“The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.” Matt 13:44
Last month we told you briefly about a coming training for some pastors in our community. In the recent months we have seen an increase in attempts of suicide in our area, our own clinic treating several cases within a months time. Matt spoke with the pastors in the Terebinth School who are from our village of Adak, and they decided to gather pastors and leaders from every church in Adak for a special training. Nearly 50 leaders met for 3 days to learn about Biblical counseling, and how to minister to the people in their church who are dealing with depression, suicidal thoughts, or even just having a hard time. Matt was also able to speak for a few minutes on the value of life, and how we should not dismiss or look down on people dealing with these issues because Christ placed a high value on them by offering His own life for them. In all it was a good training. Please continue praying for God to work in our village and community, in the churches and especially in the lives and families of these pastors and leaders.
In November the pastors in the Terebinth School of discipleship went through the Gospel of Matthew. Matthew is a beautiful book portraying Jesus as God’s Only Chosen King in fulfillment of the Davidic Covenant, and it was a joy to walk the pastors through it. It was an especially fruitful time since Matt and I have been doing our memorization in Matthew.
We have also been blessed to receive a visitor. Matt’s mom, Tammy, was able to come and spend 3 weeks with us here. It has been a wonderful time for all of us, but especially for the kids, to be able to see her after just about a year (Matt and I both saw her separately on our short return trips). The girls missed her SO much, and Noah is very happy to have an exciting new person in the house. On top of being refreshed by the company, it has been a blessing to have someone here who can watch the kids sometimes. As I write this, Tammy is with Emma and Maddie at a kids camp put on by our friend working with Child Evangelism Fellowship. They are having a wonderful time, Noah is enjoying his uninterrupted playtime, and we are getting some much needed computer work done (like writing this letter:).
We also wanted to give you a quick update on our friend Luke Buescher, who had been sick in a hospital in Kampala. Since last update he has flown home to the US and is slowly recovering. It still isn’t totally clear what the problem was but we are glad to see him improving. Thank you for your prayers!