From:
Sent: Friday, March 11, 2005 1:18 PM
To:
Subject: Prayer Update 3/11/05 Sharpening and stretching
Friday, March
11th, 2005
Dear Family
and Friends,
These have
been some busy, but fruitful days here on the home front. Realizing that God
uses our families to "sharpen" our character and take off our rough
edges, I had prayed that God would use this time at home to cause me to stretch
and grow.
God is
answering that prayer. :-) It is not always a fun process, but it
is exciting to see the potential of causing us to be more conformed to the
image of Christ. As a military Drill Sargent once
told his men, "We are going to make you sweat in here so you don't bleed
out there."
My idea of
moving the home office upstairs and rearranging furniture in our small house
presented a few challenges, or character-building opportunities, with so many
ideas involved. Nevertheless, I think that we have been able to make some
very good changes that will help us to operate more efficiently.
Seeing the
Lord's hand at work in the past couple weeks continues to bring
encouraging highlights in the midst of all the projects.
Last
Thursday I had the opportunity to join my family on the monthly visit to a
local nursing home with our church. The hour of singing and brief message
always seems to come as a great encouragement to the people there.
Arriving a
few minutes late, we worked to set up our music stand so Sarah and I could
join with the piano and violin. The first notes I played on the accordion
brought the sudden realization that the electric piano must have been adjusted
out of the normal range. I didn't want to create an extra distraction trying to
find the adjustment knob, so we just smiled and played a little quieter.
:-)
It was
amazing to see how many new faces there were after being away for a year. I
hardly recognized anyone. It really gives you a perspective on how short life
is, and how important it is to be able to reach out to these older folks, most
of whom will be in one of two places for all of
eternity a year from now.
I have
really enjoyed being able to spend time talking with Mom and Dad here. The time
difference and occasional technical difficulties made extended communication
from
The
Mongolian Bible Software project continues to progress. I just got an e-mail a
few days ago, and it sounds like we are getting close to a first public release
of the Mongolian Bible module. I have taken on the project of coordinating the
Mongolian localization of the program. (This means working with some Mongolians
to translate the menus and buttons on the program so that it can display the
commands in Mongolian text.)
With
continuing progress abroad, it is neat to see how the Lord is also working
right here in our area. On Tuesday I joined my family for the weekly follow-up
course that they have been leading with a family in the area. This course takes
the Biblical principles taught through the Basic Seminar (http://www.iblp.org/iblp/seminars/basic/) and
brings them to personal application in our lives.
God has a
way of bringing His truth to our lives at most appropriate times. I have been
memorizing some verses on loving others and going the extra mile, and the
principle we studied on Tuesday evening was on forgiving others as we see God
working in our lives through them. Family relationships give many good
opportunities to live with a forgiving and patient attitude.
It was very
special to see the O'Brien family again. I had taught three of their children
at a Children's Institute seminar in 2001. That was really their first introduction
to the IBLP ministry, and they have recently joined the ATI home schooling
program, and are working to train their children in the ways of God.
The joy and
excitement that we see in their lives as they apply the truths of God's Word
has been rewarding for all of us. It is special to know that God is working in
people's lives, and sometimes has allowed us to have a little part in that
work. We will never know all that God is doing until eternity, but we can trust
that He is faithful to complete the work that He has begun.
Another joy
has been to have my younger brother David home for a few weeks during spring
break. David has been working with a team in
While I am
home, I have been working on several projects for
I am doing
some research to get a server computer and software solutions for our other
computers over there. It is extremely difficult to find legitimate software
licenses in
Praise
Points:
- Praise
the Lord for the continuing progress on the Mongolian Bible Software project.
Our translator Saraa is very excited about the
program, and told us that it has been a great blessing to her life
and work.
- The Lord
has allowed me to have some very helpful discussions with IT staff
from IBLP and CTI, and profitable research as I continue to look for
the best solutions to meet our needs in the technology realm. Last night I was
able to purchase a used computer on eBay for a good price.
Prayer Requests:
- Pray
that I would be able to connect with just the right Mongolian that can help
with the translation of the Bible Software program.
- Over the
next few weeks I plan to make some purchases of some computer hardware and
additional software items for our network in
Pictures:
Sporting a
new addition on one side, the snow fort continued to get larger until a few
warm days this week. I am grateful that relationships built on the cold days
don't just melt off with the snow fort. :-)
A
Reminding
us of some special hours together in 2001, the O'Brien family still has a
picture from the Children's Institute.
Now, four
years later, our families are going through the Follow Up
Course together.
The younger
ones have been having great fun with the Erector Set toys in the past few days.
Here Matthew wanted me to take a picture of his tractor and wagon. Notice the
dual tires at the back.
Thank
you for praying for me! I am grateful for your support in this way.
In Christ,
- Adam
"And
let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if
we faint not." - Galatians 6:9