Dear Friends,
First, we want to personally THANK YOU for your prayers and THANK GOD
for helping us heal in
our time of sickness. Patricia is her old self
again and so am I. The test results have come back Negative.
We are
awaiting one more result, and if that is negative, the doctor will more
than likely cancel my scheduled liver
ultrasound. Patricia's mother,
Linda, gave us some helpful advice in regards that Tylenol can affect
liver enzymes.
We are thinking that Tylenol affected my initial blood
tests.
I am pleased to report that I have lost
a total of 40 pounds since
arriving in Suriname. This was intentional on my part, although being sick
has helped
in shedding the pounds. I plan to loose a few more, without
the assistance of illness.
PRAYER NEEDS:
And
we have some....
First, I do request prayer for my good friend, Jeff Black. I've known
Jeff for 15 years
and he was in our wedding. Jeff and his wife are
faithful servants of the Lord and they are your brother and sister
in
Christ. Jeff is scheduled on February 7th, to undergo brain surgery to
remove a cyst. Jeff has had
this cyst for many years and the doctors have
examined it on an annual basis. I phoned Jeff this week and talked
to
him about this surgery. His doctors said that it was imperative that
they go ahead now and remove this cyst.
We ask that you lift Jeff and
his wife, Kim, up in your prayers. We prayer for the surgeons and
doctors
attending to Jeff and we pray and go ahead and Thank God now for
Jeff's healing.
Secondly, this past week, we've
had some serious problems with four of
our young men in high school. I will not provide details, but I do
request
prayer for these young men. I pray
that these young men are truly repentant. I pray that
these
young men seek after God. I praise God that He is just and full of
grace. We are praying that this will
begin a revival in our young
people.
Thirdly, God has laid something on my heart. I feel that God wants
Patricia
and me to begin a 6th-8th grade Bible Study, in addition to my
Young Men's Bible Study. The girls have expressed
the need and my 6th
graders are not included in anything. This is a perfect opportunity to
reach out to the
6th graders and include the 7/8 girls. Patricia and I
will jointly teach these young people. They
Are Hungry. Last night,
as I prayed, I asked God to confirm that this was His Will and not my
own idea.
He confirmed me today! Today's message was on discipleship
and the Great Commission. We have already "Gone",
now it's time to
disciple these young people.
Allow me to get you up to speed with my 6th graders. We are
doing a
study everyday during Bible class, Lee Strobel's "A Case for Christ"; and
the Spirit is working on Piyush,
the Hindu, and Sally, the Muslim
(terrible way to refer to the sweet kids). I know that you have been
praying
for these 2 students. I ask that you continue to pray for them.
Piyush came to an important self-realization
this past week...He raised
his hand and asked, "So, Mr. McClung, if I don't accept Christ then I'm
going to hell?"
That question cut me through the heart. I answered
affirmatively and his face dropped. It is a difficult situation.
As long
as Piyush is in his father's house, he must abide by his father's
wishes (Hinduism). I continue to counsel
Piyush and I do not encourage any
type of cop out. Please pray for this young man, it is so incredible
to see
the Spirit at work. I believe that he is beginning to see and
accept the Spiritual Truths that some of us take for
granted. Sally is
always asking good questions. I know that she is being challenged too.
Keep praying
for Sally.
Now, I have a challenge/request for you, dear reader. I know that most
of you support us on a
monthly basis and words will never express our
gratitude. With that said, here is my request that I feel confident
that God has allowed me to share...We would like to purchase inexpensive
gift Bibles for the students that will be
attending the Bible Study.
Some students have their own Bibles, some do not. Gideon's just passed
out
little Dutch/English New Testaments but the print is SO small. We
have school Bibles that frankly need replaced,
but I am not asking on
behalf of the school. Each Bible is $5.99 from
http://www.christianbook.com. I am giving this to God. If you feel
like you would like to help, please EMAIL me. That way I will
have a
general idea of how many to order. We hope to have these by the March
shipment. I am not
sharing this with the students, but we have observed
that this need is real. Thank you for your thoughtful/prayerful
consideration on this matter. "And in all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in
prayer, believing, ye shall receive."
Matthew 21.22
We pray that throughout 2002, that you continually strive to be at the
center of God's Will.
We ask that God bless you as much as you have
blessed us. We continue to thank you for your needed prayers and
support.
We never feel alone here. We praise God for allowing us to be used
here. We can't wait to sit down and share
with you this summer.
Joyfully in Christ,
John and Patricia
"Know that the Lord, He is God; It is He
who has made us, and not we
ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture."
Psalm 100:3 NKJV
