Sunday, July 29th

Today has been a good day. We all spent more time with campers and had many conversations about God. We performed another skit at the main meeting tonight. If you know me, you probably know that skits aren't exactly my "comfort zone" but they have come together pretty well, praise God. Luke and Nicole have really shined though. I hope Hollywood doesn't get ahold of any clips or we may lose them to the big leagues.

Luke also shared his testimony tonight at the main meeting. He emphasized a burning question he always had growing up. "God, I believe in You. But what do you want me to do?" In college he found out that God desires him to trust in Christ's finished work at the cross and learn to walk in obedience through Christ's power in him. It was obviously difficult for him to speak through a translator because he had to say a few sentences and . . . pause . . . and say a few more sentences and . . . pause . . . It's difficult to keep a train of thought going at full speed when it keeps making stops along the way. He did a great job though and we're very proud.

Luke, Mike, and I had a chance to talk with a neat, young boy named Dema today. He looks to be about 14 and is very amiable. I asked him the same question Luke used in his testimony - "What do you think God wants from you?" He said that God wants him to obey his commandments. I told him that he is right, but can you obey his commandments all the time? He replied with a quick and sheepish "no." We followed with, "What do you think God will do if you cannot obey Him?" He seemed a little surprised by the question and said that he didn't know but would think about it. We asked him to think about it tonight and we will ask him tomorrow what answer he came up with. Pray that he does consider it and the Spirit of God would convict him of his own sin, not simply to lay a thick "guilt trip" on him but so that he could see his need for Christ's provision on the cross.

Mike has been feeling a little sick the past two days. I think it's a combination of a cold and exhaustion. Our team very strongly encouraged him to rest today and he took us up on it - sleeping for 5 hours this afternoon. He looked much better tonight, but please pray that his strength would continue to improve. (Mike says, "Don't worry Mom and Dad, I've had worse)

The picture is of Luke and Nicole discussing anatomy and physiology with Serge, whose parents are doctors. I think the other guy is Serge also. Or Dema. Or Sasha. If we can't remember a name we just through those out and they work for 50% of the Russian guys.