July 7 Update from Ocean City, MD
Thanks so much for your prayers for us during the past week. On Saturday 29 June, 24 students & 3 adults strolled through the Salisbury zoo and then enjoyed a church picnic at Providence Presbyterian Church. In addition to more-than-you-can-eat food, there was a kiddie train, hayride, cornhole, volleyball, etc and Petar, our Bulgarian Volunteer, shared the journey of how he entered into a personal relationship with Jesus. It was a delightful time of fun, food & fellowship among International Students and the local Body of Christ.
Last Monday & Wednesday (1 & 3 July) were our first two Coffee House - English Club (CH-EC) meetings at the house & yard where we are staying. We played outside from 7 to 9 pm and then moved inside for small group discussion followed by snacks and refreshments. On Monday, most of the American Students participating in the CRU summer mission were here and two thirds of them (19) were dispersed into one of our seven discussion groups. There were also 19 International Students (10 of them are our Student Volunteers or SV's) and we realized that having 40 people in our living room - dining room area is about the maximum we can handle. On Wednesday the Americans were not with us but we still had close to 30 in attendance. In both instances everyone seemed to enjoy the opportunity to get acquainted while practicing English.
The fourth of July fireworks display on the beach just above our heads was unbelievable. We had a group of about 20 among the thousands of people on the beach and boardwalk.
Our team continues to attend free meals in order to meet students, get to know them, discover how we may be able to help / encourage them, and invite them to our twice-weekly CH-EC meetings & special activities. On Tuesday 9 July we plan to have our first water sports at the bayside home of Bert & Maggie from 2 to 6 pm. Maria, our Bulgarian SV, will be sharing her testimony so please pray for her, for GOD's protection as we swim & boat, and that many students will come, have fun and hear about Jesus.
with love & appreciation
Steve ( & Shelia)
for the team
PS Please ask GOD for journey mercies for SV's Bianca & Andrei who are scheduled to arrive tomorrow (Monday 8 July) and for Teo who should arrive on Saturday 13 July. Thanks