There are varying definitions of mentorship. One I like is "a discipleship relationship that focuses on equipping believers for the work of ministry so that they grow in maturity and unity in the faith with the ultimate goal of glorifying God." In this, both the mentor and the disciple grow in grace as they grow together. Over the last couple years, God has placed many opportunities for both of us to mentor others. Although there are many we mentor, this newsletter we wanted to highlight one of those groups.
Anchor Group
The past two and a half years, Ben has mentored a group of high school young men. On Monday evenings, he meets with 5 student leaders (12th graders), not only to plan the lesson for the larger group, but to discuss theology and discipleship, mentoring them to become good mentors.
Then on Wednesday evenings, Ben and these student leaders meet with boys from Sam's 10th grade class. They are currently studying discipleship together as this will be that class's final year of Bible study and next year those young men will be the student leaders. Ben has walked with these young men through many trials -mental health issues, death of friends/family, school struggles, etc. There is also lots of joy and fun as they all pile together crammed on a couch to study God's word for their lives.
We praise God for these people that have become dear to us as we walk alongside them, spurring them on in the faith. May we continually point them to Christ as we walk through life's joys and heartaches together.
Praise and Prayer:
- Rejoice with us in these opportunities to mentor others. Pray that our own hearts will continually turn to Christ for wisdom as we walk alongside those we love.
- Pray for these 10th grade boys as some of them will transition to be student leaders next year-taking on the mentor role themselves.
Summer Plans: Big Announcement!!
Until recently, we planned to be in the US for about a month for our daughter Elie's wedding. However, we recently made the decision to extend our time in the US from June through shortly after Christmas.
Our ministry in Thailand has always been more work than we can handle on our own, and it is only growing. The need to recruit more teammates to join us in this work has become critical for us and for the ministry.
Please pray that our time in America would be fruitful; that God would connect us to people with the hearts and gifts to join us in Thailand.
We plan to spend most of our time in Wisconsin, with some visits to Michigan as our two older girls settle there in the fall. We have started school enrollments for Sam and Miriam. We see the Lord's hand in starting to bring all the pieces together.
As we prepare for this, please pray with us for:
- each of our hearts and the hearts of those we love through this time of preparation
- God's protection and care for the people and ministries we leave behind in Thailand
- a sub-renter for our home here in Thailand
- a home in Oostburg/surrounding area from August through December
- a vehicle while we are there
If any of you have an ideas or leads on the last two items, please reach out to us as we consider and discern our options.
As always, we are so grateful for all of you as you lift up the people of Thailand in prayer. We wait in great hope and expectation to see how God will continue to grow and further His Kingdom.
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