Greetings!

We spent some time at several Zhatva's (Harvest) at various churches in the Tambov and Voronezh oblasts (regions) and wanted to share some of the sights. We'll begin with Boricaglebsk!

We (Barb, Rick and I) were invited to play at the Zhatva service in the church in Boricaglebsk, which is a smaller city in the Voronezh oblast. It was quite a drive, about 2-21/2 hours, but well worth it!

Every church celebrates Zhatva sometime in October each year and it is a time to gather and thank the Lord for His continuing provision for His children and to gather in fellowship for the sharing of a meal after church.

We were blessed with warm and clear weather on this day so we all gathered outside for the meal. The church in Boricaglebsk is very small, perhaps 20 to 30 people but they have a great meal and wonderful time of fellowship!

A young man that we met at camp 2 years ago lives in Boricaglebsk and we were very happy to see him and renew our acquaintance. His name is Maxim and he plays the bass guitar. He loaned his bass to Barb to play during the church service. He, like so many others, was very interested in the banjo so I let him play on it a bit and of course get some pictures.

He wanted a picture of Barb, Rick and I with him and this one turned out pretty good!

Another young man that attended camp with us 2 years ago also came to church that day and, praise God, repented and accepted Christ as his Savior. We were honored to be able to pray with him and for him. He is on my immediate right in the photo.

After dinner we were able to play some Russian hymns with the Pastor and some of the youth. We played for quite awhile and I learned quite a bit about how to "fit" the banjo into this kind of setting. Of course they also wanted to hear English hymns and some bluegrass music as well!

I don't remember this little girls name but she was cute as a button and was all decked out in ribbons and curls.

As things were winding down and we were helping put tables away Barb caught a picture of Maxim working on the banjo and I think that if he had one for just a little while he would have it figured out!

We had a wonderful time praising God for His goodness, His provision, His faithfulness to draw the lost to Himself. We shared a great time of fellowship in a meal and song and prayer.