Our Thursday Youth nights are continuing to go well! Two of the boys that come to the Saturday teen boys’ Bible study are still not saved. They are eager to learn about who God is and what God’s purpose is for mankind: to bring God glory. Kelli is doing Bible studies with 2 of the teen girls and they are learning how to study the Bible and how to give God control over their emotions. Many of the children are struggling in school and are falling way behind. Kelli has been tutoring them twice a week for over 2 months which has given us a great opportunity to minister to the entire family.
One of the men in the church that I have been counseling, I’ll call him Bob for purposes of this letter, went through a tough time at work with an injury and then his wife left. After a couple weeks of counseling him, his wife has returned and has even begun to attend church with Bob. Two of their adult sons and I went for coffee two weeks ago. At that time, the youngest son told me that his dad has been a Christian since he was a child but over the last few months, he has seen his dad change like never before, even reading his Bible every day. It was such an amazing thing to hear of God working even behind closed doors.
Since starting the Youth night, God has allowed us to get closer to many of the parents and has begun to open the doors for us to minister to the entire families. This week, the parents in one of the families has requested that we take them through biblical counseling. This will start with confirming salvation and their identity in Christ, then work them through dealing with several hard situations using Scripture as the guide.
Another man I have been counseling, I’ll call him Henry, is an older gentleman. His wife of 27 years is angry with God because of the loss of her adult child. She is friendly enough but refuses to attend church but has sat within an ear shot of a couple Bible studies I did with her husband. The last time she came over and listened and even got involved a little. We had them over for dinner this week and my wife encouraged her to come to church. Please pray for her to become more open and to find the peace of God through salvation.
Although six days a week are full of Bible studies, counseling, fixing the toilet of a church widow or taking a man to get parts to fix his car, our family has set aside Tuesdays as a family day. It is a day to be together with no outside ministries, just ministering to each other as a family. This has been a great blessing and the kids are excited each week for our family day. Sometimes its grocery shopping together followed by a puzzle at home. It’s not always filled with big things just a day the kids know is theirs!
| Prayer Requests: – Wisdom and discernment in ministry. – Spiritual growth for us and those to which we are ministering. – Kelli’s ankle | Praises: – People learning about their God. – Safety each day. – Many opportunities to share God’s Word. – Unity with our ministry partners. |
