"A night to remember 07"

Christmas bash 07 - A night to remember was indeed a blast. Set in the evening of December 22nd, this joint event between Jesus Embassy and United – the Russian youth group, is a testimony of God’s awesomeness. With the desire to share the good news of Christmas and also bless our friends, God’s grace has allowed us to make this an annual event thus celebrating the 5th Xmas bash.

On the event day, it wasn’t long before the hall was already filled with people, all beautifully and wonderfully dressed. Many of the guests present weren’t first timers and were actually looking forward to the party since it was announced weeks ago. The program kicked of with a solo performance of the hymn Oh holy night which ushered in a choir by the students. Among the songs sang were Silent Night, Mary’s boy child and Joy to the world. Rather than a perfect score these students delivered a joyous and heart-felt performance which brought about the spirit of Christmas.

Throughout the night, our guest (and members as well) were entertained and astounded by a variety or dances by students from different parts of the world. Our Nigerian friends danced to a hip-hop beat while our sisters from India did a contemporary to the song -love above-. Last but not least was a modern dance from the LIFE dance ministry of our local church. The Impressions Of God drama team did indeed leave the crowd with the idea of how Christmas should be. The drama tells of a news reporter who interviewed different people from different walks of life to hear what they have to say about Christmas.The response he received was rather unexpected, it even resulted in him being beaten! Finally someone made the difference by sharing the true message of love.

Midway through the party, we had the pleasure of our pastor, Bishop Alexey rudenky share about the love of God and the forgiveness of sin through the coming of Christ on Christmas day. He also took the chance to welcome us international students and prayed for God’s favor and blessing to be upon our lives.

We also got our friends to take part in some whacky games. From passing rubber bands with straws which became a battle of the sexes, we made our guest seek out similarities in their belongings as compared to others. These games turned out to be simple but hilarious. In short, the aim is to get everyone involved and to be a part of the event.

Next was a combination of a mime and ballet dance while the choir sang the song we are the reason dressed in white with glittery gold sashes, the dance was beautiful and nonetheless grand. The final performance was one which simply depicts God’s sacrifice. Acting to the song Everything . This simple skid with neither words nor props shows that we can’t find satisfaction in money or alcohol and anything for that matter but in Christ alone. It left many of our guests in awe of God's love and sacrifice

The menu this year was burgers and salad with mash potatoes. Dinner was served rather timely as our guest were getting hungry but not before a short session of free-style and break-dancing. To build the appetite perhaps.

An unexpected treat which was prepared for our friends this year was an award for Mr and Ms Christmas. Throughout the event, our organizers secretly picked out a few nominees, This group of charming ladies and gentlemen were later required to dance, sing and even cat-walk to win the crowd over.

A highlight for this year’s Christmas bash was a live band. It was the 1st time that we had a band performance. Nevertheless the musicians manage to hype up the atmosphere with songs of praise. Before long everyone was shouting and cheering as the musicians play and sing.

The only thing that could be said about this year’s Xmas bash was that it ended too soon. God was indeed “in da house”. Everyone left rather reluctantly as it drew late into the night and we had to start unplugging and cleaning.

On a personal note,
One can only stand in wonder as we see how the event came unfold especially when we started of with nothing. Indeed all praise and glory goes to You, Abba father, God of heaven and the earth

By xunjin

"thank You"

A dedication to those who serve and give...

fund-raiser

kudos , to all the JE members who were involved in the curry-puff fund raiser for xmas bash 2007.To our friends who help out: thank you, indeed what would we haveachieved without your support? Over the two weekends we manage to come up with approximately 600 pieces. It was good fun and fellowship as well. Above all we thank God for wisdom , and guidance.

 

astrakhan outreach

On the night of the 2^nd of November 16 members of JE began their journey by train to Astrakhan. For the past few days leading up to the trip we have been meeting up to pray for God's protection, favour, and providence . True to His word, God answered our prayers. We were able to buy the train tickets through some of the students did not have their passport with them. It was a miracle how we were able to board the train without any problems, considering the fact that we had no "spravka” with us (permission to travel).

Upon arrival, we were greeted by Natasha and Dennis,( our host from the church in Astrakhan). We gathered to pray and worship before setting out to the streets to distribute the astrakhan edition of Wassup! At first it looked as thought it would rain as the weather report forecasted, as we began to pray it only drizzle slightly and the sun came up in the afternoon. The people we met on the streets were friendly on the whole and some even struck up conversations. They were curious to know what a bunch of foreign students were doing on the streets distributing newsletters. We walked for more than 2 hours and made our way to the Kremlin. After distributing the newsletter, we visited the international students from the medical and technical universities in their hostels. There we made friends with students from India, Africa, Vietnam and Egypt, among them were Farai, Kemke, Noah and Muhammad. We invited them to the concert the following day.

In the evening, we gathered with JE astrakhan members for a time of fellowship, praise and sharing. The meeting began with a game which broke the ice and got the people warmed up. Next was praise and worship led by Kelvin and the AO1 band. Xun Jin shared a message of how only God can heal and restore the hurts and losses in our lives. The meeting ended in a joyous mood, with everyone mixing and talking with each other.

On the following day, we joined our host church for Sunday morning service. “Impressions of God” drama team from Jesus embassy performed a drama entitled “everything”, portraying the desperate and unfathomable love of Christ which He promises to all, freely, if only we would accept Him into our lives. This was followed by sharing on giving by our leader, Dennis. The pastor preached an eye-opening truth based on the book of Job: It is we who make openings in the "hedge of protection" that God places around us when we disobey him by sinning.

The student concert kicked off with a time of praise and worship led by the Russian youth from Astrakhan. This was followed by a dance from the Spirit of David team. Kelvin shared about the story of Bartimaeus from Mark10:46, that if you seek God and are desperate for him despite what people say, you will see miracles and blessings in your life. The meeting ended with a time of refreshments and fellowship. It was a sad time bidding goodbye to our friends as we left for the train station. Indeed it is amazing how God can use a group of international students in a foreign land. Truly we can never thank God enough for the blessings and the coolness of being his children and serving him. We truly believe and pray that God will raise up a generation of students in Astrakhan who will be passionate for Christ and for the salvation of their friends.

By: Johanan Lawrence.