Everybody grows, it’s a gift from God. We grow mentally, spiritually, physically, and emotionally. We are all in a process of change, conforming into the image of Christ. However, just as a child cries as molar teeth push through those baby gums, so do we often find ourselves crying under the graciously crafted burdens of maturing change. My family and I get the honor of being apart of Jesus establishing His church in this foreign land and He is causing growth. Growth is rarely easy, but always rewarding. This last month two more people were saved and baptized into this community of faith. God is bringing unity within His Church, and slowly young men and women are becoming mature men and women of God. Ministry opportunities are increasing and needs are ever present. This and much more growth requires leadership, organization, and sacrifice. We are thankful that God is our Chief Shepherd and forever faithful Leader. Please pray for clarity, unity, and strength to follow Him as He builds His church in this land.
We as a family are joyful and thankful to be here. We have all spent time in the hospital this month and recently joked with the staff that they need to build us our own suite or give us a job and put us on pay role. They laughed and agreed to both, however God is always doing more than we see and even at the hospital He is at work. One of the staff asked me what my job here was and I answered, “I am a Pastor.” Her jaw dropped and she began to thank God. She later told me her and her family are all Christians and they had no idea that there was a church in this city. God is always at work and even in our hard times He can cause great beauty. We are also excited to announce that at my wife’s last doctor’s appointment we found out that we have a baby boy on the way! We are so thankful and praying that the Lord would use his life for the glory of His name.
We as a church are continuing to go through the sermon on the mount from Matthew chapters 5-7. It has been incredibly fruitful and challenging. Our men’s meeting is also growing and has been a fruitful time of discipleship and encouragement. Both Christians and Muslims come to open the Word of God and ask questions and God has always been faithful to answer. We are continuing to work with thousands of refugees and have recently linked arms with several other churches to start a camp run solely by Christians. The ministry opportunities here are overwhelming. The camp will be for 10,000 refugees. We need help and I will share more about this in the future, but please pray for us!
Lastly we are praying about establishing a discipleship program for all the new believers God is adding to our number. We want to fulfill Christ’s command to make disciples of all nations teaching them to observe all God has commanded. Please pray for wisdom, grace, and clarity. Thank you again to all of you who faithfully keep us on the mission field. We could not do any of this without your support. May the Lord bless you immensely.