Praises:

For Eric’s trip—that he and his team were safe and it was a productive time.

That they were able to film the entire lesson and plan to be finished with it this month

For Allison’s continued healing!

For the Lord’s leading and His hand in our lives and family

Prayer Requests:

For wisdom for Eric and his team as they begin to test the video in Africa and prepare to film the remaining lessons

For Eric’s team members working on follow-up
resources for the Middle East and India —that they would have safe trips and that their meetings would be fruitful

That the Lord will bring the child He has for us in His perfect timing

Verse of the Month:

And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son
of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.

1 John 5:11-13

Following JESUS—Africa

Thank you for your prayers for Eric’s recent trip to South Africa. He and his team had a safe trip and a successful time with our African Campus Crusade staff, filming the first lesson of “Following JESUS,” that teaches that believers can have assurance of salvation.

Recently in a poll taken throughout Africa, over 60% of pastors were not sure of their own salvation. Obviously, their congregation is not sure either. This critical lesson will help new believers be sure and encourage them to share their faith and assurance with others.

The teaching is done through biblically based, culturally relevant parables set in modern day Africa. As the drama unfolds, the viewer is drawn into the story and hears truth from God’s Word.Our African staff and partners are extremely excited about this product and have said:

“This video series will revolutionize the way the church in Africa teaches new believers.” - Peter, Campus Crusade regional coordinator, southern and eastern Africa

“For many years, we have been in need of a tool that will help teach truths to new believers, especially those who cannot read. Today, more and more people are familiar with video and it is changing how people get their information. This is a great opportunity to put the truth of God’s Word in a format like this, so everyone will have a chance to learn.” - George, Campus Crusade regional coordinator, West Africa

We plan to have the lesson edited and ready for field testing by mid April. We will be testing it in every country throughout sub-Sahara Africa from now until August and plan to have results ready by September. While we test this lesson, we will also be making preparations for the remaining ten lessons and plan to film them by the end of the year.Please pray for our video editors, script writers and staff as we work together to finalize many details for this project. Please pray that the Lord will continue to give all of us wisdom as we move ahead. Pray that this video series will bring glory to God and help tens of millions of new believers throughout Africa to have a deeper, daily walk with Jesus.

We have included pictures of the filming on the back, to give you an idea of what the scenes and location looked like. Next month, we plan to have the first lesson available on our website for you to watch. We will give you a link to the page on our website next month.

Adoption Update

We have some big news concerning the adoption! After much prayer and discussion with our case manager, we have decided to withdraw our application from adopting a Vietnamese baby, and instead, are moving forward with adopting from the USA.

The reason for the change is due to the fact that Vietnam is not currently in compliance with an international adoption agreement called “The Hague Convention.” Our government and theirs have been trying to work things out, but they need to follow this agreement before our government will continue to allow adoptions from Vietnam.

Once they are in compliance, they will be adhering to international standards for adoption, which is good news for them, us and the children. The bad news is that it could take several years to come into compliance. Meanwhile, there are 1500 applications in Vietnam and since we weren’t accepted until last December, we are near the bottom of the waiting list! We are currently re-applying with our agency for the domestic program. Thankfully, all but $500 of what we’ve paid so far will transfer to the domestic program, which is a huge praise. Though we are somewhat saddened to not realize our dream for an international adoption at this time, we are excited that we will prayerfully receive a newborn child before the end of the year!

Once all our paperwork is in, our agency will present our materials to several birth mothers. One of them will choose us to be the adoptive parents, and we wait for the baby to be born. Our case manager has told us that sometimes the birth mothers even allow the adoptive parents into the delivery room! We would love that, as we have never experienced it before and we know it’s an amazing miracle.

We are hopeful that someday we will be able to adopt from Vietnam, once they are in compliance with the Hague Convention, if that’s the Lord’s plan. Either way, we know that He is in control and trust Him and His will completely. Please continue to keep our adoption in prayer! It has certainly been an interesting journey, one with twists and turns that we did not expect! Thanks for being part of the journey with us!

God bless you,