Joy in Serving Jesus!

Dear praying friends,

There is joy in serving Jesus! We are so thankful that our little church could have a sending service this past Sunday for our first ever missionary who has grown up in this church and has now been called by God to go and reach the lost! This young man has joined Word of Life and is going to Argentina for Bible college training starting this fall. The sending service was well attended, and it was deeply moving to see both his parents present, encouraging him and supporting him. We all committed ourselves to « hold the rope » for this young man.

The next day, Monday, we had a joyful day of studying the Bible : 4 different Bible studies with young believers — what joy! These are all people for whom we have asked you to pray, so thank you for your part in ministering to these people. I, Sonya, would like to tell you about one of these Bible reading times…

Last week I was made aware of a certain problem concerning 4 ladies in the church.  There had been, unbeknownst to me, great hurt caused by words and actions over time and it has now become necessary to deal with it. I was devastated to find this out when one of these ladies finally had the courage to tell me.

« We don’t need this now, Lord! What am I supposed to do?! »

I, of course, thought right away of Euodia and Syntyche in Philippians 4, those ladies whom we often lovingly call « You-Odious! » and « You- Stinky! ». But my friends here are not odious or stinky, they all love the Lord Jesus and want to do what’s right, so how do I walk with them through this problem to bring reconciliation? I was already scheduled to have a Bible study with one of the ladies who was deeply hurting. God’s divine power has given us EVERYTHING we need for life and godliness, so I prayed that God would show me what passage of scripture to read with her. It is amazing how you can ask God to give you a solution/idea/insight and He DOES! So, Matthew 18 came to my mind. I decided to read the whole chapter and wow! what a beautiful way for God to lead through a very sticky situation! Reading His Word made it so easy to understand the issues, to choose the loving attitude and to know the proper steps to take in order to work toward reconciliation.

After an hour of reading through Matthew 18 and seeing the implications for our situation, my friend was able to see that when we are hurt, God asks US, the hurt one, to reach out to the one who wronged us and lovingly make them aware of what they have done so that they can be forgiven. This is not the way of the world who counsels us to cut off that person from our lives. THIS is truly an example of overcoming evil with good: I received evil, I do good.  My friend has accepted to take the first step of doing

good the way Jesus describes in Matthew 18 : 15-17. I have reassured her that if we are careful to do things God’s way, it will always be the right way and we will always be blessed because that is how God does His work in us and in the world around us. I don’t know exactly how this will turn out, but I love putting God’s Word literally to the test. I have never been disappointed; He is always right. I love to see how my friends are growing as they put God’s Word into practice.

So, thank you for praying for tender hearts! We are so thankful for your support and your love, but more than anything, we thank God for your example of faith in Jesus and in His Word which is our solid foundation. God bless you!

And God bless my dear husband, Kent, who is celebrating his 62nd birthday today. Happy birthday Kent!

Lovingly,

Sonya