"Big big table with lots and lots of food"

"Big big table with...

lots and lots of food"

This is a line from one of my favorite missionary songs. Big House by Audio Adrenaline..."Big House," which was named the CCM No. 1 Song of the Decade for the 1990s. And my all time personal favorite. :-)

The story line of the song is a guy talking to another person extending the invitation to "come with him" to that Big House where there will be plenty fellowship, food and play.

This past weekend Vladimer and I packed up Herbie with our equipment to show the Jesus Film and along with his pastor Sasha and Olea (6 months pregnant) and 3 seminary students and we headed out to the villages to extend this invitation where the Gospel has yet fledgling penetration.

Ford probably has a hall of Ford fame that Herbie will be placed in some day -- His title "Most traveled Clubwagon van worldwide". Twice in the 600 miles of jarring Russian logging roads this weekend... the road just simply disappeared from beneath our tires in the dark of night at 50 miles an hour as we came skidding to a stop where the road had washed out. No sign to warn of the washed out road. :-(

At our first destination we were enthusiastically greeted and joined church members who live in the target village to show the Jesus Film in their village school. In the first village we went to, members from all two churches in town and members from a neighboring village church (40 miles away) were on call. The folks from the neighboring town I recognized as being ones we helped in their local the year before. So we all combined efforts to make the showing. Book table workers, greeters, food preparers for the laborers feast that followed the film showing -- 28 of us in all coming from several different denominations. It was like a country barn raising with everyone coming to help.

In that first village there were 28 folks who prayed to receive Christ between the two showings that day -- one for each laborer present. I am sure it was a mark of the Holy Spirit's pleasure with the unity of the Brethren and Sisterin displayed that day. :o)

It was a great time afterward at the laborer's banquet. All 28 of us crowded around that table in the small apartment... the food just kept cummin'. Singing, guitar playing and stories being shared by various ones about the God Sightings leading up to this day. Local pastor Valodia shared that he had been granted three times and then refused three times the permission to use the Public School (the only place big enough in the village to hold the Film showing). The last time he got the refusal call retracting his permission was after we had already left St. Petersburg the night before on our way there! He said that he hung up the phone and prayed again then called the person back and the person changed his mind. :o)

We finished the laborer's banquet about an hour before sun down on Saturday evening, said goodbyes and the St. Pete team packed in to Herbie and headed out on to the next village. Remember, I only had 5 hours sleep the night before ... so I had found a secluded spot in the film showing where I would not be noticed cat napping while sitting up. I figured it was going to be another long drive that night.

Sasha says once we are in the van, "The direct road is closed but we found a detour." I am not sure if it would not have been better to try to go the route of the closed road and swim the river, cut the log crossing the road or whatever it was that "closed" that road. The detour road turned out to be a road that should have been closed! Seven hours later and only 150 miles of logging road we arrived at 3 in the morning. My faith actually wore thread bare when in the first 15 miles the road turn to mud path and 6" washboard for 10 miles.

Praise God we arrived! This was a logging village. All wood shack kind of housing. Outdoor potties. And wood burning stoves. 2000 residents. The air could not have been cleaner. Fifteen year old Rita, member of the local church road with me on the 100 yard trip from the church to the community center where we would show the Jesus Film. Rita asked me is she could sit in the front seat on the way over. Of course I would not deny her that pleasure. I asked her ... "Rita, how often do you sit in a car? Week, Month Year?" I was still not sure I had gotten a positive response when I got to a year. So I stopped so as not to embarrass her. Latter she asked me if she could sit in the van and listen to the Susan Ashton CD I had playing ... that was of more value to her than to come in to eat the laborer's banquet. She said, "I like to listen to music and sit in your car."

Earlier, before the film showing, Rita asked us if we could befriend her unsaved friend Dima -- 19. I sat with him during the film... but napping in such a way that he could not be distracted by my call of nature. I knew it was going to once again be a long drive that night to get back to St. Pete. He watched the whole way through -- not me but the film. I woke up during the crucifixion and said that the Heavenly Father sent Jesus to die for your sins." Before the film began I had asked Dima if he lived with his parents... his reply was, "no they left me when I was little." I said, "who do you live with?" He said, "I grew up in the orphanage but now I live alone". I said, "Dima you have a Father in Heaven who loves you and cares about you." I asked, "Do you work?" He replied, "I help". His hands looked like they held a week of helping in the tree cutting business.

At the end of the film the Priest that had wanted to join with the local pastor to "combine" efforts reminded Vladimer to turn off the Film just before the second praying of the prayer to receive Christ. You know the time when the announcer says 'is this the prayer of your heart? ... if so ... then repeat after me'. The Priest told Vladimer that that is pressing people... let them think about it and pray after a couple of days if they still feel inclined.

But God's work was done in that small village where everyone knows each other. Rita's church of 12 to 15 folks is just in the next block of houses from the community center. So I said, "Dima, will you come next Sunday to visit church? He said, "oh no it is not Orthodox".... as if he was automatically repeating something he had heard someone say before. I said, "I visited there this morning and really liked it. Will you do it...OK??". His reply, "OK." as he grinned. Later ... I guess some one from the church asked him to join us at the laborer's banquet. So he got to get a taste of that Big Table with lots and lots of food.

Bob Achgill

BobAchgill@hotmail.com

PS. For those who have Internet Explorer and OutLook Express... if you want to send this note to a friend go to this link and Select File-> Send page as email. When OutLook Express pops up change the subject line to "Prayer Achgill - Big Big House." and press Send. Thanks!