Living in a new country for an entire year at the age of 17 sounds like quite the life-changing experience as is, but what about when that life-changing experience turns into a life-defining change of heart? This is the story of Japanese exchange student Mutsumi Nishita. Mutsumi is spending this year in America attending Robinson High School and living with the Perry family, who attends Fellowship. The Perrys encouraged her to attend Echo, Fellowship Student Ministry’s Wednesday night gathering for high school students. Lucky for Mutsumi, Ashley Stricklin, an Echo regular, was there to welcome the newcomer on that first Wednesday night.

Ashley had recently been “praying for the nations” and wondering when she would have the opportunity to reach people worldwide.  Needless to say, she beamed with excitement when Mutsumi walked through the doors of The Garage, viewing her arrival as the Lord answering prayer by bringing the nations right here to Little Rock. An immediate friendship commenced between Ashley and Mutsumi, and Ashley continued to invite Mutsumi back for weeks to come.  By asking Mutsumi specific, deliberate questions about the message before saying their Wednesday-night goodbyes, Ashley quickly recognized Mutusmi’s interest in religious ideas but also her confusion about the truth.

Ashley knew that she had to continue pursuing Mutsumi, so in her desire to take the conversations to the next level she finally gathered the courage to invite Mutsumi to study Explore. The Explore sessions proved to be helpful as Mutsumi more clearly understood ideas presented in this secure, one-on-one setting and Ashley could be more intentional about crossing difficult language barriers. Through the help of Ashley’s friend, she was able to purchase a Japanese American Bible that together Mutsumi and Ashley could understand, discuss, and clearly feel God speaking to each one of them in their native tongue.

Mutsumi had countless questions about the trinity, angels, and heaven. Because of Ashley’s being equipped through time spent in small group preparation, Ashley adequately explained each vital aspect of Christianity. Mutsumi often joked that “Ashley had all the answers” to which Ashley acknowledged, “I learned that the right words will overflow from my heart when I need them.” In preparation for their weekly Explore Q &A, Ashley translated the salvation message into Japanese. Mutsumi was overcome with joy, realizing for the first time that she could speak directly to God and He could speak directly to her! With this new realization, she gave her life to Christ during only the second lesson.

Ashley continues to mentor Mutsumi by leading her now through a study teaching spiritual growth and evangelism. Both Ashley and Mutsumi know the challenge that awaits Mutsumi when she returns to her home this summer. Ashley asserted, “I want Mutusmi to have the tools she needs to go back to Japan and inspire heart change in her friends and family there. I cannot wait to see how God uses her to reach the nations!”

-Tracy Lane

by Linda L. Scisson

He Himself [Jesus Christ] has said, “I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake You” (Heb. 13:5b NASB).

Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tender-hearted; forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you (Eph. 4:31-32 NASB).

These were two scriptures shared by Ann Parkinson, who spoke on “Loving Difficult People in Our Lives,” at Alive After 5, on Tuesday evening, February 16, 2010, in The Warehouse — complemented with door prizes and refreshments on red and white tablecloths, crowned with heart-shaped centerpieces. Alive After 5 is a monthly outreach of Women’s Ministries of Fellowship Bible Church (Little Rock, Arkansas).

As I reflected on Ann’s thoughtful remarks, as well as my personal experiences and selected scriptures, here are highlights on “Loving Difficult People in our Lives.”

1. Clarify the relationship, because different beliefs or different expectations tend to divide, whereas shared beliefs or shared expectations tend to unite.
2. Open and honest communication is paramount in resolving conflicts and in being able to love difficult people, including, at times, ourselves.
3. Clarifying questions show wisdom, such as: “I’m getting mixed signals, here. Could you please tell me what you meant when you said . . . .?”
4. Like the physical death of a loved one can propel us into grief, there can be the “death” of a relationship that has the same effect: grief.
5. The five stages of grief are: Denial, Bargaining, Anger, Depression, and Acceptance.
6. There can be a resurrection, or restoration, of a broken relationship, that can propel us into joy, or what the Bible calls: abundant living (John 10:10b)
7. Regardless of whether or not a relationship is restored during our earthly lives, the primary question to consider in anyone’s life is: “Do they know Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord?”
8. A qualified, third-party counselor — or wise, mutual friend — can bring understanding to help resolve a conflict between two people.
9. Tears can communicate a source of deep pain (or deep joy).
10. One action that indicates a person has not forgiven: She keeps talking about the person who committed the (real or perceived) trespass against her.
11. Bitterness is something we do not want in our lives.
12. One’s facial expressions — often magnified, or more pronounced, with age — can reveal one’s state of mind. Acceptance and bitterness look quite differently on one’s face.
13. We don’t get to pick the trials we go through.
14. We can either accept or fight the trials we face.
15. Inward-focused prayer is usually ineffective, such as: “Please, Lord, bring this matter to resolution; so I will feel better about it.”
16. Outward-focused prayer is more effective: “Please, Lord, help [this person] to be the person that You created them to be. May they not miss out on anything good that You, Father God, would have for them.”
17. Another effective prayer is: “God, change me. Show me where I need to change my attitude and behavior.”
18. If a person takes what is spoken (by another person) out of context: concocting a new, different scenario — which the Bible calls “a vain imagination” (2 Cor. 10:5) — a conflict is around the corner.
19. Careful listening is necessary in healthy communication.
20. By God’s grace (His goodness), in God’s timing, and through God’s ways, a difficult person can become a pleasant person.�
21. Different is not necessarily wrong; it is different.
22. You’ll never lose by loving people: in the manner of 1Corinthians 13.

One book that Ann recommended was Parenting Your Adult Child by Ross Campbell, M.D. and Gary Chapman, which is for sale in the Cross Reference Bookstore.

One article referenced was “One Flaw in Women” as seen below. Several examples of a woman’s strength were recited from this article (authorship unknown), as was the “one flaw in women”: “they forget their worth.”

By the time the Lord made woman, he was into his sixth day of working overtime. An angel appeared and said, “Why are you spending so much time on this one?”

And the Lord answered, “Have you seen my spec sheet on her? She has to be completely washable, but not plastic, have over 200 movable parts, all replaceable and able to run on diet coke and leftovers, have a lap that can hold four children at one time, have a kiss that can cure anything from a scraped knee to a broken heart -and she will do everything with only two hands.”

The angel was astounded at the requirements. “Only two hands!? No way! And that’s just on the standard model? That ’s too much work for one day. Wait until tomorrow to finish.

“But I won’t,” the Lord protested. “I am so close to finishing this creation that is so close to my own heart. She already heals herself when she is sick AND can work 18 hour days.”

The angel moved closer and touched the woman. “But you have made her so soft, Lord.”

“She is soft,” the Lord agreed, “but I have also made her tough. You have no idea what she can endure or accomplish.”

“Will she be able to think?”, asked the angel.

The Lord replied, “Not only will she be able to think, she will be able to reason and negotiate.”

The angel then noticed something, and reaching out, touched the woman’s cheek. “Oops, it looks like you have a leak in this model. I told you that you were trying to put too much into this one.”

“That’s not a leak,” the Lord corrected, ” that’s a tear!”

“What’s the tear for?” the angel asked.

The Lord said, “The tear is her way of expressing her joy, her sorrow, her pain, her disappointment, her love, her loneliness, her grief, and her pride.”

The angel was impressed. “You are a genius, Lord. You thought of everything! Woman is truly amazing.”

And she is!

Women have strengths that amaze men.

They bear hardships and they carry burdens, but they hold happiness, love and joy. They smile when they want to scream.

They sing when they want to cry.

They cry when they are happy and laugh when they are nervous.

They fight for what they believe in.

They stand up to injustice.

They don’t take “no” for an answer when they believe there is a better solution. They go without so their family can have.

They go to the doctor with a frightened friend.

They love unconditionally.

They cry when their children excel and cheer when their friends get awards.

They are happy when they hear about a birth or a wedding.

Their hearts break when a friend dies.

They grieve at the loss of a family member, yet they are strong when they think there is no strength left.

They know that a hug and a kiss can heal a broken heart.

Women come in all shapes, sizes and colors.They’ll drive, fly, walk, run or e-mail you to show how much they care about you. The heart of a woman is what makes the world keep turning. They bring joy, hope and love. They have compassion and ideals. They give moral support to their family and friends.Women have vital things to say and everything to give.

HOWEVER, IF THERE IS ONE FLAW IN WOMEN,

IT IS THAT THEY FORGET THEIR WORTH.

Women’s Ministries recognize it is to women’s advantage to hear reminders of our worth and other matters concerning our faith. On February 16, Ann Parkinson, wife of Bill Parkinson (long-time teaching pastor at FBC), reinforced a key principle: As we know our true worth as followers of Jesus Christ and partakers of “the divine nature” (2 Pet. 1:4 NASB), and then work that out in practical ways (backed with the promises of God), we are granted a super-natural power to be able to love the difficult people in our lives.

By Lynn Beardsley

Each year in the fall, the first graders of Paradise Pond learn about how our amazing God created animals. At the end of that unit, we as mentors challenge them to help toward sending the gift of an animal to a family through Heifer International. They watch a movie telling the story of how these Third World families care for and feed the animals, and see how, for instance, they then sell the animal’s milk for money to send their children to school.

Paradise Pond Blessing

The first graders are always amazed to see how families around the world live and are excited to help send them a “gift”! Because Jesus is our Lamb, we always choose to have the money go toward buying a lamb, and we devote six weeks to raising the money. There is one rule, however:  the first graders must earn the money they contribute, not simply ask for a donation from their parents. This gets their little minds working immediately.

Each week, the children who bring an offering get to tell the large group what they did to earn their money as they place it into our Heifer bucket. From cleaning their room, to lemonade stands, to raking the yard, to reading 10 books, and even doing their brother’s or sister’s chores…the kids are so creative. My heart melts whenever a child gives all his allowance or all her birthday money to buy our gift…and it happens every year.

This is such a great reminder of how God’s Spirit works among us, even the smallest of us. Joining with the generous giving of the children, we mentors in the Pond also contribute toward the gift, and one couple even matches what the children give.

After the sixth offering, we announce our gift and celebrate with the kids, who are always ecstatic. Our goal every year is to buy one lamb, and we restate that each week to the children. But so far, we have never bought one lamb. The first year, the first graders bought three lambs, the next year it was five. This past year, these six year olds raised enough money to purchase seven lambs!

We close our lamb project with a prayer that these families will know our True Lamb, Jesus.  Since we don’t have an actual lamb to touch, we place our Heifer offering bucket filled with money in the center of the room. The children then stretch out their hands and pray this blessing over the money which is used to buy the lambs. It’s definitely one of my favorite moments of our year together in the Pond.

As we bring scriptural principles to these children each week, our desire is always that they will apply what they’ve learned to their lives. Talk about an application! As a teacher, I can walk away from this unit knowing definitely knowing that they “got it”.

In a world full of mixed messages about love and sex, one mom thought it was important for her preteen daughter to know what the Bible says about it.

“We’ve always told the kids to ask, ‘What does God say?’ about whatever we’re dealing with,” said Margaret Newton.  “It was important that we explore what the Bible says about purity and sex.  We wanted to give them the facts and make sure that they understand the way God designed it.”

Margaret and her 12-year-old daughter, Claire, recently took a weekend trip to Memphis to shop, stay in a hotel, and work through Passport 2 Purity together.  The Passport 2 Purity kit, written by Dennis and Barbara Rainey and produced by FamilyLife, is designed for a mother to take a daughter, or a dad to take a son, on a special weekend to talk about a variety of issues teenagers face, including sex.

Margaret’s husband and son worked through Passport 2 Purity together two years ago, so she knew what to expect.  Still, at first she said she was a little overwhelmed at the idea of broaching the topics with her young daughter.  She realized that Claire would either learn about sex from her parents, or she would hear about it from someone else.

“If you wait until they are older, you lose the opportunity for them to hear it the right way,” said Margaret.  “I’m so glad we didn’t wait too long.”

She said that although the subject matter might seem intimidating, it was presented in a way that was easy to discuss with Claire.  “There were some things that I wouldn’t know how to ask on my own,” she said, “but the book did a beautiful job of presenting a Biblical view of how God created marriage and sex.”

Claire said that one of her favorite parts of the weekend was going shopping with her mom for a necklace, which would remind her of what they had talked about during the weekend.  Margaret said she wanted Claire to choose her own necklace so that it would be special to her.  Claire has worn the necklace every day since the weekend getaway.

“My friends have asked me about my necklace,” she said.  “It’s a good way for me to tell them that my mom gave it to me on our Passport 2 Purity weekend.”

Margaret said that one of the most effective teaching methods of Passport 2 Purity was the use of “experiments” or object lessons.  One of Claire’s favorite experiments demonstrated the impact of peer pressure.  Using clean cups (positive friends) and dirty cups (negative friends), the experiment called for Claire to dip first the clean cup then the dirty cup in a pitcher of water.  After the experiment, she could see that the dirty cups had polluted the water, much like unhealthy relationships could negatively influence a teenager.

“I learned lots of things I didn’t know,” said Claire.  “I think learning about peer pressure will remind me how to not get pressured into doing anything bad when I get older.”

Margaret said that she thought the weekend opened up a line of communication with her daughter.  She said that they talked about friends and peer pressure, not just during their sessions, but also over dinner and while shopping together.

“Hopefully, she has a solid understanding for how to handle things when they come up,” said Margaret.  She added that Claire now knew it was okay for her to come to her mom with questions that she might have later.

Claire summed up the experience as a “good weekend of girl bonding.”  She said, “I had a blast, and I think my mom did, too.”

For more information about Passport 2 Purity, please contact Treva Sawatski, upper elementary coordinator, at tsawatski@fellowshiponline.com or visit the FamilyLife website.

It was the Friday night of Winter Chill, and I was expecting to be counselor to three eighth grade girls assigned to my room. Somehow, though, by the time the girls put their luggage and bedding in our room, all of the bunks were full and I had six of them.

One of the girls – Sarah – had brought a friend along, also named Sarah. When we were in Family Group time, Sarah, the “new girl” became tearful. She indicated how difficult it was for her to come on this trip in the first place, and how she was feeling uncomfortable because she really didn’t know anyone.

I prayed for her that night By Saturday and for the remainder of the time that we were at Winter Chill, she was a very active participant in our Family Group discussions. I never saw Sarah without several of the other girls around her: I saw them together at worship, getting ready in the mornings, outside at the zip lines, and playing cards in the cabin lobby. In fact, I was able to get a picture of all of the girls together at the fireplace in our cabin and Sarah was definitely an accepted part of the group. God, in his wisdom, wanted Sarah to be at Winter Chill this year and blessed her with some wonderful friendships!

I have to admit that I wasn’t planning on attending Winter Chill this year. Yes, I had off-handedly told my husband that I should go, but then put it out of my mind after thinking about how much it would take me out of my comfort zone.

Later on, Tim Caldwell mentioned that he needed help getting the snacks for the junior high students and serving them after late night worship sessions, and he asked me to pray about going. I felt God leading me not only to go along to help with the snacks, but also to be a counselor to the eighth grade girls.

My motivation for going was to be blessing others by serving, but God had something bigger in mind. As I saw the kind and loving group of girls that He brought to my room and how well they all stayed together during our stay at New Life Ranch, I realized that I was the one who was the more blessed.

Kim Weiner 

By Linda L. Scisson

[Jesus speaking] “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God” (Matt. 5:9 ESV).

According to the grace of God given to me [the apostle Paul], like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it (1 Cor. 3:10-11 ESV).

The China Harmony and Unity Center in Beijing, China is being considered a new outreach of Fellowship’s global ministry, “Fellowship Unleashed.”

From January 20 to January 27, 2010, Paul Chapman, Fellowship’s Unleash Missions Pastor, and Fred Wood, Overseeing Elder, will be in Beijing, halfway around the globe. Their eight-day mission is to see first-hand the workings of the China Harmony and Unity Center, known as “CHUC” (pronounced “Chuck”), and report back to the Elder Board if they believe this is something our church should pursue.

According to its Facebook page, the five areas of focus for the China Harmony and Unity Center are:

• Leadership Development
• Marriage and Family
• English as a Second Language
• Medical Assistance
• Youth Development Programs

Several USA evangelical ministries and churches are already lending a hand with the China Harmony and Unity Center, including (1) Christ Community Church (Omaha, Nebraska), (2) Crown College (St. Bonifacius, Minnesota), and (3) FamilyLife, a ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ (Little Rock, Arkansas). One couple from our body, through their work with FamilyLife, Jim and Judy Burrows, have recently moved to Beijing to provide guidance in the area of Marriage and Family at the CHUC.

By way of phone interview on January 15 (five days before Fred and Paul make the 14 hour flight), Paul told me that in the ministry of missions, three actions typically take place:

(1)  Relief work

(2)  Rehabilitation

(3)  Development

This ministry opportunity in Beijing, the second largest city in China, deals with development.

Since the fall of Communism in China, there has been a shift on several fronts that affect the people’s livelihood and lifestyle. There appears to be a widening window of opportunity for faith-based organizations, including Christianity, to bring their gifts, talents, and knowledge to the People’s Republic of China.

The nation’s leaders see a need for practical solutions to their challenges, such as a divorce rate that exceeds 50 per cent and a depression rate in the 60 percent range. They are beginning to sense and, on some occasions, see that a life centered around a healthy moral foundation, such as what our faith proclaims (and has proclaimed through the  centuries), could turn things around for their good.

“The goodness of God leads to repentance” (see Romans 2:4).

Thus enters the missionaries — “as servants and stewards of the mysteries of God” (1 Cor. 4:1 ESV) — the scouts, the trail-blazers, the pioneers, the builders, the maintainers, the pastors, the prophets, the teachers and, equally important, those able to provide financial backing and prayer support. 

Please keep Paul Chapman and Fred Wood in your prayers, as well as the decision-makers of Fellowship Bible Church, as the thoughtful process continues to see if the China Harmony and Unity Center is one area (among so many) that we are to expand our church’s goodwill and, by God’s grace, advance and nurture the Kingdom of God, knowing the authority — all authority — behind such ventures is Jesus Christ (Matt. 28:18-19).

WHAT THE PROJECT IS ABOUT

Fellowship got involved in Sept. 2009 in a multi-year project with the Dadiya people group, a Bibleless, partially unreached people group in Nigeria. This project will deliver the Scriptures in the Dadiya language by 2013 through an integrated project with The Seed Company (Wycliffe), and other partners like the Jesus Film Project. Of the world’s 2300 languages without even one verse of the Bible available, more than 200 of those languages are in Nigeria. In the last nine months God has brought several unique opportunities together to form this project that can inspire us, leverage experience, and facilitate church planting and biblical growth. By 2013 the entire NT, selected OT portions and Psalms will be translated, tested, checked and available in text and audio format. Associated church planting, growth and literacy initiatives will also have been implemented.

PROJECT DETAILS:

The Dadiya live in the Gombe state, a strategic spiritual area and one often featured in recent news reports pertaining to religious violence. This people group has over 30,000 speakers. One of Chuck Brod’s disciples is from the Dadiya region and the Brods have confirmed the potential and significance of church planting and growth efforts in the Gombe state. With the successful partnership of the Evangelical Church of West Africa (ECWA), the Seed Company (Wycliffe) and Jesus Film Project, the pieces were in place by 2008 to start a full scale Scripture translation project with a team of 4 nationals. The churches there have responded enthusiastically and are connecting the Word of God with church planting and strengthening initiatives as evidenced this month by the rollout of the Jesus Film in Dadiya.

COMMUNICATIONS TO DATE:

In spring/summer 2009, Ken Tuttle met with Rosie Stephens to explore potential involvement with unreached people groups and Bible translation efforts. At Paul Chapman’s request David Alexander identified the Dadiya translation project as having the key criteria relevant to FBC (location, time frame, impact, milestones, etc.). Ken Tuttle, David Alexander and Rosie Stephens met with FBC ministries to see if the project would be of use for leveraging interest and connection of members with global missions. Basic briefings about scripture translation, this project and potential ways to connect with it were shared with the Congregational Pastors, with Brandon Barnard (re: FSM), with Jenny Lane and Carolyn Buckner. To leverage the first major milestone in the project since FBC joined, i.e. the rollout of the Jesus Film amongst the Dadiya, a general awareness launch event has been planned. All communication since then have related to this event and to a March trip by key individuals to Nigeria.

PURPOSE OF THE MARCH TRIP:

As part of the criteria for funding established for Paul, a fact finding/connection component is planned. Rosie (and Glenn) Stephens, Ken Tuttle, David Alexander, Will Crawford and Nancy Hamilton will go to Nigeria the first week of March to connect with ECWA leaders, visit the Dadiya region, connect with the translation and field staff teams, witness the ongoing rollout of the Jesus film in Dadiya villages, and gather information and media for use in missions awareness efforts at FBC including FSM’s global village (which will feature this project in April).

WHAT ARE WE ASKING?:

FSK and FSM will be asking their children and students to engage with the project by leveraging tight funding/outcome aspects of the project represented in the opportunity to sponsor the translation of a verse (at $26 per verse). This will be connected to missions giving initiatives and connected with their curricula and teaching to increase the students’ appreciation of the scriptures. In addition, we are encouraging community groups to take a week between now and the end of March to pray for aspects of this project. Beyond that the options are broad and encompass prayer, engagement, involvement and awareness.

Chuck Colson is a class act.
He sent FBC this thanks for our partnership with the Prison Fellowship InnerChange Freedom Initiative.

Chuck mentions Fellowship in his latest book….. and it’s not for prison ministry.

Click here to view ‘The Faith” at Amazon.com

And the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and join this chariot.” So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.  Acts 8:29-31

And so she guides them one by one.  They have been abused, mistreated, unloved, and found unworthy by the world.  But she introduces them to the One who can fill the void that the world and no man have ever been able to satisfy.  The women of Dorcas House, a local shelter for abused women and children, are being given an understanding of God’s Word and His Son that many of them had no idea was available.  Sarah Bowden, a woman who truly believed that she did not have an evangelistic bone in her body, has been faithfully ministering to some very broken and battered women through the Explore classes for a little over a year.   She is satisfying a hunger not just in their souls, but in her life as well.

Explore, a study by Robert Lewis that walks believers and non-believers alike through a process of understanding what it means to be a Christ-follower.  It is not in-depth theology, just the Gospel in a way that can be explained and understood easily.  Lewis reworked what was originally known as One-to-One into a much more user-friendly study.  The information has been condensed down to three sessions making it much easier to train those hungry to share the Gospel.  It is also a non-threatening commitment for those hungry to hear the Gospel.  Sarah had done the study in its original form and though she gained knowledge about her faith, she did not gain the confidence she felt was necessary to share her faith.  It was not until she and some others at the church participated in a new training session of the Explore curriculum that she finally felt like she had gained a confidence that matched her desire to share her faith in Christ.

Sarah was not new to the ministry.  She and her family have been members of Fellowship since 1978.  She and her husband have raised all four of their children at Fellowship.  For twenty years, Sarah served in the children’s ministry.  Fifteen of those years she served in the nursery and her last five she oversaw the entire children’s ministry department.  No small task and one that finally led her to take a step back and a break from a defined ministry role at Fellowship.  But as often happens, the Lord drew her back into serving at the church and after a three year break she now works part-time in the administrative offices of the church.  Looking back over the life of her involvement with the church she stated that “…if you are called (to work in the church), God will make it easy.”  Her way of thinking also extends to evangelism.  Although she did not think she knew enough or was capable of sharing the Gospel in a meaningful way, she soon learned that we are all called to share the Good News and when she let God handle the situations, it all worked to His will.

So when the Dorcas House called a little over a year ago and asked her to lead a group of women through the Explore program, she decided her time had finally arrived.  But as sometimes happens in our attempt to help God with saving souls, her first experience was not all she had hoped.  The main reason was that the women were being required to take the course while they stayed at the shelter.  Thankfully, Sarah did not give up even when she was not feeling the call to continue.  She turned the situation over to God praying that He would give her what she needed to share His Word.  The opportunity arose for her to give a “pitch” for the program during one of the chapel services offered by Dorcas House and the response was overwhelming.  Ten women accepted her invitation to begin the Explore program!

Sarah began meeting with the women one-on-one.  She discovered early on that group settings did not work for these women because it made being vulnerable to God’s Spirit that much harder.  These are women that have been taken advantage of in every way imaginable and learning to trust in God and be vulnerable in front of Him is a very scary thing.  As with any ministry, there have been peaks and valleys.  Of course, the peaks are when one of the women gives her life to Christ and the valleys are when someone rejects Christ and all that He offers them.  Sarah has seen both and she has seen those that originally rejected the Gospel finally cling to it with their whole being.  Sarah passed out a survey to the women about their thoughts on the course and one response she received has stuck with her ever since.  One lady told her that going through Explore and learning all that Christ has to offer was “like pouring understanding over my head.”  That is what Christ does.  He uses people like Sarah and studies like Explore to feed those so desperate for His love.

The women of Dorcas house are not the only ones that learn as they journey through Explore.  Sarah learns something new every time she goes through the course with one of the women.  Even though many of these women come to the program not knowing that there is an Old and New Testament in the Bible, Sarah said that she now understands that she does not have to have all the answers to their questions.  She does the best she can with what God has given her and she then has to leave the rest up to Him.  Sarah has gained a new knowledge from her training in Explore, a new courage from stepping out in faith that God would walk with her through this process, and a new boldness from witnessing Christ take a hold of these women and their lives.

So one woman, who never saw herself as an evangelist, but had a love for women and a desire to share the Gospel has developed a team of five women to walk these wounded women through Explore.  Philip was willing to allow God to put him where He needed him to be to guide a hungry soul.  Philip did not let the fear of failure or lack of confidence keep him from helping the Ethiopian understand God’s love for him.  Sarah and the other women serving with her are also guiding these women to a new life in Christ and helping them understand how deep and wide Christ’s love is for them.  Sharing the Gospel is always a risk.  Andrée Seu, a writer with World Magazine, states is this way, “Risk-taking is nothing fancy, just an everyday pressing into little things that we have no confidence of doing without the help of God.” (World Magazine, Nov. 7, 2009)  Sarah had no confidence in her ability to share the Gospel, but with God’s help that is exactly what she is doing.