Encourage One Another

• Marta and Daniel's son Samuel came to church for his first time: Welcome!
• Pray for Sharon's and Laura's job searches.
• Anne asked for prayer for her friend Emily, whose father Bob was unexpectedly diagnosed with advanced cancer.
• Joel asked for prayer for his committee - that they would let him finish!
• Pray for Malcolm in Israel. His hosts are believers who have different Sabbath expectations and Malcolm felt oppressed.
• Buki told how encouraged she was by a song called Faithful God. "He is the Lord and he does not change." When all of life is changing, God will not change: he is reliable.

Samuel Isaac Potts was born at 7:11 p.m. on January 24th, weighing 6 lb 2 oz. Daniel and Marta are proud and are adjusting... :-)

Liz and Mike welcomed Avital Anaïs LaCroix into the world on January 27, 2008 at 9:07pm. She weighed 6lbs 2oz, and measured 19in.

Welcome to the world, little ones!

This week we welcomed John Rich who encouraged us about God's work in our church and about our mission as Christ's ambassadors to the world: this gospel will be preached to all the world, and then the end will come.

Liz has had some false labor and everyone got excited but it died away by the time her mother arrived.

Sharon is going to Texas this week and Pennsylvania next week for interviews. She is turning down an offer from Georgia because of the location.

This post was delayed. You'll see why...

We had lots of visitors, news and prayer requests last week. We welcomed Angela, Kristen, Andrew, and Heather's grandparents, Irwin and his wife.

• At her conference, Sharon had about 13 interviews! Lots of them went well, so pray for a job and for a good location for the family. Kurtis and Asher enjoyed the trip, too.
• Jackie had an interview for New Orleans - pray that they'll invite her for a campus visit next.
• Pray for Tom, that he'll wrap up his dissertation well and be prepared for his return to Egypt.
• Praise God: Malcolm Smillie took the job in Israel, and will be leaving in a week or so. Pray for a calm heart.
• Pray for Ashley who is considering withdrawing from her program - particularly that she would find a job and that she would not have to vacate her place.
• Joe's grandmother passed away, so he is going back to Vancouver this week. Pray for peace for his family in this difficult situation.

I told how I have been thinking of God's deliberateness in his love for us - that our redemption sprang from his good judgment and thorough consideration, not from giving in to an overflow of pity:

In [Christ] we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. - Ephesians 1:7,8

Happy New Year to all! Here's what people said during our time for Encouraging One Another:

• Pray for Brian, looking for a new job closer to home
• Pray for Joe's family - his grandmother had a heart attack on Saturday
• Malcolm Smillie has been offered work in Israel. It looks like the perfect fit; pray for wisdom and God's leading in his decision.
• Pray for Steve and Wendy Lovell, returning this fall as missionaries to Russia. (Name spelling?) Pray that Wendy's application for a TOESL scholarship will be successful.
• Joel has accepted the job at Spring Arbor. Also, he's finished his revised draft. Praise God!
• Ibrahim visited a family friend over Christmas. She has battled cancer this past year and is doing very well. Thanks to God!