Theme for Speaking? More Prayer... Support

SOME UPDATES

THEME:

I have been eagerly waiting for their theme so I could begin working on speaking. They said...

• Something on joy, focusing on Philippians
• A study of part (or all) of the book of Ephesians
• A section of your choice from the book of Romans
• OR wherever God leads you.

If you have suggestions, let me know. (SERIOUSLY)

Here are my initial thoughts.

Theme - From The Inside Out

• Romans 12:1-2 (How God Changes us - we don't change ourselves; 2 lessons)
• John 15 - Abiding
• Matthew 18 - Forgiveness
• Possibly... Identity In Christ (could do 1 to 3 lessons or more)
• Brokenness / Surrender - I would use John 20-21 ...
• Something on Making Disciples (Discipleship is Relationships)

PRAYER (I plan to just share a few requests often, rather than long lists)

• Pray for me as I work on what to speak on and on putting it together. I am hoping to not simply stand up and talk at them each session (I may do a few like that, but I want to mix it up and maximize our time in God's Word)
• Pray for God's Spirit to have His way - the man in charge of the retreat shared that they believe there has been an extra amount of spiritual warfare in the past year or two
• Pray Big - Pray the biggest spiritual prayers for the students and myself as you can... Be specific.

PRAISE GOD - we have our passports back with our Visas so we are good to go!!!!

God keeps surprising us with financial support for the trip. I estimate the costs at around $5000 (you can see an earlier post to get details) and we are close to $2500. I don't want to say that I don't expect to raise all that (because I don't doubt God's ability)... but we do expect to pay for some of the trip out of our long term emergency fund... which is a great use for it. We are very thankful for all that has been given. If you do give, please, please pray that the money is used for great things for God.

I want to apologize for not posting this info sooner. I will try to do a better job.

If you are planning to pray for me but I don't know about it, I would be so encouraged to know. Thanks!