1+1=1

No, my title is not a mistake. In God's equation, when it comes to marriage, 1+1=1. We are taught this in Ephesians 5:31, For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. This was the theme of our recent Couples Retreat, in which 24 couples attended.... about half of the couples were from our church and the other half were from other churches throughout Ukraine.

Our special speaker came all of the way from St. Louis, Missouri. Pastor Ken Spilger and his wife Beth were a special blessing to our people. Pastor Spilger was in a horrific airplane crash when he was in his early thirties. Four Baptist pastors were flying together to a Conference, and Pastor Spilger was the only survivor. He suffered serious burns and underwent three major skin grafts. His testimony was a real eye-opener to our people, as they saw an example of God's mercy and grace stand before them and speak. We were all truly touched by God's evident hand in this man's life.

This Conference was truly the best I have ever attended here in Ukraine. I don't think I have ever laughed more and had a better time. In my next post, I will share with you why. For now, I will leave you with these pictures...

GROUP SHOT AT OUR '09 COUPLES RETREAT
THE AUDITORIUM WHERE ALL SERVICES WERE HELD PASTOR SPILGER PREACHING, USING HIS WIFE AND A CHAIR AS AN EXAMPLE OF HOW WE AS MARRIED COUPLES SEE PROBLEMS FROM DIFFERENT ANGLES SPLIT SESSION, WITH MRS. SPILGER SPEAKING TO THE WIVES

SPECIAL FROM THE GROUP FROM ODESSA, UKRAINE

GIFT FOR EACH COUPLE... FOUR OF US MISSIONARY WIVES PAINTED THESE CUPS AND SAUCERS WITH SPECIAL CERAMIC PAINT PENS. THEY HAD OUR THEME VERSE AND PICTURE ON THEM!...)