I'm in His Hands

I shall not fear though darkened clouds may gather round me;
The God I serve is one who cares and understands.
Although the storms I face would threaten to confound me,
Of this I am assured: I'm in his hands.

I'm in his hands, I'm in his hands;
Whate'er the future holds
I'm in his hands,
The days I cannot see
Have all been planned for me;
His way is best, you see;
I'm in his hands.

What though I cannot know the way that lies before me?
I still can trust and freely follow his commands;
My faith is firm since it is he that watches o'er me;
Of this I'm confident: I'm in his hands.

In days gone by my Lord has always proved sufficient,
When I have yielded to the law of love's demands;
Why should I doubt that he would evermore be present
To make his will my own? I'm in his hands!

Stanley E. Ditmer

"Which of you will step forward?"

"Which of you will step forward?"

excerpts from http://www.salvationist.org/intnews.nsf/vw_web_articles/37A9A34F589276E5802573710030DD20?opendocument

The Lord of mission is waiting for those who will go, risking their own lives ... who will take the gospel of Jesus where God leads. God give us grace to fight with passion and love for the Kingdom, for Jesus, until death.... We see the Army at its best at moments like these.... There has been an upsurge of prayerfulness following the untimely and violent death of an officer who showed courage, vision, compassion, strength and mercy, who was clear-headed and tender-hearted, ready for self-sacrifice. [Major Philip Wise] is now listed among Salvation Army martyrs, and will hear his Master say: “Well done, good and faithful servant. Welcome home.” ... There is now a gap in the ranks of ... officers.... The Army is hurting. Which of you will step forward, ready to hear the Holy Spirit’s voice: “You must stand in the gap”? Out of evil, ugliness, sin and cruelty it is God’s nature to bring something of surpassing beauty that today we cannot see. Unmatched beauty will come from all of this. The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church.

Prayers for Major Philip Wise Family

Honoring Major Philip Wise and His Family
A memorial service and public viewing for Major Philip Wise will be held at 1:30 PM on Tuesday, December 29 at the First Assembly of God in North Little Rock, 4501 Burrow Drive.
Major Wise was a warm and thoughtful man. He loved God, and he loved his family. He also loved the children in the community where he served.
Major Philip Wise was suddenly and tragically taken from us on Christmas Eve, and he is deeply missed.
Giving in Memory of Major Wise
Major Philip Wise was most passionate about bringing an appreciation of the arts to underprivileged children. To honor his life, The Salvation Army is dedicating all gifts in his name to the summer camp's youth music program. Gifts can be made online by selecting the Make a gift in memory of someone option.
Wise Family Memorial Fund
If you would like to make a gift to the family of Major Philip Wise, please send checks payable to The Wise Family Memorial Fund to Centennial Bank at 13910 Cantrell Rd, Little Rock, Arkansas 72223.

"the murder of the innocent"

CAN HELL BURN HOT ENOUGH
TO PAY FOR ALL THIS SUFFERING
THE MURDER OF THE INNOCENT
CAN HELL BURN HOT ENOUGH
TO BALANCE OUT THESE SCALES
CAN HELL BURN HOT ENOUGH

...

O GOD OF JUSTICE
MY GOD OF EQUITY
I KNOW YOUR HEART BREAKS
FOR THE SINS OF THIS WICKED WORLD
I KNOW THAT JUDGEMENT WILL BE SWIFT AND IRREVERSIBLE
TILL THEN YOUR TEARS RAIN
ON THE EVIL AND THE GOOD
I KNOW THAT GOD IS HOLY
I KNOW THAT STATE I'M IN
I KNOW THAT SIN IS SIN
AND IT'S NOT MEASURED BY DEGREE
HERE IN THE LAND OF DARKNESS
WE ALL ARE GUILTY MEN
I KNOW I'D STAND CONDEMNED
WITHOUT THE BLOOD OF JESUS

Randy Stonehill

"the little way"

“I had a great desire to defend myself. Happily there came a bright idea into my mind and I told myself that if I began to justify myself I would not be able to retain my peace of soul.”
--St. Therese of Lisieux in Story of a Soul

How to Be a Leader

"Contrary to what many believe, leadership is not about power. It is not about harassing or bullying people using fear. It is about encouraging others towards the goal. A leader brings unity of purpose, keeping everyone informed. You must be a leader not a boss."
hat tip Ian's Messy Desk

1st Advent

The Clark family (along with "adopted" daughter Anneli) were responsible for the Advent reding for the first Sunday in Advent.


While Evelyn and Elizabeth read the scripture in English, it was projected in the screen in Russian.

Then Anneli lit the first candle.

World AIDS Day

The Narva Corps took part in the World AIDS day service.

It was lightly raining out as participants lit candles in the fountain park.

The candles were in the shape of a red ribbon, as a reminder of those living with HIV and AIDS, and those who have died.

sunset

Music Week

This past week, the Narva Corps had a week of music instruction while the young people were on school holiday. For four hours each day, the young people learned brass instruments, vocal, guitar and dance. Here, Cadet Aleksei Burunov gives some pointers to Nikolai.

Captain Evelyn Clark gives individual instrucation to Sonia and Ksenja.

Anneli led vocal warm-ups before choir practice.

And Ilya led the choir ("Alleluia!").

Anneli led a guitar class in the corps office.

On Sunday, they were ready to show some of what they learned. Here is Sonia and Natasha during the sacred dance.

Elizabeth and Sonia dance during the worship service.

Anneli and Natasha during the sacred dance.

The four dancers at the end of the dance.

The fledgling brass band also played two numbers.

The band members received hearty applause from the soldiers and friends in recognition of their efforts. Please continue to pray for our budding musicians!

More pictures from Helsinki

Here's some more pictures from the big youth weekend. The Estonian young people did the "Chair" drama for the auxiliary group on Saturday and during the worship meeting on Sunday.

Anneli, Eero, Kirill and Elizabeth do their parts in the drama.

The Estonian praise band also played on Saturday evening and Sunday morning.

Here is the band in action, with singers Rebeka, Anneli, Elizabeth and Sonia, Eero on guitar, Tim on bass and Evelin on piano.

On Saturday, the stage was set up for the Finnish rock band Park7, so the praise band got to enjoy some cool lighting as they sang.

After the devotional on Saturday evening, the band was asked to play again to encourage everyone focus on Jesus.

At the end of the Sunday meeting, the young people came onstage to wave red, yellow and blue flags. The Estonians like Anneli, Eero and Kirill outshined the Finns (if we can be so humble!).

Natasha found a new young friend (of course!) as she waved her flag!

Helsinki Youth Weekend

Our corps young people spent the weekend in Helsinki for a territorial youth event. There were nine of us from Narva, and we travelled on the ferry with the six from Tallinn. During the trip, Anneli sang karaoke, which the aging fins seemed to really enjoy!

The first program of the weekend was a fun night of games, led by Michael. Here Sonia and Keit try to untangle themselves from a human knot.

Elizabeth and Kirill do their best to untangle their group.

Anneli, Eero and Elizabeth working together.

Keit, Jakov and Sonia work to untangle their group.

Then it was time for a game of Wizards, Giants and Elves.

The game was loud, but really fun!

And Michael was the master of ceremonies.

Logan was content to sit the games out!

Evelin, Elizabeth, Ksenja, Ilja and Natasha listen to the devotional.

Eero and Kirill listen as Metti shares. Check back tomorrow for lots more pictures from the weekend.

Youth Group Outing

Two weeks ago, our youth group spent the afternoon in Narva-Jõesuu, on the Gulf of Finland.

It was windy and the waves were really coming in!

We had the chance to appreciate some fine art (I think that's what it's supposed to be).

And Peter got into the act too.