Week 10!

“…let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so hinders our progress. And let us run with endurance the race that God has set before us.”
- Hebrews 12:1 [NLT]

What a surprisingly great week! The teaching topic this week was “Sin and Repentance”. I thought it was going to be another tough week, a week of deep conviction. But I was wrong! Kel Steiner was a very uplifting man of God! He had a great sense of humour and was a great story teller! He brought us through all the steps and reasons behind sin and repentance. He also shared many stories from his own life. I even got to enjoy the first two lectures in bed…spark your interest?

Well, last week we were in Pori serving. On the last day, I was out in the sun washing car windows all day. I didn’t drink enough water, which was a bad decision. After getting back to Ruurikkala, I wasn’t feeling very good. I went directly to bed. The next morning, I woke up and went downstairs to get some breakfast. I was drinking a glass of water and my vision started to go black. I put down the glass of water, took a few steps, felt my body slam to the ground. I had fainted. I didn’t hurt myself, but I then spent the next 24 straight hours in bed. I didn’t even have the strength to sit up and eat. I spent a lot of my time in prayer, reciting a few Bible verses, and singing some worship songs in my head. The next day I was beginning to feel better, but was still quite weak. When it was time for our lecture, they carried in a bed for me! What a great team! They were a huge help and were always bringing me food and water. Overall, it was a nice time with God during my recovery.

The following day (Tuesday) I was back to normal! Praise God! I had the opportunity to lead the open meeting, and it went pretty good. I spoke from my heart and felt quite natural, but I could always use more practice. Kel spoke a very encouraging message on reaching those around us. Over the next two days, we had few extra teaching sessions, which made the days quite long. This was needed so we could finish a day earlier. On Thursday, we had finished by supper time and Janne, Tiia, and I headed out towards Lahti. I got off at Jyväskylä to spend the weekend with Ketola’s, some old friends from Canada. Until next time!

God bless!
Shane