Oh, the interesting paths God weaves.

Have you ever thought that we mainly discover our paths as we walk them? That's the way my life and ministry usually seem, anyway. We've gotten connected with the man who has helped a long time with the International Conference for Computers in Missions. He's now trying to start one in Africa. We've seen here a great opportunity for us to help them get started by helping develop the pedagogy and context side of their content. And from that, we can get a lot of starter material for some new courses, like networking. Anthony was brainstorming this morning that this might get me to Kenya for a little while this April. We'll see what happens ... :)

The programming and databases course is still coming along, though somewhat slowly. It's hard to make good linear progress when it's three people working on it at once, and all of us have a lot of other things on our plates. And Anthony, the one with the best understanding of programming and what we're trying to do, is the busiest of all of us. But it is coming, and we're all enjoying it. One of the high school students I mentioned in a previous post is reviewing it for us, and his input has already been helpful.

Anthony reported a really successful first Mini Mission Trip in Houghton. They had young and old people there, veteran ministers and ADHD kids. I think ten laptops were prepared, and believers were encouraged, and newcomers to church heard the gospel in a very clear and gripping way for them. Please pray I'll be able to do the same in places near where I live.

New volunteers

TEN3 has some new recruits: high school students! Anthony got a part-time job as a network administrator at a high school, and has of course been building some good relationships there. Two students have expressed interest in helping TEN3. We will probably mainly have them review our courses. That should be good to see how these courses, designed for young adults, apply to this age group since we also want to market to them. This should be a really good learning experience for them and for us.

Please pray for us as we develop these relationships and continue to work on the programming/databases course, as well as a networking course now.

How many generations?

Anthony shared something so cool recently I thought I'd share it:
Someone once mentioned to me that "Discipling to the third generation" seems strange to them because in the Bible, third and fourth generations are used for curses and a thousand generations is for blessing. That might be true, but our tagline from TEN3 comes from 2 Tim 2:2 "and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also." We are trying to live that out. Besides, TEN3 has the thousandth generation covered too. 10^3 (10 raised to the third power) equals 1,000 ;-).

Perspectives

Part of required training for all new SIM missionaries is the Perspectives in Global Missions course. I had been putting it off until I actually went active. Now that I'm taking it, I'm wishing everyone would.

The lecture last night, "The Story of His Glory," indicted those churches and Bible studies that treat the Bible as a collection of rules and moral stories. It's not that at all, but one great story of God whose glory pales all else from being considered significant, who reflects it in love among the Trinity and in love has determined to sweep mankind up in it. I love how the speaker said that any religious teaching with the punchline "We should be better" will always come up short; the all-sufficient punchline is "Jesus IS better!" So much better than all our strivings. In the midst of my own struggles with vanity (my most haunting sin), this worthlessness of our own efforts to be better, and the Worth of God's glory, reminded me painfully where my obsession belongs.

Convicting as it was, the lecture was also incredibly affirming because it has been on TEN3's hearts for years that people need the whole story of Redemption, not the piecemeal that well-meaning Christians often offer. To hear it from someone else was a deep joy, and made me long all the more for the whole world to hear this story, and see "the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." (2 Cor 4:6).