PICNIC IN THE COUNTRY.

On June 12, when the people of Russia celebrated Independence Day, our group of 27 students went on a picnic. We chose chosen a wonderful clearing on the other side of the Volga river as the place of our gathering. It took one hour for us to get to the place. In spite of the weather forecast that the day would be rainy, it, nevertheless, was warm and sunny to everybody's joy. Almost every member of the group invited a friend or a classmate to join our company. For many foreign students this picnic was a good opportunity to break away from the city and see what is on the other side of the river.

We had this wonderful opportunity to spend out time in fellowshipping with friends and in acquaintance with new people due to the Grace of Jesus Christ Church that had decided to celebrate its Birthday not at Sunday meeting, as usual, but out in the country. That day on the same clearing there were about 500 Christians gathered--members of the church and guests.

Everything was well organized. Hand in hand we began to construct a big brazier for "shish kabob" (barbecue) and collected firewood. We brought a lot of meat marinated ahead of time. But the important thing was not the amount of food but the process of getting it prepared. Many people participated in cooking the meat. During the day everybody could find the activity to soothe their soul. They could walk, play football, volleyball or badminton, dance, sing, sunbathe, swim in the river or just chat.

As the day neared the end, having eaten all of the shish kabob, that was very tasty, needless to say, we had to wrap up and leave. It was only when we got into the city that the sky got covered by rain clouds and small droplets of rain began to fall. We were grateful to God for having given us a great day and for not having allowed the rain to spoil our festivity.