Thursday, February 5, 2009

The Lord Will Be Your Everlasting Light

Dear Friends and Family,

Isaiah 60:19-20 “The sun will no more be your light by day, nor will the brightness of the moon shine on you, for the Lord will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory. Your sun will never set again, and your moon will wane no more; the Lord will be your everlasting light and your days of sorrow will end.” Praise the Lord!!!

We have had a really tough month here at APNTS. If you have been prompted to hold us up in prayer, we thank you so very much. There were times when I simply asked the Lord, “Please just put us on someone’s heart, to stand beside us in prayer.” I trust more in the Holy Spirit placing us on your heart that I do my email. J God is so faithful and we know that we are always in his hands. I recently heard someone say that all things that happen have been filtered through the loving fingers of our Heavenly Father. He loves us more than we can ever ask or imagine. Despite difficult times, God is our Savior J Despite difficult times, we learn more about his love and grace. Despite difficult times he refines us so that he can see His reflection in us J

EJ was the son of two of our employees who came to campus daily with his parents because he had no one at home to care for him and he wasn’t in school yet. EJ died of diphtheria. He was well one day and dead two weeks later. Because of the contagiousness of diphtheria, 53 people on our campus have had to be treated for prevention of the disease. We are currently trying to locate enough immunizations to give to these individuals also, but the country is having a shortage of diphtheria immunizations and they are very difficult to acquire.

Michael was one of our long time staff who had a rich heritage in the Nazarene church of the Philippines. His faith was a wonderful testimony to all who knew him. He was always smiling despite the fact that he had no functioning kidneys. He was always encouraging others to “fight the good fight.” Michael had been on dialysis for 4 ½ years. The Lord called him Home.

We have been walking through a dark valley with a friend who has needed help on her journey.

We know that our trials now are really fleeting, and that one day the Lord will be our everlasting light and there will be no more sorrow! We praise God for his faithfulness!

Blessings on each one of you!