Dear Friends and Relatives,
Yesterday I received a letter from the nurse we worked with in Zimbabwe saying, “It is the hot, sweaty time of year.” That is hard to imagine as we huddle around the wood stove and the wind howls outside blowing in a snow storm. I’m so grateful for firewood, an electric blanket and relatively mild winters. In spite of 38 years in this climate, my blood is still rooted in Southern California.
Philippians has been filling my mind lately and I’m struck with Paul’s contrast between losses and gains. ”I’ve lost everything in order to know Christ.”, he says, and “regard them as garbage.” And then he says he is striving for the goal that gets the prize. Paul says the world was crucified to him. He’d lost position, popularity, possessions, his very freedom as he sat writing, chained to a guard. None of that was important or worth fighting for. But there was one thing that was worth everything–knowing Him. He hadn’t taken hold of it yet but kept striving. He took hold of some intimacy with Christ but that just made him hunger for more and so he kept pressing on. This reminds me of a recurring dream I have had in the past of finding a few coins on the ground. I would pick them up and then walk a little farther and find more, and then more. It was very exciting. All of us have found some of Him but we want more and more and more. That’s Paul’s admonition–Keep going after more. Don’t be satisfied with what you know and have right now. According to Paul, this is ”God’s call Heavenward.”
SCHOOL
You may remember our asking for prayer last spring and summer regarding whether to continue with our high school program. The Lord sent us a young couple from Kansas, Elrond and Sheree Wedel. Elrond’s teaching qualifications allowed us to once again offer high school. These last three months have been such a joy as we witness a move of God among the students. The difference from last year is palpable. The students themselves remark about how friendly and happy everyone is, and many older kids are confessing faith in Christ. Please pray the Spirit will continue to work.
RESPONSIBILITIES
Greg is teaching high school boys auto mechanics. The girls want to hang around too and wish they could learn about engines. A bright spot in the week is a Bible study for two men who want to grow in the Lord. And, of course, Sunday preaching is a weekly joy. I (Kathy) make myself available for school kids to talk and try to be an encouragement to two young women on staff. How different my life would have been had I not been blessed with a godly older woman, my mother in law Betty Staley
GRATEFULNESS
- To be in His will, in this place, for this time. Under His authority, provision and blessing.
- Good health (not bad for 60 year olds, well Greg is and I’m close behind).
- Three godly children, two wives and five grandchildren
- A multitude of close friends who pray and care for us. That, of course, includes all you who are reading this.
- God’s Word that is our lifeline when the storms rage.
- God’s loving presence, comfort, keeping.
- Hope, that He will make the desert bloom as He brings streams in the desert.
God bless all of you and receive our thanks for all you do for us,
Greg and Kathy Staley