Bethany
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Joel’s parents came for a visit as they are on Home Assignment from Guyana, South America. We had a great time with them and the boys, especially enjoyed getting to know them once again.
We are continuously amazed by God and His love for us. That we are able to serve Him here with our lives is the highest of honors! Thank you for praying for us and standing with us in this journey!
Some things you can pray with us about:
· That we would maintain a healthy balance between our family and our ministries.
· We have had a drop in our support due to the economic strain on several supporters. Because of this decrease in support and our ongoing medical bills and debt, which we incurred from going to and from Indonesia, we need to see a increase in our support. Please pray with us that God would bring along others to financially join His team, with us so that we can continue to serve Him in this way.
· That we will continue to grow in our relationship with Christ so that we can bear true fruit for Him.
· That Jack’s health issues would be healed, if that is God’s will. But that no matter what happens, we would trust Him with our little boy and his health.
The boys continue to grow everyday in everyway. Owen is starting to talk and he is a bundle of energy and fun. He is following in his brother’s footsteps and loves to play with trains and read books. As a matter of fact “train” and “Thomas” were two of his first words! He is beginning to run and loves to play chase with Jack. Thankfully our home is roomy enough for them to get this energy out without being underfoot!
Jack is also such a fun little boy, full of expression and very articulate. He loves learning and just recently has been asking to hear stories about our own childhoods or the story of his birth, and he often asks, “What happened to God?” He has an amazing memory, especially with music and songs. I think he’s going to be a lot like his daddy, more than just being the spitting image of him! About 3 weeks ago, we began to see a change for the better with his digestive problems and for about 2 weeks, his “D” issue seemed to be going away, but then for the past 4 days or so, it has come back with a vengeance. It’s hard not to get our hopes up when we see improvement and then to not be disappointed when the change doesn’t last. For now, we are in a holding pattern to see what will happen next. Thank you for all the prayers you have prayed for our little guy! I know so many of you have felt this burden with us and we are so thankful. We even have a little friend, Noah, who is 9 and he prays for Jack every day. We are so humbled by that!
I, Bethany, am enjoying my ministry, assisting the Dean of Education. I love to organize and that’s just what I get to do for a few hours each morning. I am adjusting well to balancing life at home and my ministry at school. I pray daily that God will bring along my path, gals that I can build relationships with. It’s been tough as I have felt a little “stuck” at home and not able to get over to the school as much as I’d like, but I am learning to enjoy the down time and am enjoying more time with Him. This past year has been the toughest of my life spiritually and emotionally, but I have also learned so much. In some ways, I think I am re-learning lessons from the past that I thought I knew, but this time, God has taken me deeper than I knew I could go. I wouldn’t yet choose to repeat this year but my hope is that God will use the things I am learning to be an encouragement to others.
Joel has had a full schedule lately. He is sitting in on the Evangelism class in preparation to teach parts of it next semester. He is preparing for the class on Prayer he will be teaching in January. He is working with the student worship team and he is discipling several guys each week. A few weeks ago, he was able to go to University of Michigan with a group of our students to do “worldview interviews” with the students at the university. This is the beginning of their introduction into evangelism cross culturally. You may be wondering how an American University qualifies as cross cultural, but the U of M is one of the most ethnically diverse schools in the US. Will you pray for Joel as he faces these ministries God has brought his way?
It’s autumn here and the trees are beginning to turn beautiful shades of orange, red and yellow. We are really enjoying the cooler temps and beautiful scenery here in Michigan. Jack is on the hunt for acorns and I am busy following him around making sure there aren’t any within Owen’s reach.
The students here have been in classes for 4 weeks. They are processing all they are learning from God’s Word. It’s so exciting to hear a freshman say, “I went to church my whole life and yet I feel like I never really put it all together till now”. The juniors are in Romans class and are learning that living apart from the life of Christ in them is futile! In the next few days they will be given the plus side of the coin… Romans 7:24- 25 – “Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!” The seniors are facing the future with many decisions to make. “Where will I go from here? Because of all God has done for me, I owe Him my life. Lord, what would you have me to do?” We are so privileged to be here now at this time with these students. Our prayer is that as they grow, we grow, as we learn, they learn. We pray that we can make an impact not only for their lives today but for eternity.
