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Andrew, Olya, Nikita and Alexei Bartlett (Russia) |
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 The theme of our recent OMS Russia spiritual retreat was “Being an imitator of Christ” (Ephesians 5:1). This greatly challenged us to examine our hearts and lives.
Honestly it felt as though we found more situations when we could have
done better, and with all the slow results here in Moscow we were
somewhat discouraged. But our God is loving and kind and in His mercy
He let us see some things that helped us to understand that we are not
that hopeless.
The first situation happened when Olya tried to buy some veggies. She did not have much money on her and asked the seller to weigh a very small amount. He said that she could buy as much as she needed and bring the money later. It is not a normal practice in Russia and Olya looked kind of puzzled at him, to which the seller explained – “You buy from me often and I noticed that you are a very honest person. I trust you.” The second situation happened shortly after at the same kiosk but with a different seller. We congratulated the lady with the upcoming Women’s Day, she said greetings back to Olya and wished her happiness, but then quickly added “But you are happy, I see your family passing by all the time and you look so happy.” Through those experiences we were reminded that we can share the Gospel with people by our lifestyle, and that actions speak louder than words, and that every day in every situation we need to learn and practice how to be imitators of Christ.
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