"Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure." |Philippians 2:12-13|
Thank you to any one of you who read our blog last month and prayed! God has done amazing things in a short amount of time. He has brought a peace, love, and joy to the church that wasn’t previously here. The brothers have gone from yelling at one another to loving and praying for each other. There has been a new boldness to preach the Word and share the Gospel and God is slowly growing His church. It is continually humbling to be a part of what God is doing in this region. There is a lot going on in the Middle East these days and we are more confident than ever that He has called us here to serve Him and His bride. We as a church have been praying about how we may be able to serve our country and our persecuted brothers and sisters through out the region. Please pray that the Lord would guide us by His Spirit and give us wisdom as we pray into the future.
We finished the book of Ephesians this past month and are now working our way through the Lord’s prayer. Ephesians was an incredibly foundational book for us to go through and I am excited to see where The Lord takes us from here. With the Lord’s prayer one brother told me that I would have grey hair before we came near an end of this magnificent prayer. He is absolutely right, but I am thankful for the time we do get for Jesus to teach us how to pray. Our church meetings are a joy each week and the worship is getting louder and louder. I believe we are also learning that church is not just a place we go, but our identity as the people of God in this land. We are doing life together and are praying that through us God may reap the harvest for His glory and fame.
Language is continuing to go well, and our daughter will soon be fluent, but as for my wife and I we need grace and endurance. Please pray that the Lord would continue to grant us the desire to learn this language and that we would have the mind to quickly comprehend. We can have simple conversations with everyone, but to understand the complex language of the Bible and be able to teach it simply, this still feels a long way off. However, we are continuing to learn and are trusting that God is at work.
Lastly please continue to pray with us that the Word of God would spread and that many would come to love and worship Jesus. Please also pray that God would raise up local elders within the body who will lead by example, serve with humility, and faithfully pick up their crosses and follow Jesus. We cannot thank you enough for your faithfulness toward us and your persistence in prayer. May the Lord be forever praised through your sacrifice.