Inner Beauty

Oh my, so much as happened in the past two weeks and I am sorry I have not been able to write earlier. God continues to be sovereign and give me mercy even when I don't seem to deserve it. Thank goodness God is the God of giving mercy and wiping away our sins. God reigns forever and we can shout for JOY that one day we will spend eternity praising him.

It has been a busy couple of weeks so I will try to recap on how the Lord is working here. A week ago Friday but an insane crazy day but one filled with exciting new paths for AIS. On Fridays, we have started a discipling program for the middle and high school students. We had our kick-off and figured out how many students were interested. Just yesterday Friday we had our first official meetins with our groups. I am meeting with 5 9th grade students while my kids are in Music. They do love to talk but I am excited to dive into the word with them and just help them better understand how they can have a personal relationship with Christ. The majority of the school is participating and we are all excited about how the Lord will work in these students' lives. Kim and I are focusing on the concept of Inner Beauty. As girls, we can spend so much time on primping our outer beauty but hardly any time focusing on the inner beauty which happens by spending time with God and radiating his JOY! I have already been learning from these girls. Please pray as the Lord works in all these students' lives and they understand that once they are saved, they are always saved.

Going back to two weeks ago, after the kick-off for discipling, my kids threw a Valentine's Program for the parents in which they read notes they wrote to their parents along with quoting verses and a music drama. They were sensational as always! These children love their parents so much and I loved them dearly as well.

Then after school, we took a group of middle school students mini-golfing to just spend time with them and get them outside the classroom. Of course, we had random activities for them to do and most of them humored us, which always makes it more fun. Do you know how hard it is to put sitting on the ground while hitting uphill?

After that, the fun continued with a high school sleepover with just the girls. There was much squealing and random dance parties but it was fun to watch their personalities come out in a deifferent venue.

For the past two weeks, a friend and I have been going to sit with the onion boys from Niger as they sell their onions. They sit under a large tree with many layers of roots which makes an ideal sitting place. We have been trying to teach them how to read which is a slow process but our time there is much bigger than that. We are building relationships and ultimately want to share Christ with them although we hardly speak each other's languages. Please pray that we will find practical ways to share Christ with them. They are hilarious and have great spirits even though they spend their days selling onions. God loves the least!

Last Saturday was my grandfather's memorial service. This was quite difficult to listen to as the time read 11 p.m. and I sat alone in my bedroom. It was hard not being there with my family and reminiscing with them but God is good. There are problems bigger than me, but God has them under control and gets us through each moment. Yes, I miss my grandfather but His memories will live on inside of me.

I think tha covers the span of two weeks. I am learning to keep taking a step of faith each and everyday and the Lord will light the rest of the path. May God bless you all each and every day.