A Change in Focus

After a lot of praying, discussion and waiting the board and us have decided it is best for Cory's health for her to step down from full-time teaching for this next semester and focus on substitute teaching. Of course this was not an easy decision to for a number of reasons:

1. The school is so short of teachers already and, like the grade eight class, this class may be left with one teacher after another filling in for the remainder of the year.
2. Stepping down half-ways through a project is not Cory's style. She desires to see a project through to the end, no matter how difficult. And yet, this situation is beyond her ability. We have seen her struggle with her health and in many other ways, knowing that something needs to change.
3. There are kids who do not deserve to lose their teacher. We hope that their studies will not suffer because of their classmates actions.

Yet, we know that this is God's will for Cory at this time.

Over the last years, this particular class has been challenging to many teachers. Mix that "energy" with the changes and challenges that come with puberty, and you've got one wild class. The community has been really supportive: the board has come in and spoken to the class and parents have regularly sat in during the day to help with discipline. Although there have been some improvements there reaches a point where you are not certain if you are the one that will lead the kids through the steps they have to take in order to turn around. As we shared these struggles with the board they opened the door for us and said they would rather have Cory step down, get some rest and support Chris in his teaching than potentially have everything blow up part way through the next semester and lose both of us. As to a new teacher, the board says, "God will provide." We truly feel they love and care for us.

So as of this January Cory will be focusing on substitute teaching and looking for other opportunities to do ministry that God will give her. Chris will continue to teach Bible and Computers for the high-school students.

Please pray for the following:

1. A teacher for the grade 7 class that can lead them back to focus on their studies, and provide the right amount of discipline.
2. God's help to the students (esp. to those who do not deserve this and yet will suffer along side their classmates) that they can still pass this year and those who are struggling with their classroom behaviour will have a change of heart
3. For Cory to get well rested and not be discouraged.

Please pray for Noelle, Rebekah and others

I recently recieved news about some of my fellow teachers back in Blue Creek and request your prayers for them. Noelle (whom we went with from our care group) - grade 4 teacher, Rebekah - highschool engligh and history teacher and 3 others were out for a walk a couple days ago. It was dark and a motorbike came around the corner and without seeing slammed right into the group. Noelle has a broken arm and a slipped disk in her back, Rebekah has a broken arm and head injuries and another girl took some serious hits to her head. I heard yesterday that Rebekah was released from the hospital and Noelle is supposed to be released today. I haven't heard much about the driver or the third girl.

I can only imagine this is really shaking up the community and definetly those young lives and their families. Thank-you for your prayers.

Going home for Christmas

Tomorrow morning we leave for Cancun. After 3 hours of driving then 6 hours of bus we will be there and start looking for a hotel. I wonder how much is rebuilt now after the hurricane? On Thursday we fly out at 5pm and arrive in Seattle around mid-night. Then off to Abbotsford for Christmas and then on to Kamloops later next week.

Thanks for all your prayers duing this travel time. Pray for:

- Safety
- Opportunity to share Jesus

Pray for Exams

The students are starting up Semester Exams today and will continue that all the way till next Tuesday. Please pray that they will be able to remember what they studied and put it to good use. Thanks!

Praise God for my Bursery

I got news a little while ago that my bursery has been approved. That means I get another free course from ACTS seminary as a benefit of working for TWU. That is very gracious of them since I am only 5 hours a week right now and the course is worth about $1000. But praise God because I really want to finish next summer. Only three more courses to go. So this one will be my master's paper (kind of like a thesis but only 50 pages long). I have been thinking about writing something about online ministry. Any ideas?

Our Christmas Program

This is our Christmas program that level3 and the highschool put on. Level3 was about "The Cost of Christmas" and was a retelling of the manger scene. The High School did "Mary Did you know" which walked through the life of Jesus leading to the death and resurrection through Mary's eyes. Phil DeHart put it together.

Hallelujah Church!

There is actually more than one Church in Blue Creek where we live. There is the EMMC (Evangelical Mennonite Mission Church) where we go, the Gleindemeihn (sp?) which is the old German service on the other side of town and there is the "Hallelujah" Church. Today we decided to visit this last group.

The chairs were in a circle around the Lord's table and the service started off with people reading from the Hymn book. Sometimes in unison and sometimes individually. People were free to put lots of emphasis on the key words and to give a good old "Hallelujah" when they really agree. Then after reading/ praying the Hymn we would then sing it a few times and then go back and read the good parts again.

Then someone would pick the next hymn. There was no designated "leader" as far as I could tell and the worship time just carried itself along as people felt lead. Communion came in the middle with the passign around of the bread and the wine (juice). Once the singing was done we read from a devotional book and people shared their words of encouragement and the messages God has been giving them on it.

The hymn book, Bible translation (Recovery Version), and study plan was written by Witness Lee and published by Living Stream Ministries out of California. Has anyone heard of this group?

My observations.... it was different. It had a sense of spontinuity and freedom where people could go as they felt led but in all this there was a clear rythme and tradition had formed even in the spontinuity. Every line read ended with some form of shouting emphasis on the word that made it sound somewhat "prayer spiritual". There was a very strong emphasis on the unity in the Church and how we are not individual Christians but need to minister together which is much needed in today's day. There was also a lot of emphasis on how this unity comes through "eating Jesus" which is the Lord's table, I don't think they are Catholic in their view but retain that communion is a simple... I even think they connect "Eating Jesus" with reading the Bible regularily.

One thing Cory and I had struggles with is when they sang and talked about becoming divine. One person shared how there is the Father, Son and Holy Spirit and they are all one and so three in one. And how there is Father, Son, Spirit and Body and so four are now one. And how Jesus was God-man and now we are man-God b/c partake of the divine nature. Cory and I had a long talk to help clarify this. We explained how we saw it more that where when we are saved we recieve the Holy Spirit and so we are "filled" with God and partake in Him that way. Our nature, we said, never changes to God and the two are seperate. When we are born again we are not becoming God's begotten children as they suggest by the term "Jesus is the firstfruits [thus we are the secondfruits]" but rather born again spiritually to a new life. I was thankful however that when they talk about divine they at least claim that we do not become part of the Trinity but I am not sure how they are distinguishing it. I warned them of J.W. and Mormon teaching which minimizes the unique Sonship of Christ and puts us all on part with Jesus and of using such a strong phrase as "becoming divine". I also exhorted them to read more books than just Witness Lee and Cory exhorted them not to use words like "become divine" so as not to confuse others; but I am not sure how much progress we made or if we truely understood them.

Thanks again for all your prayers.