Praising God for His Work Through Our Friends

Tonight my heart is full of gratitude and aw for how God has worked, not only in my life, but in the lives of my peers.  Last weekend we went on a short support raising trip to Tennessee, and despite the fact that we got in a car accident which left us bruised, sore, and without a vehicle, we came back (in a rental car) thanking God not only for His protection, but for the glimpses of Himself that He has showed us in the lives of our friends.  In fact, this was the very conversation we were having as we drove down highway 27 on Saturday morning when that car pulled out in front of us.

I am so, so encouraged by the way that God is working through my college friends. 

Just 6 years ago we were all living in dorm rooms, attending class, and eating together in the cafeteria.  Yet since then our college friends have served the Lord in Bolivia, China, Kenya, Mexico, North Africa, South Korea, Spain, and Suriname. 

In the states they have ministered in the name of Christ to high school and elementary students from broken homes, the urban poor, and financially struggling families from all walks of life. 

They have worked to train and equip high school and college students to be servant leaders in the name of Jesus.

In local churches they are leading worship, teaching children and youth, leading adult small groups, serving on outreach teams, and planting new churches.

Many have started families and are waging war against the enemy through passing their faith along to the next generation, equipping them to be true worshipers of the King, and all of this before a world of watching neighbors, co-workers, and daily acquaintances.

Several friends have shared incredible visions that God has given them for taking the gospel to unreached people groups around the world, ministering to children in China with special needs, serving overseas on a Mercy Ship, reaching out to backpackers in Mexico, and working to expand education options for home school parents around the world.

On top of all of this, so many of them are supporting the work of foreign missions by supporting us in our mission to Peru.

How incredibly blessed and humbled we are to witness the advance of the kingdom through our dear friends.  Yes, the world is a dark and scary place, and evil sometimes seems to rule the day, but today our Lord has testified to our hearts as He did in John 16:33, "Take heart, I have overcome the world!"