To Odessa in May, 2009

Just made final arrangements to be in Odessa and Nikolaiv from April 29th through May 12th. During that time Ukraine has 10 days of holidays to celebrate workers and to remember those who lost their lives in WWII. The posters to the left depict these two holiday themes. Nothing gets done for 10 days except for one long party so its a good time to have a leadership retreat in nearby Nikolaiv, a city that used to be closed to anyone except those who lived there. I will be leading the retreat with Pastor Barry Boucher of The Life Centre in Ottawa, Canada. He's a great guy and a big fan of the God of Israel, the Jews and the Jewish Messiah, Yeshua (Jesus). Please pray for our travel there and what the Lord has us to bring to these dear leaders. One of my favorite scriptures that should stir all those who have an opportunity to serve in the body of Messiah is, "But we were gentle among you, just as a nursing mother cherishes her own children. So, affectionately longing for you, we were well pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God, but also our own lives, because you had become very dear to us." (I Thess. 2:7-8).

Our hope is that these leaders will take seriously the admonition of Yeshua and not think like the nations, like the rest of the world, who want to lord themselves over their people and exercise great authority over them. Yeshua said, "Let it not be so among you, but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave - just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many." (Mat. 20: 25 -28). It's ok to want to be great in the body so that you can be a servant and a slave and give your life as a ransom for many. Yehsua said we should let them do that, to those who want such a way of greatness, and implied we should not hinder them. But at the end of it, those who want such greatness should realize they are just being made a payment for the rescue and freedom of others. It's not about titles, power and glory but about setting the captives free, binding up the broken hearted, proclaiming liberty to the captives and preaching good news to the poor. This was Yeshua's declared ministry and it doesn't get better than that. Shalom from Paris. David Schneier