This Little Light of Mine - October 2012 Newsletter

 

“In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in Heaven.”

Matthew 5:16

Cookie Monster and Oscar the Grouch

 

This Little Light of Mine

 

If you haven’t discovered yet about Master Plan Ministries, we really – I mean REALLY – want people to know Jesus! Though we hit some snags in reaching the campus with the Good News of Jesus Christ this semester, God has had no problems reaching people!!

One day the guys couldn’t find any place on campus to have their bible study, so they went inside a room next to the public ping-pong and pool table. The room has tons of open windows for everyone to look in. The next day, a guy named Elvin approached Malcolm as he was heading into an appointment with another student. “What were you guys doing in that room yesterday?” he asked. “We were having a bible study,” Malcolm replied. The guy proceeded to ask if Malcolm would have time to talk to him. As he couldn’t at that moment, he told him he couldn’t but would like to talk a little later. After Malcolm’s other meeting, he found Elvin in the same place, almost waiting for Malcolm to get done.

Elvin had a lot of hurt from a church from his hometown, and so many other things that weighed heavy on his heart and mind. Malcolm got the chance to not only listen to this guy, but also share the Gospel with him! Though we haven’t seen much of Elvin, we are still hoping for another chance to follow up with him. Please pray for Elvin!

The other great opportunity we had was at our latest retreat. We tried super hard to invite new people to come, and God provided the new people! We had around 6 new people, at least half of which are not Christians!! I (Leah) had an opportunity to share the Gospel with “N”, who was at the retreat solely to find out more about Christianity.

 I asked her questions about what she liked and didn’t like about Christianity. One of the things she liked (which she found quite a few things appealing) was forgiveness, and how you can always be forgiven. The one thing she said she didn’t like was “the whole accepting Christ in your life thing”. I asked, “Oh, like how exclusive it is?” “No,” she replied. “It just doesn’t make sense to me, because I’ve never had an experience like what others have talked about.” Though I did share the Gospel, “N” was very overwhelmed with all the information she was receiving. We are hoping to get together before Thanksgiving break to talk more. Please pray for “N” to know Jesus personally, and that her and I can at least meet up and talk more.

The last neat thing that happened at the retreat was I found out that one of the new students (who has been meeting with another staff member) was a camper in her cabin at Camp Id-Ra-Ha-Je West in 2005!! They had had a tender moment in the cabin, which is one of the few moments I can remember from 8 years ago.

In all these stories, we can see how God is orchestrating a grand story. He has been so faithful  in our lives, and in the lives of those around us. He is drawing people to Himself, and He has chosen to use us as we allow ourselves to be available to share His Good News!!

Brandon and Anne giving a talk on discipline and commitment at our last retreat. They got engaged 2 weeks later!! Pray for them as they make plans and finish out their last semester of college.

 

Prayer Requests

 

-       Keep praying for the situation with the administration. A letter has been sent, and the administration said they will look over the policy! Praise God!!

-       Pray for God’s wisdom and good ideas on how to continue to reach the freshmen! We can tell there has been another shift in the students, and we need to just think about our game plan to reach them.

-       Denver Christmas Conference (DCC) is a 5-day conference with Cru, which is such a neat time for our students and us. The students not only get challenged to share their faith and to live boldly back on their campuses, but also to spend their summers for God. Pray that many of our students will commit to go, and that they will learn a lot from their time there.

-       This semester is very quickly coming to a close – and we can hardly believe how fast it has flown by!! Keep praying for perseverance and energy to finish strong on campus!!

-       Continue to let us know how we can be praying for you as well!! We thank and praise God for you and all your prayers and financial contributions to keep us in full time ministry at Fort Lewis!!

Celebrating Shawnee's (far right) at retreat

Witnesses to Changed Lives - September 2012 Newsletter

“Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

Romans 12:2

Witnesses to Lives Changed

 

One reason people love fall is for the change that happens – the air, the smells, and especially the colors on the trees. But one change that we have been privileged to witness is the change in the students. And just like the oncoming of a new season, these students have been transforming right before our eyes.

I (Leah) met with two girls on two separate occasions at the beginning of the semester for one specific reason – to find out where they were with God. One professed to me, “I would really like to look into different religions this year.” The other said, “I really don’t want to follow God cause it’s been so boring for me.” Now, a little over a month into the year, the first told me recently, “I learned at the retreat how God shouldn’t be just someone I go to just when I need Him, but someone I need to follow every day.” While the other girl asked me later that same day, “How do I seek after God? What should I do?” (These were all paraphrases from our conversations we had.) As you can see, a complete 180º!!

Malcolm has seen two lives change before his eyes this last month. One was an encounter with a new student named Ray, with whom Malcolm got to share the Gospel and bring this young man to a point of decision. His reply to this invitation was, “This is something I’m definitely interested in, but I don’t want to quite yet.” Malcolm has tried to meet up with him again, but hasn’t had the chance to. Please pray for Ray, and that Malcolm will get another chance to meet up with him to see where he is at with God.

The other transformed life is our good friend, Chris. Chris is now a junior at Fort Lewis. When we met him his freshmen year, he was so quiet and shy he barely spoke to people. This year he is leading a bible study on campus, sharing his faith and taking other steps in becoming a leader. He certainly has a heart of gold, and it’s a pleasure to watch God change him over the last few years!!

 We praise God for all that He has done!!! We thank Him for calling us and using us to be His tools to live out the Great Commission here at Fort Lewis College. And we thank Him for providing us YOU – our faithful team and partners in the Gospel – so we can be here to work alongside His amazing work!!

 

Prayer Requests

 

-       Please pray for the administration at FLC: A new solicitation policy has limited (but NOT eliminated) our ability to share the Gospel on campus. Though we are still able to meet people and get into conversations, it has made it difficult to do so. Please pray that this can change, but in the mean time still be able to share boldly with the whole campus! And pray that we can keep making and maintaining good relationships with those in the administrative positions.

-       Pray for the new students: Many new students, who came to events at the beginning of the year, have already dropped off from Christian fellowship. Pray that not only for them, but also for those who are involved to make the right friendships that will encourage them towards Christ.

-       Pray for our leaders: Our leaders have busy schedules, but are devoting themselves to serving despite their workloads and long hours on campus. Pray that they have time to not only be diligent in their schoolwork, but also to be able to rest and invest in others on campus.

-       Pray for us: Malcolm and I have loved being on campus, but we also haven’t had many nights or weekends free. Pray that we get time to rest here and there. And, overall, have Christ’s strength in our weakness, and His wisdom in the work He has called us to.

A New Season - August 2012 Newsletter

 

“May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.”

2 Thessalonians 2:16-17

 

A New Season

 

Thank you to all who prayed for our trip. We had a WONDERFUL time!! We traveled through 5 different states, visited 6 different national parks, and enjoyed the last 13 days of summer vacation.

Many of you may have had to go buy pencils, notebooks, rulers, and all the other supplies to get ready for school. Some of you may have had to pack up childhood rooms in cars and see your kids off to college. While others of you may be simply enjoying these last days of summer, and looking forward to changes that fall brings. For us, we have prepared our hearts, minds, and schedules for our favorite time of the year – the beginning of the academic school year!!

We returned from our vacation to sprint into ministry. What a blast we have had! Getting to hear stories from the summer, meeting new students from all over the place, and being able to share the Gospel with people – we are thoroughly enjoying being back in the swing of things!!

We’re only a week in, and so far we have had over 15 people indicate decisions to follow Christ!! PRAISE GOD!!! Many of those were indicated on cards after our first Connect meeting. One guy met with a staff member before classes even began to talk about Jesus, and made a decision at the end of their meeting! God is doing amazing things before our eyes, and it has only been one week.

Another great story was at our first Thursday dinner of the year. We had a great open discussion, with a handful of students being fully honest that they were there investigating Christianity. After the big discussion, one student said he didn’t know the Gospel to one of our student leaders. The leader shared the Gospel, and though the student was very interested he didn’t make a decision yet as far as we know to follow Christ. Please pray for him to make a decision soon!!

First Thursday Dinner!!

Prayer Requests

 

We are so excited to see all that God is doing! For this reason, we really wanted to share this with all of you. These praises have come with their fair share of pressure. As we have faced some obstacles in meeting students. And as a couple, small things have come up this week to distract us from ministry and getting time together. But thanks be to God as He continues to give us the strength to persevere!

-       Pray for opposition to cease so we can continue to meet students to share the Good News with Fort Lewis College.

-       Pray for our student leaders to have the time and heart to serve this year.

-       Pray that we can be faithful to follow up with the students who we have met so far this year. We both have packed our schedules with appointments with new students to learn about and share Jesus with!!

-       Pray that both Malcolm and I can stay refreshed and energized to keep going. We will be leaving for another wedding (this one in Idaho) for another good friend of ours this month. Pray for safety for our trip, and for us to return ready to keep running the race in Durango!!

-       Thank you for your prayers, and for sharing your prayers and praises with us!

Swimming in the pond at the Ranch fun day

Paintball fight!!