Highlights.
- Our 2 Haiti students will come live with us starting Dec 16. These boys are wonderful, Christian and have been in our prayers on how we could disciple them and build them up in their faith. Well, God said- how about I just put them in your house then? :)
- Just another great Thanksgiving party! We are really getting better at doing these dinners and making them a blessing to the students. See their happy faces, above? :)
- The FLC students enjoyed our annual Apple Hill trip. I didn't go as my daughter had a surgery and came to our house for recovery. Still, the students went with the all-area students on their own and were happy to tell me what a good time they had, even without me ;)
- I posted up a GoFundMe need for our 2 Haitian boys. On the first day we got a $400 donation! But, even greater than that was that the donation came from one of the girls that used to be in my youth group ever since Junior High. Now she is married with four children and helping me help students who were in a similar condition as she was when I met her. God is so dang good.
- I am still enjoying my Comparative Worldviews class a lot. Not only have we covered why to learn them and how to evaluate them, we have covered in great detail- Christianity, Animism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Judaism, Islam, Naturalism and Nihilism. We have 3 more to go- Existentialism, New Age and Postmodernism.
- The Thomas family are really elves for Santa and we love to dance!
Lowlights.
- Even though my highlight above was that the 2 Haiti boys are coming to live with us there is a backstory that is very disturbing and depressing. I won't share it here but as a result they lost their sponsorship and housing. My wife is so gracious we are able to house them. The $ they will need to complete their school is ~$35,000 that we are assuming some (all?) responsibility for <<school fees only>>. A test of their faith, and ours, to be sure.
- One of the Istudents askem me why I had a large "NOEL" sign in my window. I didn't really know the right answer to say. I told Him it is a very famous Christmas chorus that I loved and that it meant 'the song of all songs.' I think I was wrong. I think Noel means 'the birth of all births.'.
Story 1 - Jack*
Most of the time in these stories I talk about how God is drawing these students to Himself. For this month I would like to talk about Jack*. He is a Chrisitian from Haiti and one of the boys that will be coming to live with us. He has really gone through a terrible time recently. Losing his sponsor, his funding, his home while living in a foreign country. But it is more than that, he is losing his dream and everything he has worked hard for to even be one of the very few that get here from Haiti. Haiti is a very poor country and this terrible, unfair circumstance appears to be the death of his dream, and of his family, that there will ever be a 'better' life for them. I must say- he has not shown any depression, anger, sadness, bitterness over any of this! He is trusting God and that is the end of it to him. There is even an individual that he will see at BSF that. to me, would be quite painful and someone to avoid. I asked him if he wants to stop coming to BSF. He said- no, why would I? I go there for God. No one is going to keep me from doing that. Wow. I have been praying how I can encourage him and build him up and it looks like God is instead teaching me a lot through him!
Story 2 - Megan*
As you are probably aware of, Megan, from Iran, has been one student we have spent a lot of time with and who we believe is closest to coming to the Lord. She has come to church twice with us and I have given her an evangelsitic book comparing Islam with Jesus. In fact, my wife and her cousin are with her today at Apple Hill :) Well, she couldn't come to our Thanksgiving dinner party. She said she had to go to LA and be with her cousin. Then she said this- my cousin has become a Chrisitan and wants to see and talk to me! The divine network comes through again! :)
Prayer Requests
- This whole effort to bring the 2 Haitian boys into our house, our lives! Many things need to be worked out that don't seem to have answers now. The $ for their schooling is just one of the challenges. Should we go through adult adoption? Should we hire an imigration attorney? What will their parents think about all this? Will my frontal lobe damage show a more terse, edgy side of me causing them to stumble? What sort of frustrations will we all encounter when we all strat running into each other? Can I handle starving boys eating all my good food and leaving me with only kale? ;)
- That God would use this special time of year when the awareness of Christ and His birth are floating in the airways so that both our Talk Times and Chrisitmas dinner for the students gives us the opportunity to share the message so that it goes even deeper into their hearts.
- That God would give me favor in the eyes of the FLC dean and ESL teachers as they consider me to run their computer lab. That God would confirm it, if in His wisdom, it is as great an opportunity as I think it is. <<Drop?>>
- For Megan*. That God would continue to show Himself to her and build on the experience she had with Him at Easter. That she would know for sure she has found the relationship with Him she desires. Pray for my wife to be able to follow-up with her soon and say the right things. <<Ongoing>> <<Her cousin is a Christian now and talking with her also!>>
- For Ana* and Zoey*. Like Megan* that God would start drawing them to Himself and making them aware of their need for Him. They are both great friends with Megan*. That perhaps Megans* seeking will inspire them to seek also. <<Ongoing>>
- That we can start an Alpha club (Bible study) with the students that are interested in learning more about the Lord. <<Ongoing>>
- Many opportunities have arisen with more students, faculty, volunteers and churches connected with us- host families, greeting students at the airport when they arrive, weekly talk partners, Bible study, dinners, assisting the college... We certainly need wisdom to know what we can and cannot do, that the Lord will direct our steps.<<Ongoing>>
- That I can naturally apply the 6 evangelistic steps Jesus modeled in sharing with the Samaritan woman-
1. Win their confidence. 2. Awaken a desire for spiritual life in them. 3. Explain why His life is better than emptiness. 4. Probe sensitively about their deepest need and hurts. That they would see their need for His life, for forgiveness. 5. Help them understand how God sees them and what He desires of them. 6. Finally, reveal Christ to them and that 'He stands at the door of their heart' and is knocking right now.
Admonition
“... but always seek after that which is good for one another and all people" - 1 Thess 5:15
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