“Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.” Proverbs 3:5
February 2024
We continue to hear the sound of laughing elephants each Saturday from our teen boys. They have recently been joined by a sister, Dawn, and friend, Maddie, that have requested to study the Bible with Kelli while the boys study with me. The girls have very limited knowledge of God and are not fully convinced of the infallibility of His Word. Maddie has also recently started attending Youth Night.
Youth Night has been averaging 15 – 20 youths, ages 7 to 16. We are currently taking 4 weeks to review the previous 36 lessons which is very helpful for our newcomers. I am continuing with my Friday Bible study with Adam and have been blessed to add one with Alex. He was raised in a home that talked about God but this past year he has desired to know more after seeing his father spend time in the Word each day. This past month, Dom started a full-time job which has hindered his ability to continue our Friday Bible study. He still attends church on occasion, but the occasions have been getting farther apart. Please pray for him to see his need to continue to seek God daily and be actively part of a local body of believers. I still meet with Henry regularly. While his wife was in the UK, we noticed a rapid loss of weight. Last month we took him to the doctor for some testing. They decided to change his epilepsy medication and his appetite and strength has increased. Prior to Henry’s most recent doctor visit, his wife graciously told us that she was not interested in coming to church with her husband. She would listen in on the conversations that Henry and I would have each week about God and the Bible but had built up some bitterness when her son died years ago. This past Sunday, she joined her husband at church. We praise the Lord for all the opportunities to do life with these wonderful people. They are such an encouragement to our hearts.
Kelli forges ahead with tutoring one of our teens twice a week. He transitioned from public school to homeschool in October and is doing very well. Carrie and her family join us for dinner each Monday to give us more life opportunities with our people and Kelli counsels with Carrie after dinner. Along with addressing biblical truths that help with fearful habits, they have also been studying passages about building trust in God. We sometimes take trust for granted. We treat it like it can be increased by sheer will. When facing the consequences of abuse, we see that trust in God takes time and effort to grow. This past week, Carrie and her husband cut up their 3 credit cards to limit their temptation to spend beyond their income. This has been a step of faith for their family.
Our family continues to learn and grow. The children are doing well in school. Tom has finished his next step in his counseling training and life is wonderfully consistent.
