“And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind,” Romans 12:2

Oct 2023

            Each Saturday, I am greeted by the sound of a herd of laughing elephants. Okay, not actual elephants. Three amazing teen boys, along with some of their siblings enter our home around 11am. The three teens come with me for a Bible study, currently focused on using Scripture to renew the mind. The siblings hang out with Kelli and our children: helping cook lunch and/or playing outside. They use that time to re-instill all the things being taught at church on Sunday and Thursday: God’s love, patience and correction. We love the “walk through everyday life” times because we see each other in real life scenarios and it helps us have a window into struggles and provides more teaching opportunities.
            God has opened the door for me to have two different 1 on 1 Bible studies on Fridays. The first is with one of the teens that comes to the Saturday Bible study, we will call him Adam for this letter. The other is with a young man in his early twenties, we will call him Dom for this letter. When Adam first started coming to the Bible studies, he questioned the existence of God. After much time in the Word and prayer, he now acknowledges God but is resistant to faith in His free gift. Dom put his faith in Christ around a year ago but has many confusing beliefs that were taught to him that we are sorting out with Scripture. He is growing and eager to learn. Dom’s girlfriend had been asking him many questions about God. He and I discussed the answers to these and he then walked her through faith in Christ. She put her faith in Christ alone in August and was baptized on September 16^th. The past two sentences are short but encompass many conversations, times in the Bible and much prayer. These decisions are not small and do completely change lives but take up such a small space on a page.
            I still meet with Henry regularly and he has had more epilepsy episodes. His wife is in the UK for a few months visiting her sister and brother in-law, who are both dealing with cancer. Henry’s dementia is getting worse. This has added a bit of extra care, on our part, but we continue to pray for his wife to see her need for Christ through all these trials. 
            Kelli continues to tutor one of our teens twice a week and many of his grades have increased each term. Due to his improvement with tutoring, his family has chosen to finish this year homeschooling him. This new path starts this coming Monday. Kelli has been counseling a woman, we will call her Carrie for the purposes of this letter. She has walked through a life full of abuse and loss. This has developed a habit of fear that permeates every aspect of her life. Kelli has had the opportunity to use these fearful habits to point her to a destructive heart belief about God and herself. She has been meditating on specific passages from Scripture