A day of amazing experiences, but I wouldnt want to get lost without the guide.

Hi Friends!
Well if your day has been anything like ours it's been a craker!!!
This morning we visited part of the largest Katacombes in the world . Our expert guide took us well off the tourist track into a very unspoilt 3km of underground tunnels. He reminded us of the rich history of this limestone mine, where people worked hard for many hours in dangerous conditions and with minimal tools, to try and make a basic living.

We have it easy friends, we need to make the most of our privileges. I was so glad that Pieter told us about the "flesh-chomping giant black rats" (TRUE) after our visit there. The guys were suitably kitted out with torches and gloves, but as we traced the tracks on bended knees there was one thing we couldn't have done without - OUR GUIDE!!! He was amazing, and we certainly wouldn't have made it out alive without him. The experience (after a couple of hours of being in the spooky cold, damp underground) of coming out into the spring sunshine   bombarded the senses. Smelling the fresh grass/ flowers, and hearing the birds sing, was like coming up into a new world. It reminded me of what Jesus says in REV 21:5 "I am making all things new".
We have a guide, the bible says he is the one who created us, knows us best and has set his love on us. We are made to live in his illumination, the way he shows, the sunshine of his grace. He is not only our guide, but one who has gone before us. We must trust him, why wouldn't we want to? He has beaten death and darkness, his victory has become our victory. He has gone to prepare the place for us, and those who trust him  will leave this dark world for the imdediate radiance of his glory in the new creation.

Odessa is a beautiful city and this afternoon we enjoyed it in the sunshine.

Here we are in front of the beautiful opera house.
However like every city there are dark secrets. The little children who follow to sniff out your wallet, the older folk who beg then pull out their mobile phones, the shop fronts which are dark for a reason. Odessa like any other city needs a hope and a future, and it can only be provided one way.
This evening we went to a magnificent concert, put on by mainly young people who made up a superb orchestra and choir.

Some of you will know my professional background, and I have to tell you the standard was stunning, better than many pro orchestras I have heard. The point of the evening was to celebrate 500 years of the reformation, and particularly" soli deo gloria" (glory belongs to God alone). The young people were such a great testimony. They showed the talents God had given them to the full and used them to honour the giver. It was powerful evidence that all good things come from God, and all good things can be used to praise God.
As the evening sun fades ...

we left the church full of God's goodness and that sense of privilege that if you are his, your life is in a good place.
Please think of us tomorrow, especially in the morning when I have the privelege of preaching at a special members communion service. Pray that we will be in that sunshine of grace at "grace" church. We are so grateful for our friends in the uk who are thinking of us and praying for us, we are reaping many evidences that God is with us, and using us all to his glory, and I for one can't imagine a better place to be.
Till tomorrow,
Love
BLOGSKI