Dear Prayer Partners,                                                                                      October 11, 2012

Each and every team that comes to our city is special and we have a such blast with them. But with this team, not only did we have a good time with them, they also broke some new ground for future ministry opportunities. The first was teaching Sunday School teachers from local churches. It went so well that the leaders are already asking for more training and ideas for next year. Many churches have annual summer camps to do outreach, and so these leaders were particularly keen to get more input.

The second was ministering at a newly opened Children’s Handicapped Center. The look of complete joy on everyone’s faces at the center when the team presented some toys as gifts was absolutely priceless. The center leaders were especially ecstatic over a foldable toilet the team had brought. This would make their life a lot easier as many of the older kids cannot go to the bathroom on their own. To show how strong it was, one of the heavier team members actually sat on the toilet. They were all impressed at how it held him with no problems! Thank you to the team for their patience, flexibility and servant’s attitude.

The team also taught VBS to the expat children in our city. This is the 3^rd time that a short-term team has done a VBS and once again, it was a huge success. There were about 35 children ranging in ages from 3 to 15. It was a precious time for everyone. With our kids constantly surrounded by Muslims children, such times of worship and deep spiritual input are incredible precious – even for the parents. One mom was in tears as she saw the kids passionately doing the motions for a song. Another mom told Hd, again in tears, how one of the VBS songs so deeply ministered to her kids when she didn’t know what to do. More about this later.

One more event I need to share about the team. On one of the last nights, we received an urgent message that a local believing mom’s 18-month son had drowned and died just few hours before in their home bathtub. We rushed over with some other expats and also took along two of the short-term team leaders. We believed that God wanted to do something miraculous and so went with much faith. As we entered the small room, the mom and his 12-year old daughter were crying over the little boy’s body. He looked as if he was simply asleep, and so we all started to pray with much faith for him to rise up. We sang songs, prayed prayers and read Scripture, again with much faith that He will raise him from death. But after a few hours had passed, the young boy did not come back to life. And as it became clearer that the boy would not rise, the mom started wailing over her son’s body saying, “Why is God taking him from me? I need him! I can’t let him go. He doesn’t want me to be happy. Is He punishing me?” Crying with the mom, Hd prayed for God to comfort and show her how much He loves her. Soon after, the mom suddenly calmed down and shared that she saw her son holding Jesus’ hand and waving bye to her as he went through heaven’s door. Beyond the door, she saw a beautiful garden and her son was very happy to go there with Jesus. As they entered the door, it closed and she knew that it could not be opened. As she shared this with us, her countenance changed and a peace that passes all understanding came over her! We never pretend to understand God’s Ways, but I never ceased to get amazed at how perfect it is.

Later that night, when one of the ‘m’ family’s kids heard that the young boy did not rise from the dead, they started to ask question after question about what happened and why God didn’t answer everyone’s prayers. The mom didn’t know how to answer the sudden barrage of questions. She was soon at her wit’s end as all this confusion erupted right as they were going to sleep. Then just as suddenly, one of the kids started to sing one of the VBS songs they had learned a few days before, and the mom shared that all her four kids sang the songs with all their hearts and after went to sleep completely at peace. Here are the words to the song and a youtube link.

No Matter How I Feel
My mind is spinning.
I'm all confused.
I'm feeling sad and afraid
and kind of angry too.
How can I be strong when everything is going wrong.
God give me strength and help me to find my way.
I've gotta think, think, think,
Think about the goodness of you,
My God.
Because I know, know, know
No matter how I feel
I gotta trust in you.
I wanna trust in you.

Here is a youtube link to the song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33cq4RR_lUc

God’s Ways are good indeed! Thanks again for your prayers.

Blessings,

Sg & Hd