JANUARY 2012 

“If the Lord had not been on our side . . . the flood would have engulfed us, the torrent would have swept over us, the raging waters would have swept us away.  Praise be to the Lord . . . Our help is in the name of the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.”               (Psalm 124: 1, 4-6,

“Help me Daddy! Help me Daddy!” screamed M’s little boy as he went under the water for the second time. M thought he was losing his whole family. Their canoe had rammed into something—maybe a rock—but, with the water’s strong current pushing them from behind, the canoe had actually stood up on one end. They lost everything. Thankfully, M’s older son rescued the younger one—his wife grabbed their little girl. As his wife and children struggled to keep their heads above water, M wrestled with the canoe. He tried to turn it upright; however, the rushing water had quickly begun to fill it up. With strength that was not his own, M flipped the canoe—which dumped the water out and allowed the canoe to return to its normal position. Once back inside the canoe, they grieved their loss . . .  baskets of roasted manioc, bananas and fish—everything they had planned to sell to make money. Yet, they rejoiced in being alive. They arrived in the river town completely exhausted, wet and cold . . . with only the clothes they had on. Our team members helped to provide food, clothing and other items that they had lost. As I talked with M about the accident, he told me, “I accepted Jesus as my Savior two months ago and I know that if it weren’t for God—we would not be here now. God saved me and my family. God gave us another chance to live. Praise God, who gave our lives back to us.”

PLEASE PRAY:

1.    Please pray for my mother. She had to have surgery for some fractured vertebrae and remains in the hospital due to further complications. Pray that God would give wisdom to the doctors and His strength to my mother. Pray that He would be praised in this situation.

2.    Please pray for M and his family. Pray that they would grow in their walk with the Lord and be faithful witnesses of God’s saving power.

3.    Continue to pray for D’s health. Thank the Lord that she is learning God’s Word and is one of our main participants in the Bible Storying Training. Pray also for her daughter who participates in the training sessions with her.

4.    Pray for the Bible Storying Training Classes that will be held February 12-18. Pray for those who will be participating— that they will have a serious commitment to the training. Pray that God would give us participants from all four of the groups with whom we are working. Pray for the preparations of the training and for our team members who will be leading.

5.    Continue to pray for a Training Center that is being constructed to reach young men of six people groups in this region. Pray that God will use us as instruments of His grace in the lives of the young men who live there.

6.    Thank the Lord that the second Half-Way house is finished! We had a work day recently to paint the house and many participated. This house will be used by another group of our friends as a place to stay when they come down the river to get supplies. Pray that God will use both Half-Way houses to open doors for the Gospel.

7.    Please pray for me as I will be traveling in March. I will be going to visit my mother and having several doctors’ check-ups.

Thank you for praying,

Kathy