Monday

Pictures:
1. The church building
2. Part of the class
3. It's break time!
4. Break time still (Actually it seems like it's always break time here!) :)
5. The class (I'm the short one in the back middle)

Monday

Class started today and it looks like there will be 7 in the class. Almost all of them are taking the class for credit so there are a lot of papers and tests that will have to be translated. But I have a great translator Maria. I found out that most people call her Mimi. She is sharp and quick in her translating.

Yesterday on the way to the hotel where I am staying, Evgeniy decided that I needed some extra food to take to my room. So we stopped at a produce market and bought some cherries, nectarines and bottled water – about 3 pounds of cherries, 2 pounds of nectarines and 4 gallons of water! I think I’ll bring the fruit to class tomorrow to share it with the whole class. I don’t think I can eat all the fruit in one week. I mean I can, but I’m not sure what that will do to my colon!

Class went well today. We had some really good discussions. Most of the students in the class understand English pretty well. So with their English proficiency and the translation they really understand the class material.

Tomorrow I will find out how creative they are. Their first class assignment is to make a sign with their name on it in a creative way. In the past I’ve had people spell their name with small little vines, spell it out with needle and thread.
They have used play-do, paper, acrostics, they have spelled their name in such a way it was a piece of art. Their name is very important to them. It’s also used every day by people who are talking to them. It’s very special. But it is also very common in that it is used every day. By making them spell their name out creatively it brings a new and fresh way for them to see their name and for others to look at it. It’s the same for worship. We create corporate worship services week after week. Our worship services are very special, but sometimes they can also become very common. I want the students to see that by crafting a creative worship service they can help their congregation see and experience the presence of God each week in a new way. We want people to be excited about coming to worship. We want people to come with a holy expectancy each week.

Okay I’m bringing the fruit to call tomorrow!!
John