It was great to start the new year with yet another commitment to exercise. I was able to listen to the first ten chapters of Matthew during the first daily half-hour bounce on a mini-trampoline and will take to heart that "faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God."

Along the lines of faith, I guess it's time to ask your assistance in securing our 16-month overdue visa. We have ~5 months to go before a short summer Stateside Assignment (STAS). "O me of little faith" has a hard time believing that what couldn't be done in sixteen months will (somehow) be done within a five month period of time. I suppose it's our August return that concerns me most and the possibility of being turned away then (sigh). Confession is good for the soul but bad for the reputation, huh <g>

I saw a great new tract and thought you might enjoy it, too: "When marriages come apart, the focus tends to be on the couple going through the divorce. But the biggest tragedy is its effect on the children. In this tract, a little girl whose parents are divorced is angry because her daddy left her. But Susy introduces the One who will be her Heavenly Father, who will never leave her. This is a beautiful and powerful Gospel message for children, not only those whose parents are divorced, but all children. It is the first of a new series (the Li'l Susy series) of tracts specially designed to present the Gospel to children.

Read it here in English or in Spanish"

Matthew 24:14

* Be sure to sign up for the Wednesday Weekly.

+ The rains brought growth to the Prayer Garden, and we needed to keep it trimmed; however, temperamental equipment had been a discouraging factor in doing what needs to be done, so you joined us in asking God to provide all we needed to do what needed to be done... Monday saw the ankle-high grass 'cut to size,' but the weed eating will have to wait until this week's rains subside. Thank you for praying!

+ End of the year financial stuff may have taken some extra attention last week, so we could have used extra intercession in that area... sure enough, the extra tension, er, attention was needed; however, your intercession made things bearable, and we thank you!

+ Last week Jasmine had at least another week off from school, and we trusted those of you with children to know how to pray for us... funny, we did nothing out of the ordinary and time just flew. We believe your intercession made a great difference, and we thank you!

<T H I S  W E E K><

<>< Shirin, Jasmine, and a co-worker will be going to the orphanage this week. Please pray with them that they will plant a love for God in the girls' hearts through songs, crafts, and simple conversations.

<>< Pray that I would continue to be obedient by way of exercise and listening to the New Testament.

<>< I'm having a difficult time finding a printer cartridge and believe your intercession will make a difference.

<>< The Prayer Garden has been mowed and prevented from going back as a Prayer 'Jungle.' Once the rains finish for this week, we'd like to finish the yard work. Pray with us that an opportunity to proclaim His message would happen as a result.

<>< Jasmine goes back to school Saturday, so ask God to give her clear recall of the letters and numbers she has learned. Also, may He grant her clarity of thought to learn the remaining letters and how to manipulate the numbers.

>< Pray for the Saharawi of Morocco. >

CALENDAR UPDATES

<If you're not receiving our bimonthly snail-mail newsletter, let us know so we can send it to you!><

1, Pray that we be His faithful followers.

* Above all, we want to be found faithful to Him and to His call on our lives. Your ongoing intercession helps with that, and we thank you.

2, Yasser Arafat’s salvation

* As much as I'd like to see it happen, it didn't happen today.

3, Ariel Sharon’s salvation

* As I sat under the razor of a barber, I thought how his life would be different once his 'enemy' meets Jesus!

4, May Jasmine learn of Jesus.

* Oh, to hear her words about following Jesus every day and seeing Mom and Dad live it out! She has made tremendous progress with the books of the Bible, only needing about two or three cues for all sixty-six books. We'll start on reference-verse-reference memory verses soon. Thank you for praying for her!

5, May we share His forgiveness.

* I was able to get back to the fruit vendors with His good news today and continue to covet your intercession.

6, Ask for improved online connections.

* Thanks to your intercession, I managed to fix a firewall glitch : -)