November Update

I say this every month and I'll say it again. Thank you for your prayers! They are very much appreciated and the grace of God is the very air we breath. Praise Him that we can approach His throne of grace through the name of Jesus Christ (Hebrews 4:14-16).

The following are brief updates and requests for prayer.

1. Trouble in the land: Today there is political chaos in Makati City, Metro Manila. Military officers who participated in a 2003 mutiny against the Arroyo government walked out of their trial and took over the 5-star Manila Peninsula Hotel which had an 89% occupancy rate. How does that happen?!? Pray for a peaceful resolution of this crisis and that the restraining hand of God will keep it from spreading throughout the city over the next few days. Those on trial and their allies are trying to start a 3rd People Power Revolution which would amount to a coup d'état.

2. Bangkok Trip: Asia Cutting Edge was attended by over 300 men and women from around the region working with children at risk. The conference was both encouraging and challenging. The "Practices for Learning" paper which I was privileged to present was well received and I had great liberty in presenting it. The 180° Consultation was attended by about 35 people working with street children representing the following countries: the UK, US, India, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Uganda, Australia, the Philippines, Brazil and Scotland. Doug Nichols, ACTION's Founder, gave 2 powerful Bible saturated 1 hour long devotional messages encouraging us to stay at the task of sharing the Gospel and compassionate care to the world's 160 million street children. Thank you for praying because we sensed them several times throughout the week which provided both courage and assurance in our work. Thanks for standing with us in the Spirit.

3. Evangelistic Christmas Parties: Monday we start our Christmas parties which will run through December. So far we have 36 parties planned with several being jointly hosted by several churches and agencies. Pray for continued cooperation among workers and logistical details along with recruitment of street children and their families, prisoners and prison administrators, disaster victims and slum dwellers. Pray that many will genuinely repent of their sin and trust Christ as their Savior thus truly experiencing the real meaning of Christmas for the first time.

4. Eden Zacal: Eden, whom we wrote about last month, is in serious need to have her brain tumor removed from the frontal lobe of her skull and sinus area. ACTION is trusting the Lord for between $5-10,000 to assist them with their severe financial need at this time. Luv and Eden are long time friends and are godly, zealous ministers of the Gospel and compassionate care to the poor. Pray about helping them during their time of need by sending a gift to the ACTION office nearest you. At this time Eden's surgery is scheduled for December 10 while she continues to experience severe headaches. Luv and Eden have expressed to me their sincere gratitude to ACTION for our prayers and standing with them at this time.

5. Micah arriving tonight: Our daughter Micah arrives from Minnesota in a few hours and will be with us for a month. Before she is deployed to Iraq in April, she is being ordered by the military to have her wisdom teeth pulled, which have been bothering her. Mary Ann has been talking to several dentists here and has made arrangements for an appointment tomorrow morning. If this appointment goes well, she is scheduled to have the teeth removed on Saturday morning. Pray for guidance as we look into having them pulled here or not.

Speaking of dental problems, this month I have had 2 abscessed cracked molars pulled and am looking into having dentures made which will be quite expensive. Pray for us as we look into this and for financial resources for this unexpected expense. While in Bangkok we enjoyed lots of great Thai food but I dreaded eating because on one side I had a molar missing and on the other side I was aching tremendously. Now I know why the missionaries of old had all their teeth pulled before they left for the field! :-)

6. All Soul's and Saint's Day: November 1 and 2 are National Holidays here and what we observe each year at this time are people's fear of death and evil spirits along with their superstitions and religious traditions. We, as followers of Christ, however, praise the One who died and rose again to set us free from sin and the fear of death. Because Christ lives, we too live forever!

Hebrews 7:25 NASB "Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them." Hallelujah!

Thank you dear friends for your prayers and financial gifts. You are greatly loved by us and the Lord.