Friday, December 11, 2015

Jonathan and Kristy's Update

NEXT GENERATION PREPARATION
„But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;” I Corinthians 1:27

We are so grateful for this time of year when we specifically remember our Savior’s miraculous birth! Some Christians do not celebrate Christmas for various reasons, but even so, it is a good reminder to appreciate and remember with wonder the love of God in sending His Son to earth to be our Savior! We are excited to be able to spend a few days with Kristy’s family, who is coming in just two weeks!

Cory continues to grow and learn quite quickly. We appreciate your prayers for our health, and praise the Lord that Cory is doing well.

Ana, who recently got saved, came to church once a few weeks ago. She told us that she is reading pretty well, and reads the Bible at home. So, she hasn’t come to the reading classes, but we are thankful she is reading the Bible! She continues to go to the Pentecostals, and we pray that Ana will be grounded in the truths of the Bible and stay close to the Lord.

Ica (Eeka) has been coming pretty regularly, but we haven’t had reading classes with her, as she doesn’t usually come to our Tuesday services (we have reading class after the Tuesday service). The one time she did, the generator that runs our lights in the church building ran out of gas at the end of the service, so we didn’t have light to do a reading class. Please pray that Ica will come faithfully to the church services and reading classes, and that she will learn to read. Mariana, whom we did reading classes with several months ago, said that she wanted some help reading and writing, but she will let us know when she is ready to start.

A few weeks ago, we had a teen activity playing games at the mall, then coming to our house for snacks and a challenge from the Word. Sara and Rebeca, two young saved girls, came to the activity along with our co-workers, and we had a great time of fun and fellowship. We have been having some teens/pre-teens off and on coming to the church services. One week, 4 boys came who are not known to be good. They were great! They listened and answered review questions at the end of the service. Please keep praying for the young people in Mosnita (Moesh-neetsa)!

We have begun after-school English classes at Casa Rafa (Roffa) again. It has been nice to connect with some of the children from last year’s classes, and meet some new ones. The ones that were in our previous class remembered things surprisingly well! We hope that not only will we be a help for the children’s education, but that the Lord will be glorified through these relationships.

Several weeks ago, a friend of a friend stopped by our house with lots of baby boy clothes for Cory! We were very grateful for them, but couldn’t use them all, as there were quite a few. We took what was left to a few Gypsy families in the village who just had babies. It was nice to visit with them, as well as meet some new people who had recently moved to the neighborhood. Please pray that we will have opportunities to share the Gospel with those around us, and that they will be open to the Lord’s working!

Our Thanksgiving was an enjoyable time of food, fun, fellowship, and giving of thanks. We spent the day with my parents and Larisa, our co-workers, and another American missionary friend of ours. We have so much to be grateful for, and must remember daily to give the Lord thanks for the blessings He gives to us!

We thank you for your continued faithful prayers for us and the Gypsies! Thank you for your part in this work!

In His service,
Jonathan, Kristy, and Cory