Praise and Worship

It was so good to be back in our church last Sunday (August 12th). Our church family was exuberant to see us again, and it really felt like we had come home. August, for our church, is the leanest month of the year attendance-wise. Everybody heads off on vacation, trying to squeeze it in before the school year starts. For this reason, our worship team is running on a skeleton crew. In fact, only four of our worship team members were on the stage Sunday. Because of this, I expected our time of worship to be sub-standard, but boy was I wrong – it was outrageously wonderful!

Even though it took a minute or so to get the drum machine to play the right beat, and in spite of our worship team being a few good men down, the presence of God came billowing into the auditorium the moment we all joined together in song. Everything earthly and natural seemed to fade into the background, and all that remained was Jesus and our love for Him. I forgot about the musicians and the music, and about my pant’s waistline being a bit too snug. All that mattered was Jesus and glorifying Him.

Jesus never comes on the scene with empty hands and a bankrupt account! I could literally feel Him pouring out spiritual wealth into my heart during the worship. What exactly He deposited into my heart just then I don’t know, but there’s no doubt that it was priceless and necessary.

After the service, I approached the worship team and expressed my gratitude for their faithfulness and excellence in ministry. I am so proud of those guys. Not only are they abundantly anointed, they work HARD at what they do. Every week, the worship team has its own small group meeting (on Mondays), and two practice sessions (Saturday evening and Sunday morning). Both the anointing of the Spirit and their diligence are paying off, and I expect to experience even more of heaven during our praise and worship in the weeks to come.   

Waved Through Customs

I’m sitting at my desk by the three pane window in our living room back in Khabarovsk. It’s great to be home. The trip over was grueling, but good. That sounds like an oxymoron, but it’s true. I don’t think that it’s ever easy to travel with small children, especially on an 11 hour flight over the Pacific Ocean (I guess we didn’t have much of a tailwind), but other than that, we had a good trip. At any rate, it was successful, since we are all back in Khabarovsk and in one piece.

There is one awesome thing that God did for us as we passed through customs in the Khabarovsk Intl. Airport that I want to share with you. Prior to our trip, we prayed that we would be waved through customs in Khabarovsk and wouldn’t have to pay them a dime, excuse me, a ruble, for anything. When we flew into the airport, we were literally the last ones off the plane. By the time we got into the actual airport, the lanes leading to the immigration booths were crowded. However, as soon as the immigration officers saw us standing at the back of line with baby Meghan cradled in our arms, they swiftly ushered us to the front of line ahead of everyone else. The man standing behind us huffed rather nastily, “I guess you must be more important than other Russians.” I just smiled at him and thought, “No, we’re not more important than anybody else, but we sure do have a mighty God, and He is the most important being in the universe!”

After clearing immigration ahead of the pack, we went on to customs. As soon as we gathered all 9 of our suitcases we approached the customs area. Again, as soon as the customs officers saw all five of us, especially baby Meghan, they waved us through without checking or weighing even one bag! One officer tried to stop us but the others literally shut him down. Joy coursed through our beings when the answer to our prayers was performed right before our eyes. God is good and God is great!

We’re off

Wow! It’s time for us to head back for Khabarovsk. Our nine pieces of check-in luggage are carefully packed and their zippers are straining to hold in our wealth of possessions. When things are twice as cheap in the States as they are in Russia, it’s tempting not to stock pile enough supplies for a decade in advance – thank God for Costco! Even our children, except for Meghan have little carry-ons with wheels. No one in the Maxey family over the age of two is exempt from luggage.

Inga and the kids have been in the States for a total of four months, and I have been here for two. Believe me, when I say that leaving is a bitter-sweet experience, especially when it entails leaving dad and mom, aka. grandpa and grandma. We have lived with them practically the entire time and it seems strange that we are parting. If we could stow them away in our carry-ons we would!

I think that this trip has been the most blessed and rewarding of any previous trip to the States, bar none. God has provided every need, and brought so many of our dreams to pass. We are so grateful to all of our friends and family who allowed God to bless us through them. Just wait, you’re in the same blessing line that we are!

Well, my oatmeal is getting cold, and I need to go eat it before it petrifies. I’ll probably write the next blog from Khabarovsk.