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June 25, 2006

Hello friends!  Guess what?  We are finished with our School of the Bible classes!  We celebrated our commencement this past Friday evening, June the 23^rd.  After finishing this school, we truly have a sense of accomplishment.  It definitely does prepare us for a lifetime of learning more about the Bible, but it’s so great to have a frame of reference to work from and to be able to speak from the whole picture of the Bible.  (One of our classmates turned in the final verses of his translation of 1 John the night of commencement! :)

We both finished our epistle projects and presented them to the class – Jason speaking on First Timothy and Beth sharing on Colossians.  It was really interesting to see how much of a difference in understanding it makes to research the historical and grammatical context of a book in the Bible.  Instead of jumping straight to personal application, it sheds so much light to learn what the author’s original intention was for the specific audience he was addressing.  Then, we can apply the text to our own lives today.  It was exciting listening to each person’s teaching.  (All of our classmates were assigned an epistle.)  Everyone’s personalities came out in their presentations, and it’s been encouraging to see our teaching skills develop through the year.

Now, we are beginning our outreach stage of the school.  One team from our class is headed for Fortaleza, Brazil on Monday, June the 26^th.  They will be teaching Christian Life (how to walk in victory over sin) at the School of the Bible there in Fortaleza.  Then, half of their team will be ministering with a people group in the Amazon, and the other half will be ministering in Rio de Janero.

Our team will minister here in the states:  Jason, Beth, Carl Michalsen, and Glenie Keesling (who also went with us to Monterrey, Mexico).  

We will be speaking Sunday through Tuesday night at our local church here in Tyler, Crossroads Community Church.  We will be sharing on Christian Life as well – abiding in intimacy with Christ, walking in victory over sin, growing in maturity, the need for intercessory prayer and its significance, and living in our created design.  Afterwards, we will be helping Glenie move into her trailer on the ranch and then sharing at another church here in town on Saturday morning, July 1^st.  In the afternoon of that Saturday, we will be heading up to Durant, Oklahoma where we will minister for about four days.

We will be working there with a Christian drug and alcohol rehabilitation ministry called Joshua House, teaching in the evenings and helping with a food bank one day.  Then, Glenie will celebrate her birthday on July the 8^th, and Jason and Beth will celebrate our one year anniversary on July the 9^th!  It’s hard to believe it’s already been a year :)  God has truly blessed us in our marriage.

On July the 10^th, we will leave for Houston where we will minister through July the 25^th.  In Houston, we will be working with the YWAM team in the Montrose district – teaching at a second level Bible study for teens and at several other missions such as the Salvation Army.

At the end of July, we will come back up to Tyler to move into a trailer here on the campus (with much more space and a washer and dryer...Praise the Lord!)  Our efficiency apartment this year has been a blessing, but we are excited about the change.  We will be able to invite people over to our home :)

Then, the last week of July and the first week of August we will be home in San Marcos and Waxahachie visiting family and friends and our home church.  We are looking forward to seeing everyone and relaxing!

We will be back here in Tyler on August the 7^th because Beth will be teaching the Reading Class next year (along with two other wonderful women).  She will be working on the classroom and learning phonics :)  The curriculum the school uses is The Writing Road to Reading.  Jason will be teaching with School of the Bible staff in the fall.

We started the school year owing about $11,000 on our tuition for School of the Bible.  God has been so faithful to provide for us every step of the way through many generous friends and supporters such as you!  We currently owe about $1,700 and are praying for God’s provision to pay it off completely.  We are hoping also that Beth’s teaching next year will open the door for a tuition scholarship for Teachers for the Nations.  She will be spreading the course out over two years – teaching part time and learning as a student for the other part.  Next year, she will be taking the philosophy course of history, government, and education.

Thank you again for all of your love and support of us!  You are each a true blessing in our lives.  May He continue to fill you with His presence!

All of our love in Christ,

Jason and Beth