Adjusting To Life

It's been 1 month since we arrived in Batam, Indonesia and we finally feel like we've fully adjusted to life here. We by no means feel like we've got things "figured out" but know that God has already prepared a way where there seems to be no way. He has ordered our steps thus far and we know beyond a shadow of a doubt that He'll continue to do so. I think Brooklyn has adapted the quickest. As you can see, he loves the food! He's also pretty quick to make new friends. In fact, he never has a problem belting out the song "Majesty" anytime anyplace! Missy is doing much better also. She came down with some flu-like symptoms a week ago but is now feeling 100% better. Thank you all for your continued prayer for our health as our bodies adjust to this new environment.

Our ministry schedule for January has been set in stone--at least we'd like to think so. We're learning very quickly that if service starts at 7pm that can mean 8pm. We're glad that our December schedule was light because it gave us a chance to establish a good foundation with each church. Our messages were centered around God's love, acceptance, and grace for all. Now in January we'll really be able to move into deeper realms of ministry to these incredible people at the churches.

We believe that each of you is a part of what we're doing here in Batam. The following is our weekly schedule so you'll know what you can pray for each day and join us in reaching this nation: Mondays are worship workshops in which I have the privilege of training worship leaders and bands from 6 different churches. Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays are cell groups in which Missy and I get to go to the people's homes and minister to them on a more personal level. One Friday a month we work with the youth leaders of these 6 churches on ways to minister to teenagers as well as developing ways for them to reach out to the larger teen community on the island. Saturdays are youth services which we're really excited about! Finally, Sunday mornings we get to speak at a different church's main service each week. What an honor!

We really need a lot of wisdom and direction from God regarding the youth leader training we'll be doing once a month. 4 of these churches don't even have youth leaders. We'll be working with the pastors to help choose leaders from their churches to take on the task. We believe the Holy Spirit will guide us in making wise decisions that will grow the youth ministry going forth from these churches. Your prayers are greatly needed in this area!

Thank you so much for your comments. They're like little presents throughout our week that get us excited and remind us that we're not alone out here. We rejoice every day in what God is doing in our family's life and what He's doing on this island. For us this trip has been all about Jesus and He truly has shown himself strong every day.