Equipping Families to be Strong in the Lord
I’m delighted to announce that we are doing a “Speak Truth in Your Heart” conference in Council Bluffs, Iowa on March 3-4th! See PDF of flyer here. It’s been very exciting to watch the Lord use the content Sarah teaches in this new Bright Lights conference to impact girls as well as moms. Praise God that His Word is “living and active … able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12).
See pictures and reports from our last two “Speak Truth in Your Heart” Conferences here.
I worked as a seasonal employee for Answers in Genesis for a couple of weeks in December to help with Christmas Town.
I worked in the bookstore a little, but most of the time, I did response questionnaires with guests using ipads – which led to an abundance of meaningful conversations with families; I was very blessed.
I was also very encouraged by the interaction with Answers in Genesis staff. What a special “family” of very warm people who love the Lord and are working together for His glory and His work.
I heard so many guests raving about the light display. 🙂
Christmas Town is a wonderful outreach … beyond the lights, people love the Biblical characters who walk around and interact with guests, the live nativity, the free Christmas concert, good food, and the petting zoo and camel rides.
Shepherds, sharing the exciting news about the newborn Child with guests
Anna (played by Vickie) is my very favorite part of Christmas Town. 🙂
Some guests come from long distances to enjoy Christmas Town. Some come every year as a Christmas Tradition. It was exciting to get a firsthand feel for just how many people are blessed by this place. 🙂
Tony Ramsek, talking to a family from Iowa. They were interested to hear about the outreach that he led for Answers in Genesis at the Iowa State Fair last year. (This is something I have not yet blogged about but plan to soon! Plans are being made to do the same outreach again this coming August.)
Today my Grandpa (90 years old) took me out to lunch. I was asking him about who impacted his life the most. He said it was his uncle Arthur. Arthur really loved the Lord, thoroughly knew his Bible, and genuinely lived out the Christian life.
Among other friends, he also mentioned Jim Elliot, who he was friends with in college. My grandpa was explaining to me about the impact “brother Jim” made on all the students at Wheaton.
“Why do you think he made such an impact?” I asked.
“Because Jim had a real relationship with the Lord … and loved to talk about him,” my grandpa replied.
In every generation the Lord is raising up Jim Elliots and Uncle Arthurs. Some are more known, some less known. What really matters, when all is said and done, is that our relationship with Christ is real, vibrant, alive, and the best part of our lives. That kind of life will make an impact on others. However, our focus is not on “trying to make an impact,” but on loving Jesus with all our heart, soul, strength, and mind!
“Lord, please let the atheists be so touched by the love of Christians tomorrow that they are bewildered,” we prayed, anticipating the events of the following day.
We were volunteering at the Ark Encounter on our way home from the Answers in Genesis NEA gospel outreach in Washington D.C.
A surprise opportunity arose to join Eric Hovind and some other friends to talk with the protesters, and to bring them lunch.
When we told one of the other volunteers that we would be visiting with a group of protesters, she lit up. “Let’s pray for them right now!” she exclaimed. Her face reflected the feelings of us all. How beautiful that God was bringing a whole group of atheists right to our “doorstep,” so that we could share the love and truth of Christ with them.
Eric Hovind did a great job spear-heading this ministry effort to the protesters. He wrote a comprehensive report of the whole day here.
Some of the protestors were pretty angry about the Ark. However, many of them were very willing to have conversations with us.
Three different atheists told Sarah that they really enjoyed their conversation with her, and thanked her for talking with them.
One atheist actually blogged about the conversation she had with a Creation Museum staff member named Kendyl. The atheist wrote, “I hadn’t planned on talking to any of the Christians there, but found myself engaged in a couple of one-on-one, deep conversations with them anyway. They were calm, meaningful discussions about faith that I actually quite enjoyed. During one of the conversations I and the girl I was talking to were both tearing up talking about our experiences. It was a very touching moment and one I will not forget. The thing I often remind myself of is that we’re all just humans trying to figure out the world around us. We shared our disagreements and debated a few issues, but sometimes you just have to push all the divisive stuff to the side and connect with someone on a deeper level. We did that and it was beautiful.”
Unfortunately, not all of the protesters were as willing to converse. In fact, when the Christians first arrived, the atheist leaders were telling their group not to speak to us at all. Praise God, He had different plans for them. 🙂
They weren’t too excited about the food we brought for them. They put these warning notices on them.
Nickie and I talked with these ladies for about two hours. Our goal was simply to listen and understand what made them so upset that they would come and protest. They had much to say, especially about the way religions have affected women’s rights.
After about 45 minutes of discussion, a guy who had been listening in, piped up, “Do you guys mind if I jump in, as a male hearing this talk?”
They laughed.
“Seriously, it’s not very often I get to hear females talking about female issues that involve religion.”
“Yep!” she said.
He pulled over his lawn chair, and then looked over at Nickie and me to make introductions.
“I’m assuming, Christians?” he asked politely.
“Yes,” we smiled.
“Uh, conservative? Like, super conservative?”
“We’re volunteering for the Ark encounter,” I said, smiling.
“Oh! Well then that explains it,” he said.
His big question was, “How do you reconcile being a female and having to read the Bible?”
Smile.
If only he would have given us the opportunity to answer!
It was clear that these atheists wanted to sit on the judgement seat above God and judge Him. This guy, (I’ll just call him “Jay”) told us, “If God knocks on my door tomorrow … I will tell Him, ‘I’m not praising you, I’m not getting down and worshiping you, I’m not going to thank you, we’re going to sit at my dining room table and you’re going to sit here and answer every &$%*!@#$! question that I have. And I still may not worship you. I’ll respect that you’re here now … way to show up … ‘bout time!”
I share his disrespectful words to show the attitude that many of them had towards God. They are not merely atheists, but anti-theists. Many of the people that came to protest were extreme anti-theists, not your average atheist that you meet every day. Most atheists I’ve encountered over the years aren’t as angry as some of these were.
It was sad to hear how Jay became an atheist. He told us that he was confirmed a Lutheran, but once he had his second child, he began thinking, “Okay, I’m a parent, I have to start laying the groundwork for my kids. Are we religious?”
Jay began getting advice from people about religions. One guy advised him, “Look at the different faiths out there, and pick your holy book of choice. Then get away from the cheerleaders of it (pastors, priests, activists) and read it for yourself from front to back.”
At this point I was becoming very interested in Jay’s story!
He continued, “I couldn’t even get through the first page of Genesis without thinking, ‘what in the @&)%*$%# is this about? On the 4th day, God created light? Well how in the *#%$!(@& did the first 3 days happen?’ … And then I jumped on the Internet and started typing … trying to get the other side of it.”
(I guess he forfeited the advice of his friend, who said to read it for yourself before getting others’ opinions!)
I asked him, “Don’t you think you should have read the whole Bible before you came to that conclusion? Don’t you think that’s a little unfair to stop right there?”
“Not when you understand how the Bible came to be,” he said. “The Bible is not one consistent story from start to finish. It just a bunch of jumbled whatever. Did you know there’s THREE different versions of the resurrection story in the Bible?”
Jay claimed that coming up with a consistent resurrection story can’t be done.
“But I’ve studied this myself!” I told him, “And Tim Chaffey over there in the white cap wrote an article on this — I could send it to you!”
“It can’t be done,” he repeated.
“It CAN be done. I’ll explain it to you!” I offered excitedly.
Another lady, entertained, commented, “I just have to say, you guys are so cute. I love people.”
I am not sure that “cute” was the most complimentary thing she could have said at the moment, but whatever. Haha.
And regarding the issue of light before day four, there are many easy answers to that question. Here’s one by ICR, for example. Genesis 1:3 says that on the first day “God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. So Jay was confused when he said on the fourth day “God created light”. The Bible says on the fourth day God created the sun, moon and stars.
Though Jay hadn’t read the Bible, it was obvious that he had been reading all kinds of things ABOUT the Bible. Atheists like Jay love to pull out obscure verses from Leviticus to act like they know the Bible really well, hoping to stump Christians. But in reality, they usually don’t actually know the Bible — they just go to atheist blogs or watch debates where they acquire “ammunition” to use against Christians. (It’s not really ammunition because their objections have simple answers, but often they don’t actually want answers. Rather they “suppress the truth” as Romans 1:18-22 explains. 🙁 )
For example, Jay claimed the Bible is extremely immoral because of the account of Lot offering his daughters to the evil townsmen. He felt that because that event was in the Bible, the Bible must be condoning Lot’s behavior.
Nickie and I explained that Lot’s actions are not lifted up as godly in that account! The Bible gives all kinds of examples of evil… and it is not condoning it, it is simply showing the depravity of men’s hearts.
But Jay wasn’t satisfied with our answer. He asked scornfully, “Does it bother you that your God in that book didn’t jump out of the sky and condemn it (Lot’s actions)?”
He continued, “The moral compass wasn’t there. Why wouldn’t God jump in at that moment and intervene? He intervened and turned Lot’s wife into a pillar of salt. Why did he just sit on the sidelines in this part of the story [when Lot was about to offer his daughters to the townspeople]?”
“But He didn’t!” Nickie replied. “Did you read the rest of the story? The angels inflicted the townsmen with blindness.”
Although Jay wasn’t really listening and didn’t really care, I was grateful for Nickie’s quickness to catch and correct his misunderstanding of the history recorded in Genesis 19. Either Jay was lying or hadn’t really read the whole account himself. The truth is that God DID intervene to protect Lot and his family from the evil men outside. In fact, God did it by the personal visit of an angelic team who powerfully blinded the enemies! How is that “not intervening” ?
You see, these atheists act like they have dozens of great arguments against the Bible, but their arguments crumble when evaluated.
“Can I ask you ‘how far creationist’ you are on the scale? Like do you believe humans hung out with dinosaurs?” Jay asked me.
“Yeah, we believe God created dinosaurs on day six,” I said.
“So you literally think that humans hung out with dinosaurs?”
“Why do we find dinosaur bones with blood vessels in them?” I asked.
“Is it to trick us?” he asked.
“It wasn’t found by [Creationists],” I replied, “it was found by Mary Schweitzer who doesn’t even believe in young earth creationism, but she found this tissue and these blood vessels in these dinosaur bones and then did the experiment again and again…”
“In which facilities? Christian facilities? Independent?” Jay asked, and then immediately switched the topic to kangaroos.
I was thrilled that Tim Chaffey could come and join our conversation. He responded to each of their objections (which seemed endless) with clear and articulate answers.
One guy had a question about how the water could have covered the planet.
“You’re assuming Mt Everest was there [at the time of the flood],” Tim replied.
“Yes, because geologically, Mt. Everest, even though it is a young mountain, is still very old,” the guy said.
“It’s covered with sea shells,” Tim replied.
This led into a discussion about how the sea shells got there.
At one point Jay said to Tim, “Why would one planet in this galaxy be *so important* to a creator?
“Well,” Tim began…
“I’m not looking for an answer,” Jay said.
“Well I’m going to give you an answer,” Tim said, seizing the opportunity to answer that good question, “Because if this is where He creates life — and in the Bible the earth is made before the sun, moon and stars — ”
“Which doesn’t make any sense at all,” Jay said.
“I think it makes perfect sense, if He wants to do it that way,” Tim replied.
[I found it interesting that Tim, without knowing my previous conversation with Jay, brought up the VERY TOPIC that had been the big turn off for Jay — the fact that God made the sun, moon, and stars, on day four.]
Tim continued to explain that God cared about this planet because this was where He sent His Son to die on the cross for our sins.
“We really appreciate you talking with us” we told Jay, as things were winding down and we had taken friendly pictures together and exchanged contact info.
“Oh this is wonderful,” he replied.
We both agreed that talking in person is better than online debates.
“[Online] it just turns into a shouting match … My caps lock is louder than your caps lock!” Jay joked.
We laughed.
Meanwhile, my dad, Sarah, Haley, and our other friends were having good conversations too. Praise the Lord.
The great news was that twenty-one of the protestors agreed to go on a guided tour of the Ark — guided by Tim Chaffey who is the content manager for the Ark (he wrote the signage). He blogged about the day here. The Ark Encounter also blogged about it here.
Eric Hovind, giving a great explanation about geology and the flood.
The atheists even agreed to do a 10 minute Q and A time with Tim Chaffey at the end of the personal tour.
Do you notice how intent the look on their faces are? They aren’t mocking anymore. They’re listening respectfully. Praise God that many of these atheists — who began the day by chanting at the exit ramp — ended the day as our friends!
A beautiful sunset closed that first long day. Wow, so much had happened, and that was just opening day! What else is the Lord going to do at the Ark Encounter? How else will He use it as a beacon for the gospel? Perhaps that will depend on how much we are praying towards that end!
The next day, some of the leaders of the atheist protest came back! Our friend, Tony Ramsek, invited them into the IT office for lunch. They talked for several hours about Creation Science and more importantly the person and work of Jesus Christ!
Tony shares interesting details about his interactions with the atheists in his presentation called “Beginning in the Beginning: The Power of Creation Evangelism” given at our recent Witnessing Workshop (blog post coming soon!).
Witnessing Workshop – Beginning in the Beginning: The Power of Creation Evangelism from Tony Ramsek on Vimeo.
Praise the Lord, who thrills our hearts by giving us the opportunity to be His hands and lips, reaching out to those He loves.
The conference adventure started in the airport when Nickie and I had to figure out how to move our six 50 lb. suitcases (materials for our book table) and three carry-on’s from the curbside to the Southwest desk while Sarah parked our vehicle in the Des Moines long term parking lot. The obvious problem is that if one person stays with the suitcases at the curb while the other starts moving them inside, who is going to stay with them inside the airport?
Well, we decided to move them all in short, 20 ft. increments through the airport, caterpillar style. (Who wants to pay $20 for 2 carts when you could have so much fun making a scene in the airport!) Thankfully the Southwest desk was just inside the door. 🙂
This was our first time to do a Bright Lights conference so far west. It was exciting to have an audience of entirely “new” people!
It’s also been fun to have a totally new conference. (This was our second “Speak Truth in Your Heart Conference” conference. Our first was in Dallas in June.)
Two sweet girls who are a part of the Bright Lights group here.
I enjoyed getting acquainted with these young ladies from Las Vegas, where their dad was burdened to do a church plant. Praise God for the bright lights He is raising up in that dark place!
During one half hour period, the moms and daughters formed small groups and prayed together.
A “get to know you” activity
Kirstin (left), who hosted the conference (together with Cati Stokes) has led a Bright Lights group for about three years and had many stories to tell of God’s faithfulness. She also hosted us in her home, and we had a great time with her, her family, and her dogs. 🙂
At Kirstin’s house spending time with some of the Bright Lights girls the day before the conference started.
Cati Stokes (right) is the one who initiated this whole conference and worked closely with Kirstin to make it happen. They have been working on it for months! It was great to finally meet in person, get acquainted with her and her sweet girls, and enjoy fellowship in the Lord.
Lots of moms and girls who all came from one church!
This picture is for Bekah who requested it. 🙂 We didn’t really do any sightseeing, but thankfully there was a cactus in the church parking lot, so we ran out and snapped a picture with it after we had finished packing up from the conference. Wow, what a huge and very cool plant. 🙂 (I’m still fascinated with them, haha.)
Let me set the scene: Washington D.C. July of 2016. Thousands of Public School Teachers. LGBT Activists. Hillary Clinton in person.
Enter: Answers in Genesis supporting a 20-foot gospel booth, giving away thousands of Christ-centered books and DVDs, engaging teachers in gospel conversations, and showing fly-over drone footage from the Ark Encounter on a huge flat screen TV.
I want to share just a taste with you of how the Lord worked.
Victories are only victories when they are the work of the Spirit of God. That is why we fervently ask Him to speak through us and touch hearts.
One benefit of sharing the gospel from a gospel booth is that discussions can be started easily and naturally as we simply explain the message of the materials we are giving away. The books and DVDs teach many topics about science and why we can trust the Bible, but each one ultimately points to the gospel.
This Mormon man (grey hair) had talked with us last year (I wrote about it in this post) and praise God, he came back this year to visit more! It was a delight to see him again. Bryan Osborne is talking to him in this picture, and Dr. John is pulling up material on his laptop to share. (A typical scene.) This man came back again near the end of the conference to say goodbye to us. I think he could tell we cared about him, and a little bond had formed.
Here’s our team getting smoothies afterwards one night. If only our team wasn’t in such a serious mood all the time! 😛
This was a pro-life booth run by some Christian friends of ours. One morning, Tony Ramsek began talking with a young man in a booth neighboring this pro-life booth. (Tony often goes around and witnesses to other booth vendors.) The theme of the neighboring booth was “Protecting Human Rights.” While talking with the young man, Tony pointed to the collection of babies displayed at this Pro-life booth. (The display shows models of babies from peanut-size to birth size.) Tony asked this young man, “At what point does the baby get their human rights?”
The young man looked at the sequence of babies and said, “Whoa. I’m a really liberal person, but you just changed me into a conservative.”
It was by hearing Tony’s question and seeing the model babies that he saw the truth. Tony proceeded to share Jesus Christ with this young man. Please pray for him. Praise God that He is still working and opening people’s eyes, one by one, even in some of the very darkest places, such as the NEA convention.
Our team this year (minus Dr. John who had to leave early).
This was the first year that Answers in Genesis speakers Dr. Nathaniel Jeanson (Harvard graduate) and Bryan Osborne were a part of the team. Dr. Jeanson is in the green tie, and Bryan is standing directly behind me.
I loved just listening to them talk to people.
One lady thought our booth was advocating bad science, but her tone changed dramatically as Dr. Jeanson addressed her questions.
Her concern began when I showed her the topics on the back of the Answers 1 DVD, which we were giving away.
“So you guys advocate that the earth is only a few thousand years old? Alright. You lost me,” she told me with disdain in her voice. “I’m open to the idea that the Bible can be applicable to life today—but there are so many things in there that you can’t take literally,” she said.
I noticed that Dr. Jeanson was not engaged in another discussion, and he gladly agreed to join the conversation. He began sharing why carbon 14 dating methods do not prove an old earth. She asked, “So I guess what I was trying to get to is this: does your organization promote that the Bible is literal truth?”
Dr. Jeanson affirmed strongly that yes, it does.
“Why can’t it be that the seven days happened longer ago then we thought?”
“That’s a good question, and there are a couple of different ways to answer that,” Dr. Jeanson replied. He continued, “Is it possible that God took millions of years? Sure, He can do whatever He wants to. Is it possible that a day could mean a thousand years? Again, it is theoretically possible, but I have learned that the best way to judge what the text means is not necessarily my interpretation—but to ask, how do other writers of Scripture interpret it?”
Dr. Jeanson then explained how the Bible is one book, with a beginning, middle, and end. And the writers assume that you’ve read what came before. For example, when John records Jesus’ crucifixion, he makes an obscure reference to the Old Testament, saying, “For these things came to pass to fulfill the Scripture, ‘NOT A BONE OF HIM SHALL BE BROKEN.’” This is referring to a passage in Exodus 12:46 about the Passover lamb (thus, John was teaching his readers that Jesus was the ultimate Passover lamb). This is an example of a big arch in Scripture—a tie from Exodus to John. It’s all the same story. Dr. Jeanson gave a few other examples of “arches” in Scripture: concepts that are established in the beginning and fulfilled at the end.
Dr. Jeanson’s point was this: What does the rest of Scripture say about Genesis? What are the other writers assuming? In Exodus 20, Moses gives the Ten Commandments, the fourth being to “rest the seventh day.”
[It says, “Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.” Exodus 20:9-11 ESV]
Dr. Jeanson explained to this lady that the word “day” in Exodus 20 is the same Hebrew word used for “day” back in Genesis chapter 1. In fact, there are other equivalent words used. For example, the Hebrew words for “heaven and earth” in Exodus 20:11 are also the same words used for “heaven and earth” back in Genesis 1:1. So there are multiple links from Exodus chapter twenty to Genesis chapter one.
Dr. Jeanson continued, “Now, in Exodus 20 is it telling us to work for 6 million years and then rest for the 7th million? That could be a really, really bad thing, or a really good thing depending on which part you are in,” Dr. Jeanson said.
She laughed.
He continued, “I think we’ll all agree that means 6 literal days … so those are plain days and he connects it right to God’s creation week.”
She said, “I feel there are so many wonderful things in the Bible to focus on, I just wonder if you are marginalizing yourself by focusing on whether the Scripture can be interpreted exactly today. None of that is about the lessons you’re supposed to learn from the Bible, is it?”
“You’ve just set me up for what I was about to say,” Dr. Jeanson said.
“Okay, go ahead,” she laughed.
He continued, “Because the Bible is a book, the beginning is all the more important. You can’t just jump into the middle of a novel and understand what’s going on. You have to start from the beginning to understand that plot and character development … similarly, there are all kinds of huge arches that start in Genesis and really don’t get finished until Revelation.”
Dr. Jeanson emphasized, “When Paul explains salvation, the whole background to it (why we die in the first place, why we need a Savior) Paul explains by pointing back to Genesis (one man sinned, therefore one Man saves) and then he ties it to Christ (Romans 5). So Paul is connecting Genesis to the central truths of Christianity. I have colleagues who think that Genesis 1-11 is an ancient myth narrative, and who do not believe in a literal Adam and Eve … ”
“Paul lived ‘back in the day’ also,” she said.
“But if we are going to trust Paul [the New Testament] on salvation then we would be logically forced–”
She interrupted, “I could trust someone (like Paul) who is writing back then on what salvation is, more then on what they knew about science.”
Before Dr. Jeanson could really answer this statement, she had to go off to an appointment.
But she said to him, “I really appreciate the conversation, and if I can, I’m going to find you later today.”
This lady was not anti-God or anti-Bible. But she has a low view of the Bible. Second Timothy 3:16 says, “All Scripture is breathed out by God.” Since the Bible is the very Word of our Creator, then why could it not be trusted when it comes to issues related to science? God made the world that scientists study!
And if she cannot believe all of the Bible, then how can she believe any? How can she be sure which part is accurate? This is why it is so important that we stand upon every word of God, and help others see that it CAN be trusted.
Our final evening in DC, we went to a Lebanese restaurant for dinner. Our waitress was from the country of Georgia. She was warm and chatty, and after a little get-to-know-you discussion, we asked her about the spiritual beliefs of her country. Then we asked her about her spiritual beliefs. It felt like just about every time she left the table we’d discuss what we should ask her next time she came back. 🙂
“So you believe in Heaven and Hell right?” I asked.
She did.
“So if you died, where do you think you would go?” I questioned. Her answer surprised me. She replied, “I have never thought about this question before.” This opened the opportunity to share the gospel with her.
It was evident she was enjoying the discussion and loved the positive attention. She even went out of her way to make all of us very delicious [and very gritty!] “Turkish coffee” that you can see us holding.
This past June we held a “Strong in the Lord” and “Radiant Purity” conference in the St Louis area. It was a week of extra challenges and extra sweet moments! There was definite spiritual warfare, but thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of Him everywhere (2 Corinthians 2:14).
One of the challenges was getting the word out about the conference. It was the first time we’d run conferences in this area, so there wasn’t as much familiarity with our ministry. We PRAISE GOD for all He brought–many from longer distances, and many at the last minute.
Interacting with the sweet girls who soak in the teaching makes every conference a great privilege. 🙂 Soon, these girls will be the mothers raising the next generation in America!
My mom, sharing with the mothers while the girls are in small group.
Not only does my mom talk with and encourage ladies, she is always there for us providing encouragement, compassion, and help with so many needs.
Cassidy’s small group!
Name tag table
Sisters!
Sharing time after the conference. One story in particular was especially heart-warming: one of the leaders mentioned that she was really hoping a friend of hers would come. This friend was struggling spiritually, and it seemed unlikely. It was during our free day at the St Louis zoo that this situation was mentioned. Emily said, “Let’s pray now,” and about 12 leaders formed a circle and had a prayer meeting for this girl. The next day, when the girl walked into the Radiant Purity conference, hearts were overjoyed! Not only did she come, but she and her mom stuck around afterward for a long conversation, leading to tears of joy and much praise to God from the leaders.
Praise God for once again, bringing together a wonderful team of leaders who love the Lord and point others to Jesus.
The fellowship we enjoy with the leaders is a highlight. Here was a Bible study with my dad on Colossians 1 after our set up day. We spent a while discussing the phrase, “Christ in you, the hope of glory” ! (Colossians 1:27)
We can’t say enough about Allison and her mom (and entire family) and the wonderful job they did in hosting the conference. The Whisler family has been such an encouragement to us!
Time to relax and invade the Whislers house for a great dinner!
Which included funny moments…
…and learning an Arabic praise song!
Thank you to everyone who prayed for this conference. The Lord did beautiful things, and we are so grateful.
“Who is like You among the gods, O LORD? Who is like You, majestic in holiness, Awesome in praises, working wonders? (Exodus 15:11)
Photo credit to Cassidy Schoolz for a few of the pictures, thanks Cassidy!
Though I didn’t have much time to share reports in June, I wanted to put up a few pictures now from the Indian Southwest Brethren Conference in Dallas (June 9-11) where we had the special opportunity to share on purity with the girls and mothers.
There were over 1,000 in attendance. Most of these families have immigrated to the US from Kerala, India in the last 20-30 years.
We really enjoyed getting to know these sweet families. They were extremely warm to us and welcomed us as part of the family. And it definitely had the feel of one big family!
The highlight was the relationships made through good conversations with the girls we met.
The youth are in an interesting situation: their Indian cultural does arranged marriages, but they’ve grown up in the public school system in America, immersed in the culture here.
These families have the challenge of determining which cultural traditions they hang on to, and which ones they adjust. One father stated of his family, “We believe in BIBLE culture.” Amen to that. 🙂
I remember one conversation I had with some of the girls where I explained, “I grew up here, but our family does things VERY differently from American culture!” I think it was interesting for them to observe that.
This was a discussion time with the college-aged girls on contentment and the joy of serving the Lord in single years.
We were very grateful to have Nickie and Haley with us to help. The conference devotional time started at 6:45am, and things usually didn’t wind down til after 10pm. They really squeeze every hour our of the weekend!
We’re also extremely grateful to Elsa (left) for the instrumental role she played in “hosting” us, and helping us to understand some of the cultural struggles and how we could best minister to the girls and moms.
Grace (standing next to me) was also such an encouragement to us, and has a huge heart for girls’ discipleship. I just heard from her last week that the Lord has opened doors for her to start a discipleship group with some other girls her daughter’s age. Praise the Lord!
The conference was recorded and here are our two messages if any are interested.
First session
Second session
(The Audio starts during the 2nd minute)
See recording of the full conference here.
We are very excited that Brights Lights Leaders Encouragement Retreats have been scheduled for six locations this fall and winter! If you are you a Bright Lights leader (past or present), or if you are you considering starting a Bright Lights group, I think you would be blessed and encouraged by the teaching and like-minded fellowship at these retreats.
Each one is hosted by a local Bright Lights leader. Registration is free.
Franklin, North Carolina (October 28-29th)
Hortonville, Wisconsin (September 30-October 1st)
Livingston, Montana (October 7th-8th )
St. Louis Park, Minnesota (November 4-5th)
Sumas, Washington (January 5-7, 2017)
Corona, California (January 20-21, 2017)
Earlier this year, Haley Skrnich (Bright Lights leader in Texas), and Emily Selander, (Bright Lights leader in Iowa), mentioned to us their burden to see Bright Lights leaders be refreshed and re-inspired. They shared their vision of these encouragement retreats and we really liked their ideas. We have increasingly excited as these plans have been coming together!
The retreats will be filled with times of Bible study, prayer, fellowship, sharing ideas, and time to get to know other Bright Lights leaders in your area. Unfortunately we will not be able to present at them, but Sarah recorded a 45 minute message that will be shown at each one.
Click here to see full size PDF of flyer.
We’re excited to announce our next “Speak Truth in Your Heart Conference.” It will be happening in the Phoenix, AZ area, October 28-29.
For more information, see blog posts from when Sarah presented this material at a camp in Washington state, North Carolina or at a conference in Dallas.
See the Bright Lights Facebook / Twitter page for images to share if you’d like to help spread the word. Go here to register.