An Old Friend

Andre and me having some coffee, catching up. Spoke the whole time in Russian which felt good. Im rusty, but still got it! :)

I was recently surprised by an old friend we knew form our time in Russia, Andre Derkach. Andre and I have known each other for almost 18 years, but have not seen each other since we left Russia. He showed up in Salem as he was traveling on a trip. It was so great to catch up and hear what God is doing in his part of the world. I remember praying over Andre and his team as they were going to plant a YWAM work in Armenia. the ministry there exists today, but Andre and his family were blacklisted so know he is back in Rostov-on-Dony in Russia.  One of the interesting things that came from our conversation is he invited me to come and speak on evangelism at the YWAM Western European conference this coming April, which will be in Minsk, Belarus. He then asked me if after that I would come down to the south of Russia to teach in one of his DTS's. So, all that being said, I ask your prayers for wisdom if I should do this. This is how YWAM works, very relationally. So though Andre invited me, that does not mean I have been invited as he has a team of people that he works with that plan things, etc..Sarah and I are contemplating maybe trying to make a "return to where you came from" trip for our 3 oldest, and maybe try and take them with us (Anders, Aidan, and Abigail) and travel back to St.Petersburg during our time in Russia to visit old friends, show the kids where "it all started". Prayers for wisdom appreciated. Ill keep you posted. the cost alone to do a trip like this would be huge, so we have to weigh out a lot of things. At the same time, what an amazing opportunity possibly to do ministry back in that area, and see old friends, and have the kids see where much of their younger life started! 

God moves mountains to reach the individual

Fall has started which means we are back on the college campuses. 

Our Fall Face to Face internship has recently started. One of our interns is a guy named Alex. Alex grew up in a radical Muslim family in Oman. He was sent to school in Pakistan as his father wanted him to become a radical as well. Long story short, Alex ended up at one point coming to the states and a man handed him a gospel tract at a pivotal point in his faith journey, and Alex came to know Christ. I met him one day when I was doing evangelism, we went out for coffee, shared about our Face to Face internship, and he "reluctantly" decided to do it. I say reluctant because he his very nervous to share his faith with people given his background, but especially to Muslims. Yesterday was his second time out with us and we were on a college campus. First lady who approached us was from Saudi Arabia, Muslim, and was searching for answers! It was as if God literally sent her to Alex. They spoke for over an hour. It was his first time sharing the gospel with a Muslim other than some of his close family members. As we debriefed our time, he was overcome with joy at what just happened, and he was so encouraged to continue the conversation with this lady. God still moves mountains to reach the individual. That is the lesson Alex took away from yesterday with us.

Dead Dudes at the Diner

Every Thursday we have a thing called, "Dead Dudes at the Diner". It is a book study I lead with our staff and we take books written by dead dudes and we study them. For the past 5 weeks we have been in my favorite book of all time Pilgrims Progress. Please lift up our times in prayer as it is kind of that point in the week where we get to just take a breath and receive. So much of our ministry is pouring into the lives of others, so this hour and a half is such a rich time to be refreshed!

Face to Face Graduation...and the Beginning of a New One

Our first ever Face to Face Graduates! 

We are so blessed to have graduated 4 out of the 5 Face to Face interns this September. The 5th intern needs a bit more time to complete his internship. We hosted a graduation night where our interns shared about their past 3 months doing our Face to Face evangelism internship and it was SO ENCOURAGING! All of them shared very personal things the Lord had done in their lives during their time with us and we are so excited to see Face to Face grow. All four of the above people you see are continuing to work with us in some form or another! That is a good return rate I think! We recently began our Fall Face to Face internship, and we have 7 interns. Pray for us! I truly think the Lord has his hands on this unique internship. We already have possibly 15 interns for January! God is moving.

Fall DTS Has Arrived...which means more evangelism

First day with DTS students we do some introductory training on what the nest 3 months with us will hold

Our Fall DTS students arrived the end of September which means we have 30 new young people who we will be doing evangelism with every Monday afternoon downtown and on some college campuses. These particular students three months from now will be heading to Thailand, Egypt, and Israel for there two month outreach. What a privilege to be able to help equip them in evangelism!

This past months Temple Talk was at the Unitarian Universalist Church. Please pray for Rick, that he would come to know Christ. We have been doing talks with him for over 5 years. 

Pulpit to Pavement

Our latest Pulpit to Pavement outreach was the largest we have had! We have 32 pastors join us for the event and it was a fantastic time to do outreach with pastors, build new relationships, share about the ministry of Gospel Focus, and simply do the Great Commission with our city pastors! What momentum is building for this unique day that we host 3 or 4 times a year!

Our office was packed with Pastors for Pulpit to Pavement! What a fun day!

Anders the Pilot

In September, Anders hit a milestone and received his private pilots license.  We are very proud of him as he has worked so hard to get it. At 17, our son is flying airplanes! Funny thing is is I feel safer with him flying me in the air than driving me around town in a car! The above picture is of him and I after he took me up in the air. I was his first official passenger. He has not yet been able to convince Sarah to go up with him yet :)!  The Lord is a great provider. First, he has provided amazing organizations like Experimental Aviation Association to help kids like Anders pursue their interest in flying. Second, he has provided amazing mentors for Anders in this field in so many ways. Lastly, He has provided all the financial needs Anders needed to receive his license through scholarships that Anders earned for his hard work. What a faithful God we have. Its humbling when your 17 year old is more accomplished than you'l ever be! :)  Praise God!