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Hello Friends!
We are so sorry this update has been
such a long time coming! Our website software was acting
up, but Derek came to the rescue, and we’re up and running
again.
Our most exciting
news by far to report is that we are going to have a baby!
Beth is pregnant, about 10 weeks along now, and due on
November the 13th. We will keep you posted :)
Beth
I hope you are enjoying spring’s
arrival as much as we are! It is beautiful to see trees and
flowers beginning to bud and bloom. Surprisingly enough, we
actually had snow here this April! It was beautiful. The
day before Easter we had big, fat snowflakes falling! They
didn’t stick, but it was great fun to see. We would love to
have visitors. So please let us know if you would like to
come see us in Tyler.
The children continue to be such a joy
in my life. I am so thankful that they daily keep me
grounded and laughing. It is a true privilege to be able to
impart the Truth of God’s Word into such open vessels. I am
humbled to hear some of the students repeating my words and
praying with sincere love to their Father God. One mother
of a student truly encouraged me by sharing how her son
speaks of all he is learning at home. He was explaining to
her why we need to pray for the people in China because they
don’t have freedom to worship God like we do! It is awesome
to know that they truly are absorbing the Truth of God’s
tremendous love for each of them personally and for people
all over the world. I am confident that these ten children
will be world changers for Christ! They are enjoying
reading and learning more about our nation's Christian
heritage.
On a side note, thank you for praying!
The little boy in my class who has been in process with his
adoption, is one step closer! His birth father signed the
relinquishment paper, releasing his custody. So, now the
family has a court date set for May 14th in
Houston to finalize the adoption. This is such an answer to
prayer! It is great to see God’s redemption and restoration
in this young boy's life…from the streets of Houston into a
wonderful, loving Christian family (who are also
missionaries with YWAM Tyler) with his brother.
Valentine’s Day was a wonderful
celebration as we learned about the history of the holiday
which is based on the kind Christian martyr, Saint
Valentine. He was a Christian doctor in Rome who prayed for
his patients and poured out God’s love in abundance.
In February, we had an amazing
teachers’ conference here at Dayspring (our YWAM Tyler
campus). Miss Katherine Dang shared about America’s
Christian history going into detail with the American
Revolution and the life of George Washington. It was
wonderful to hear how God miraculously saved George
Washington’s life several times in battle, preserving him to
lead our nation.
Currently, in my Teachers For the
Nations class, we have been studying Christianity’s form of
government: self-government, learning how as Christians, we
are internally governed by the Holy Spirit. God presents
truth to our mind, and we choose to obey or disobey, making
our conscience (a function of reason) our most sacred
possession. We have also been reflecting on America’s
history of Christian character, focusing mostly on the
pilgrims who settled in 1620 at Plymouth Plantation.
Reading the governor, William Bradford’s History of
Plymouth Plantation was so inspiring as I learned how
they persevered and endured with their hope in God. Not one
of these 102 pilgrims turned back in spite of such difficult
conditions. They valued their freedom to worship God and
liberty of conscience far more than the comforts they had in
England. It is awesome to know that is the heritage of our
nation and to see God’s heart for all nations to have the
same internal liberty from sin and external liberty to
worship Him in spirit and truth. To me, this is the heart
of discipling nations: teaching the Biblical principles of
who God is, who man is (made in God’s image), and civil
government (based upon Romans 13).
Knowing that God works in the life of
each individual personally, valuing all equally, I am
freshly encouraged to pour His life and Truth into the lives
of each of my ten students. In March, our school served the
Tyler area with a community outreach week. What a joy it
was to see our students cleaning churches, delivering meals
on wheels, visiting with people in nursing homes, and
blessing small children at day cares. I must say I was so
proud of my Reading Class students as they served with such
willing hearts! I know our Father is proud of them too, and
I am so thankful for their desire to bless others in their
own community.
March 12-16 was our Spring Break. I
was blessed to join ladies from our church to head down to
San Antonio, Texas for the national Women of Faith
conference. It was my first one to attend, and I was so
encouraged! There was lots of worship, testimonies, and
laughter. It was great to get to know ladies from my church
better (staying at a beautiful hotel near the River Walk)
and to just be refreshed by the presence of the Lord with
about 15,000 other ladies!
We celebrated the “shot heard ‘round
the world” today (the beginning of our American Christian
Revolution). It’s been great learning more about America’s
Christian history.
Jason
School of the Bible has been trucking
along and the time has passed quickly. The busier we get
the faster it goes. In February we spent two weeks teaching
on the Christian Life. This is one of the most important
times during the year because we look at how God transforms
our lives through the truth of His Word and Holy Spirit. It
is such an encouragement to know that we can overcome by
God’s grace and that we don’t have to stay stuck in a rut,
but instead God has abundant life for those who will seek
Him.
We also spent a week looking at the
subject of Revival. What is it? Is it a week-long tent
meeting or a broad transformation of a culture? We looked
at case studies of transformation in a society. When I say
transformation, I mean bars and clubs were closing down,
jails were closing because the crime became almost
non-existent, and the churches were filling with people
repenting and giving their lives to God. The one thing that
was consistent in all cases was that the people were
desperately praying for God to move.
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for
theirs is the kingdom of Heaven.” Matthew 5:3
Another thing that happened in many of
the cases was that churches came together in unity and
worked and prayed together. These are the keys to seeing
true revival.
We sent out two teams of students at
the beginning of March for a week of teaching and ministry.
The students are able to teach what they have been learning
and get practical experience. It is also a great blessing
for those who are able to receive the ministry of the Word.
One team went to Houston and taught at the Salvation Army
drug and alcohol rehabilitation center, Open Door Mission,
and ministered to people that lived on the streets. The
other team went to Monterrey, Mexico and taught a seminar at
a church there. We have a great relationship with the
church and pastor and they ask us back every year for more.
Beth and I have been able to get more
involved with our church here, Crossroads Community Church.
Our pastor, Jerry Payne, asked me to teach with him in a
conference that he was giving on the subject of Covenant. I
learned a lot about it because this was a topic that I was
not very familiar with. I realized that covenant was much
more important than I had known, especially since the Old
and New Testaments are the Old and New Covenants.
The last few weeks in School of the
Bible we have been teaching on the Harmony of the Gospels
and the Book of Acts. We also spent two weeks discussing
the Atonement and everything that Jesus accomplished through
it.
Please pray for our students as they
prepare to go on outreach again in June. One team will go
to Thailand and work with a former School of the Bible
student who has many places for the team to go and preach
and teach the truth that they have learned. The other team
will go to Brazil. We have already started another SOTB in
Brazil and the team will connect with them, teaching in the
school and traveling to different places to share the
gospel. We are excited to send them out and are praying
with them for God to provide the finances that they need.
Until next time,
Jason and Beth
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