The Story

We finally got the real story on how Raphael lost his finger. 

He said that it was shot off in a gun fight when he was a young man. He was living a criminal life, but God used that stay in the hospital to get his attention.  He talked about how he can look back now and see God's protection even when he was heading in the wrong direction. He is thankful that it is just a finger that he lost. The young men he was with are now dead or in prison. He had a grandmother who continually prayed for him, and God finally opened his heart to believe. It was so touching to hear him talk about how God continued to pursue him. How God used the circumstances of his life for His glory! (Jen notes: Cue the water works!) Now, Raphael is the pastor of the church in Michurinsk, a town about 1 hour from Tambov. This is the church that has had the neat impact on the Gypsies. The ladies at his church made us an amazing lunch today.  Raphael has been driving one hour from Michurinsk each day to pick us up.  So, today, he drove that stretch of road four times just to be our escort. What a servant!