January 17 - Erika is leaving us, flying to Switzerland to be with an old companion who is nearing the end of the journey. She will stay with her sister, who lives fairly close to the Donneloye convention grounds. Elizabeth, left in the first picture below, will be taking her place. She is planning to give language lessons here, and we will probably fit in somewhere. We just learned the Greek word for one hundred, "exeto," which we told her we could remember because it sounds like "extra-toe." I gathered from her expression that she prefers other teaching methods. Anyway, we learned that Denita is a "ya-ya," a grandmother, and I can proudly claim the title of "papoose." No, I am not making this up.
Someone sent us a picture this week that just melted our heart. It showed Brian, our youngest son, sitting in a chair, cuddling with Ayla, our two year old granddaughter. They looked pretty contented together. We love Brian, and we love Ayla, and it was very obvious that they like each other as well.
It made me think of heaven. Heaven will be filled with people who love God's Son. No one else will be invited. "Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him" (John 14:23).
The love between a man and a woman is perhaps the peak human experience, and it gives us a little glimpse of what heaven will be like. When we respond to the love of God in the Gospel, we are betrothed to Christ. "We love him, because he first loved us" (1 John 4:19). It is a curious thing, but we love someone we have never met. "Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable" (1 Peter 1:8). Like a bride, we spend our time here getting ready for the bridegroom of our soul. "Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor to him, for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready" (Rev. 19:7). The marriage itself is when we meet Christ for the first time. This is the grand climax of all creation, the fulfillment of God's plan from before the foundation of the world. The marriage supper, which follows the wedding, are the eternal ages Christ and the church will share together in perfect love. "That ye, ........ may be able to comprehend with all saints, what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passes knowledge ......" (Eph. 3:17).
Elizabeth, Erica, and Anna
Vasili and Irene had us over for a snack on the way to the airport. This room doubles as the living room, where we have our meetings.
This picture was taken one Wednesday night after Bible Study
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