From:
Sent: Thursday, February 24, 2005 9:30 PM
To:
Subject: Prayer Update 2/24/05 Home snowy home
Thursday,
February 24th, 2005
Dear Family
and Friends,
It is
really hard to believe that almost an entire month has gone by since my return
to the States on January 26th. The days have been fruitful and full of
opportunities to reach out to others. It is amazing how spending some time in
ministry overseas changes your perspective. I do pray that the Lord will allow
me to keep a ministry focus in my "
As I was
preparing for my return to the States, I had arranged to spend a couple weeks
at the Character Training Institute in
I also
wanted to take the opportunity to give back a little to the ministry that the
Lord has used so much in my life over the past several years. I had the opportunity
to work with Jonathan in the computer department all the time that I could over
the two weeks that I spent in
God's
amazing timing was again seen in an unexpected message from
We worked
together for the next several hours to get the data transferred to another
computer and backed up in case something catastrophic happened to the ailing
computer. This proved very timely as the hard drive failed completely on the
following day!
It was so
neat to see the timing in all of this! Because of the early warning signs we
were able to get things moved and transferred with zero data loss! That is an
unusual blessing with a hard drive failure. :-) My recent
experiences with the hard drive on Tim's laptop also prepared me to more
efficiently assist Jedidiah in handling the situation.
While in
Spending
some time catching up with a number of people in
I had the
opportunity to share a report on what the Lord has been doing over in
Flying back
from a training conference in
We enjoyed
beautiful weather as we spent time together hiking through the woods,
fishing in the stream, jumping across rocks, and roasting marshmallows over a
campfire. A park area in town was the perfect setting for those
long-anticipated family volleyball and soccer games, and the small lake gave
the younger ones a chance to actually catch some fish.
Homemade tacos accented by a few bites of fresh bluegill was a treat
for everyone, but it was just nice to be together. The last couple miles of our
hike, and finishing the dishes in the kitchen afforded some great opportunities
to talk with each other.
Returning
to
The Lord
again gave grace as I finished my outline on Sunday morning and preached on the
love of God that always gives what is best for His children. That
afternoon I shared a
It has been
really special to see how my younger siblings are growing and maturing. Even
Samuel was showing a new sensitivity as he tried to get my bed ready for me and
turned off the light so it wouldn't shine in my eyes as we got ready for the
evening.
All of my
younger siblings have been really excited to have me home, much more than I had
anticipated. They have been asking about building a snow fort, and
This
morning as I was finishing some Bible reading, several of the younger ones came
in to my room to talk with me. "Adam," Matthew spoke up, (he will be
turning 7 next month) "where do you think is the best place to be?"
"Well,..." I said, and gave a subconscious
answer as I read through the next few verses. "Do you want to know where I
think is the best place to be?" he continued, "In Heaven."
"But it would be good to go to
On Tuesday
I shared another presentation with several families from the area. God really
answered prayer and made that the best one so far. Even the projector failing
half-way through gave a good chance for an intermission. I had some very good
discussions with different ones on how teaching character lays the foundation
for sharing the gospel.
Coming up
to me afterwards, one little boy said "I know a verse that sounds like
what you said in your prayer." He went on to quote John 3:16. I had to
smile as thanked him for sharing that. It wasn't very many years ago that I was
the 8 year old boy, talking with the visiting missionary.
Getting
things organized here at the farm, catching up with family and friends, helping
out with projects on the farm, building snow forts and playing cars with
younger siblings and working on several computer projects for
I am so
excited to see the divine appointments, opportunities to share with others, and
so many things that God is opening up here! I know that this is exactly where
the Lord has me right now, and it is exciting to see His blessing in answer to
the prayers of His people.
Also, I
should mention that right now the tentative plan is that I will spend a couple
months at the farm with the family, then head back to
Praise
Points:
- Praise
the Lord for the very productive and fruitful time in
- I am
grateful for the continuing opportunities to invest in the lives of those
around me. It is really exciting to see what God is doing here in
Prayer Requests:
- Pray that
the Lord would continue to give me His wisdom as I seek to
maintain balance in investing my time and energies between the family,
farm projects, personal projects, and continued work for the ministry abroad.
- Our
family is traveling to
- Next week
I am planning to do some research and look at purchasing a number of hardware
and software items for the CTI-Mongolia office. Pray that the Lord would give
wisdom in making the best use of our resources as we prepare for the expanding
needs in computer equipment.
Pictures:
Together at last. The whole family posed outside the
The cabin
in southern
Isaac
bought a fishing license and some bait so he could help the younger ones at the
lake. They enjoyed catching about 10 small fish which Isaac carefully prepared
for dinner that evening.
Instant
Messaging and phone calls are great, but the real thing is even better.
All the
children pause for a picture before jumping across rocks up and down
the creek.
Building
snow forts in the back yard with your younger siblings can be just as important
of a ministry as mission work in
Thank
you for your continued prayers! Location changes, but opportunities for
ministry and outreach are just as real.
In Christ,
- Adam
"And
let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if
we faint not." - Galatians 6:9