Blessings from God

Blessings from God

After a whirlwind of activity, we can finally say God has brought us through this formidable challenge, both in terms of writing and presenting the truths of God’s Word. It was only last December that God granted us a laptop after several years of prayer. We know now why He finally gave it to us. We really needed it. It has been an invaluable tool in presenting so many classes which otherwise would have been impossible. Praise God for His timing!

We can pause and rest a bit but not relax. Although Paul is down to speaking only once or twice a week, these opportunities are in Chinese, on topics that he never studied in language school. We are thankful that God answered prayer for coworkers to voluntarily translate the English handouts into Chinese. Paul then transforms the handout and slides into a useful Chinese tool. We were surprised by the 60 people attending this marriage class during the summer session. Our inadequate language forces us to come humbly again and again, pleading for God’s grace, ability, and the touch of the Holy Spirit.

Please pray for three opportunities starting Friday, June 25, to speak to non-Christians from mainland China—again in Chinese—on parenting. What an opportunity! May God pour forth His wisdom.

How Many Copies?

We are not sure whether we will be able to get everything done that has been put to the side for these past months. There are an increasing number of requests for printed materials. The problem is that many of these have been designed for the web. It takes a significant commitment of time to reformat them into nicely printable materials. For example, Paul was astounded after he reformatted only one session of the Overcoming Anxiety series and ended up with about 43 pages of material. We sense through these requests that God is directing us more into the area of printing.

CD Burning

We are thankful that God has enabled us to figure out the intricacies of making—or burning—CDs. We now have the full BFF website on a library disc for $15. In order to encourage the spread of God’s living truth, we have what we think is a unique policy. We allow everyone to install the whole website from the library, including downloads, right onto their computers for free. Just loan your friend the BFF Library and let him install it. We only ask that the library itself not be copied.

Outside the United States and Canada, however, we are encouraging people to copy the library itself. We hope this enables Christians around the world to build up their truth libraries. Did you ever wonder what you could give to your missionary friend? How about a BFF Library? Praise God for helping us to finally get to this point—even though about one year late by our timing!

What’s in Making a Movie?

Perhaps the most challenging project ahead this summer has to do with combining video and audio with the slideshows. If this is anything like learning to make a library, then we will still be learning well after the summer sun sets. Paul has a 750-page manual to digest. He has already watched the hour-long training session about six times. But we think back to when we did not have a clue how to make a web page. We have had a lot of practice since that time. God gives extra grace for the needy.

Trip to India

Paul’s trip to India is going to be a challenge: six messages a day. He is trying to settle the actual speaking topics this week so they can be translated into Telugu. Praise God that there are some people there who can help. If we give each person a US$5 handout of materials—which goes much further there—we expect it to double the cost of the trip. We are thankful that support has started coming in. Unfortunately, there is no sure sign of a teammate to go with Paul yet. Keep praying.

Download the full report on Paul’s 2004 India trip.

Thanks to God

• Praise God that the Biblical Parenting Principles series has ended. We are thankful for the many positive comments showing that these parents have begun to apply God’s Word to their family life. Now the challenge is to continue.
• It is great to see people respond to the Building a Great Marriage series. Many individuals are sharing their positive responses with us.
• We are thankful for the translators helping us: one man assisting with material for a Chinese training seminar, translators for the marriage class, and Indian translators for the upcoming trip.
• With three new cases today, seven of ten family members are sick with a nasty bronchial cold, but a couple are on the mend.
• We are thankful that Paul’s contribution of follow-up materials for those committing themselves to full-time service was well received.

Requests to God

• The Building a Great Marriage series in Chinese has begun. Pray that God will touch the hearts of the more than 60 students.
• On Friday, June 25, Paul and Linda will speak to non-Christian mainland Chinese participants about parenting. May God save.
• May God increase discipline and efficiency so more material can be reformatted for printing.
• Pastor Stephen in India has his hands full. His wife is due to give birth on July 9, and it is hot there.
• Pray for healing for all who are sick.
• Pray for God’s blessing on His full-time servants in the four Indian cities where Paul will minister: Kak, Gun, Viz, and Vish—Paul’s abbreviations.