BELATED HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Ken Thuleen had a very important birthday on Tuesday, January 12th! Unfortunately, his 90th birthday did not appear on last week’s calendar. Apologies for this unfortunate omission! So, best wishes go out to you, Ken, this week, for your coming year! May God’s riches blessings come to you in all areas of your life.

WHEN HATE DOMINATES OUR THINKING

This week, we witnessed first-hand what happens when negative emotions are allowed to dominate our thinking. We watched as folks – most of which had good intentions – stormed our capitol building in Washington, D.C. Property was damaged. Individuals were injured. People lost their lives. And now, their very cause has earned disrespect.

I am not going to get into the politics of the event, but only point out that when negative emotions are allowed to dominate our thinking, similar chaos and rioting is often the result. In other places, like Austin, the same type of protest was made with a difference. It was peaceful and it didn’t bring the same results.

God created us with emotions. They are good and each has its place in our lives (“But the fruit of the Spirit is.. Gal.5:22ff outweighing “The acts of the sinful nature….” Gal. 5:19-21). But the greatest emotion is love, not hate (1 Corinthians 13). The love of God can cause us to hate. But it should not result in the hate of others. Only in the hate of the bad actions of others.

“By this,” says Jesus, “everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:35). Larry Fitzgerald, Woodlawn church of Christ, Abilene, TX

WEDNESDAY PM BIBLE CLASS

First Quarter Wednesday Night Class Schedule

Jan. 20 * Ken Darnell

Jan. 27 * Bible Lands Video: Jerusalem

Feb. 3 * Ken Darnell

Feb. 10 * Troy Futrell

Feb. 17 * Kynn Maxwell

Feb. 24 * Bible Lands Video: Northern Israel

Mar. 3 * Troy Futrell

Mar. 10 * Kynn Maxwell

Mar. 17 * Cary Miller

Mar. 24 * Cary Miller

Mar. 31 * Bible Lands Video: The City of Dan

(*2nd quarter classes will be from the Poetical books material we already have)

We are blessed this year to continue to support the work of Dennis and Sharon Welch in Cambodia. What follows is part of the Welches’ end of the year report. Continue to pray for the Welches and their efforts. For the elders, Ken D

With much joy and excitement we officially announce the engagement of our oldest daughter, Sreykhuech. Ra, Sreykhuech’s long time love and our farm manager, met with us as Ra asked us for our blessing to have Sreykhuech’s hand in marriage. We are grateful for their faith in God and desire for His guidance. Furthermore, we were extremely touched as Sreykhuech has asked Dennis to walk her down the aisle and traditionally “give her away” as she joins her groom in holy matrimony. A few weeks later, Ra’s family came for a visit and we had a traditional Khmer pre-wedding meeting, discussing, what a Christian wedding, that follows as many Khmer traditions as possible, might look like. Then, we enjoyed getting better acquainted over a seafood feast cookout. Please join us in congratulating them and praying for them as they plan the wedding and their future together.

We have exciting new developments on the horizon regarding ministry coaching and the opportunity to train and equip others. Several of the graduates from the Cambodia Bible Institute have requested to be trained in Faith-Focused Solutions coach training and desire to use their gifts as Christian leaders to minister and help others reach their full potential. Join us in prayer as we work towards developing and moving forward with this training opportunity. For more information on the Faith-Focused Solutions training program visit: http://www.faithfocusedsolutions.com

It’s really special to see how a group of people, from a variety of nationalities can make such a meaningful time together. We enjoyed a wonderful celebration with great food, fun games and amazing fellowship as a small group of us joined together to celebrate Thanksgiving. Relationships of love and trust were deepened and treasured memories were created. Join us in offering a prayer of thanksgiving to God for blessing us with treasured relationships.

As 2021 approaches and we look towards a new year we pray for guidance and wisdom as the Holy Spirit leads us and opens doors of opportunity. We have been praying fervently and waiting for clarity regarding future work. Please continue to pray with us for God’s mission in Cambodia to grow and mature.

Lots of love to you all. We are so grateful for you.

Dennis and Sharon