlight though had to be watching two young teenage girls get fitted with their new hearing aides. One of the girls had never been able to hear her entire life, so we had an extra powerful and strong hearing aide built for her. As it was turned on for the first time we watched as her eyes got real big, her face almost pale. She signed to her friend, "I can hear..."
We witnessed a young girl gain her hearing for the first time in her life, we witnessed a beautiful miracle...and I can't even grasp how huge that is. All I can picture is an image of Christ with his hands gently placed in her ears, wearing a soft smile on his face as he says, "Be opened." Unbelievable.
Tonight we ate dinner with a couple of the preachers we support, Igor and Vitaly and their families, two very good, God-fearing men. It was my honor to pray for them, humbling really. As I approached the throne of our Creator I was struck with overwhelming evidence of the power of the Gospel, and how in all languages and all lands it does the same thing...change lives and claim souls. Very sweet...
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pic of the day, miracle girl is 2nd from left:
1 comment:
Even bigger game tonight. Go Mavs!
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