Salutations in Christ's Name!!
                                    
                                    "Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the 
                                    name of our Lord Jesus Christ," [Ephesians 5:20].  Doesn't that verse 
                                    define Thanksgiving?  That's what it is all about.  Jehovah Jirah--The Lord 
                                    DOES Provide and we are so very thankful.  We all have so much to be 
                                    thankful about.  Coming to Suriname really put a lot of things in 
                                    perspective for us...especially the little things.  It has almost become 
                                    cliche when you hear people talking about taking things for granted; 
                                    however, it is true.  As Americans, we take so much for granted:  family, 
                                    friends, possessions, electricity, hot water, transportation, Wal-mart, Dr. 
                                    Pepper, etc.  I could go on.....but, the point I am trying to make is, 
                                    that it is a little disappointing when we reflect on these matters for 
                                    less than 15 minutes on one particular day of the year.  We should 
                                    certainly reflect (more honestly) and thank our Father each day for 
                                    EVERYTHING that He allows us to have; for Everything is His to begin with. God 
                                    has revealed so much love and so many blessings to us while we've been 
                                    here, it is almost hard to put into words.  Patricia and I are humbled 
                                    to be used by Him.  With that said, here's the latest....
                                    
                                    We survived our excursion into the interior rainforest with our 
                                    highschool students.  It was a good opportunity to get to know these students 
                                    on a more personal level. The scenery was beautiful; the mild 
                                    temperatures were a welcome relief, the trails were treacherous, and waking to 
                                    the haunting moans of the howler monkeys was enough to write home about; 
                                    but this trip was more than about nature.  It allowed my eyes to be 
                                    opened to see how much some of these young people really need Christ. I 
                                    was given the opportunity to share the morning devotions with this group 
                                    of 24 young adults.  God really convicted me on what topics needed to 
                                    be discussed... and mainly those topics were about their need to have a 
                                    daily relationship with Christ.  I pray that their "head knowledge" 
                                    develops into true "heart knowledge" because Romans 10:10 tells us "For 
                                    with the heart one believes unto righteousness...."  Please continue to 
                                    pray for these students.
                                    
                                    Please continue to pray for the Bible study that I am leading.  Praise 
                                    God that 9 young men attended the first meeting.  The proposed study 
                                    seems to be a bit too difficult and time consuming for these guys, so I 
                                    am letting God make the appropriate adjustments (of course!).  This is 
                                    an AWESOME opportunity for spiritual growth with these guys.  Please 
                                    pray that God uses this time to challenge and "water" these guys.  Pray 
                                    that God gives me the wisdom and correct words during this time of study.
                                    
                                    Continue to pray for our school staff.  Two major staff changes are 
                                    coming up in December and January.  Pray that the Lord of the Harvest 
                                    provides teachers for these positions.  Also, it looks like we will have 
                                    several openings next fall due to contracts being fulfilled.  It is 
                                    common for a teacher to teach in one country for a few years and then move 
                                    on to another country.  I know that God will take care of staff needs; 
                                    however, if you know someone being lead to teach, just contact me!
                                    
                                    Thank you so much for your emails, prayers, and support.  Continue to 
                                    share your prayer needs with us.  We hope and pray that everyone had a 
                                    nice holiday and did not eat too much.  We were fortunate to share a 
                                    nice Thanksgiving meal with another missionary family.  Their children are 
                                    our students at the school.  It was a good time of fellowship, although 
                                    we did miss everyone back home.  We understand that the weather has 
                                    really changed back in the States.  Here, the climate is exactly the same 
                                    as the evening we stepped off the plane.  Patricia keeps thinking that 
                                    it is still August!  It is currently 1:45 AM and 85 degrees! (some 
                                    late-nite habits are hard to break!)  Please keep the emails coming so I 
                                    can answer them during my insomniac sessions.  I will forward pics from 
                                    our Brownsberg Nature Reserve trip a little later.
                                    
                                    Grace and Peace to you from God the Father,
                                    
                                    John and Patricia