February 1st was the third year that I celebrated my Freedom Festival! It was a low key celebration, but it was very fitting that the very next day we were teaching Galatians which is all about freedom. Freedom from works, freedom to live by the power of Grace- all because of Jesus.
Things are really going well here. We are enjoying the food. The weather has been very nice. And most of all the Indonesian students are so wonderful! They are learning to hear God speak to them through the bible. We have a sharing time every Wednesday to hear what they are learning and it is amazing to hear what God has been showing them. One of our students Paulus shared how he was shown in the bible how God loves everyone and His grace is for everyone, not just certain tribes. This is a very meaningful realization in this land where there are many tribes and a lot of prejudice.
The four teachers we are discipling are growing as well. This is not an easy time for them as they have lots of studying to do to prepare for teaching books of the bible. Each of them feels overwhelmed, yet strengthened by God. Ben and I find our biggest tasks are 1) Helping them to see the essentials of what to teach 2)How to organize it 3)and Especially to pray with them and encourage them!
Our other teams that are all over the place are doing well! The China teams will be going out soon (they wait for the end of Chinese New Year). The Sudan team has made it into Sudan (from Uganda) and has begun teaching in an Anglican Seminary. The Aremenia team is teaching at the YWAM base (doing a similar thing to what we are doing but it will only be for three weeks). We haven’t heard any news from our India, Afghanistan, or Cambodia teams but we will let you know when we do!
Thanks for your prayers. This blog is a little longer than usual since we can only blog every Saturday, but we hope it helps you stay connected with us way out here in Indonesia!
Teaching Adventures 