(Nov. 30, 2003) Over the past year we have asked prayer for a number of matters. With Thanksgiving approaching, I have been reviewing those requests and how God has answered. I want to share some of those highlights, hoping they will be an encouraging treat to your own Thanksgiving feast.

Our next baptism class is scheduled for December. From our small church (Song Yang/Great Praise) we have four people ready to be baptized, and from our sister church (Song Wang/Great Hope) we have 16. In the past we have asked prayer for all four from our church. ABill and APing are the parents of AKiu who started coming to Sunday school through a Vacation Bible School outreach a couple of years ago. Both expressed a clear statement of faith and a desire to have a deeper relationship with God. At our last baptism class, Meimei (means little sister, age about 4) was listening to our question and answer time. She broke into the conversation to answer one of the questions, and said, "Jesus is in my heart." God is definitely impacting this family. We have also asked for prayer for Ellen and her family (unsaved husband). Before committing to baptism she asked her husband what he wanted her to do. His response was very supportive, encouraging her to go ahead if that is what she wanted. Linda meets regularly with her and for a "young" believer demonstrates a really mature wisdom in a number of areas. The fourth from our church is Nicole. She is a university student that we met last spring on campus. She has been a believer a number of years, but has had little growth opportunities. Again she is quite clear about her faith. When she is in town, she attends church regularly. We are expecting to link her with one of our other "young" and growing disciples to help her get founded in the faith. Our goal is to link every new Christian or newly baptized believer with a mentor for discipleship.

Paul told Timothy to entrust what he had learned to faithful men who would be able to teach others also (2 Timothy 2:2). Linda and I have started meeting with some young believers to establish them in their new faith. Our hope is to have every new believer in our church paired with a mentor. And we have a small group committed to being trained as disciple-makers.

Our evangelism opportunities are growing as well. We have expanded our one English class to three, and all are at capacity with about seven to ten students in each. So we have begun several new friendships with both university students and factory workers.

The student ministry did not develop the way we anticipated when we first asked you to pray 18 months ago. We had targeted one university to which we had difficulty gaining access. However, in recent months we have been invited to help in classes at three different universities. Now we are on two campuses each week helping English students, and have students attending our church English classes from a third campus.

Elizabeth has been key in leading four friends to the Lord. The first was Carmen. She was baptized in December and has had dramatic, solid growth. Elizabeth and Carmen meet each week for basic discipleship and Bible study.

One of Elizabeth's other friends is a young man from Beijing. A few weeks ago, Shengli came to me after church and told me he was a Christian and wanted to be baptized. Shengli and I meet every Thursday for lunch and to study some basic discipleship material.

The stories of these people serve to remind me that we are in a real spiritual battle. It is not by words or wisdom or our own perseverance, but by the power of God's Holy Spirit at work, that we have victory. Thanks for your prayers in helping us to build bridges and reclaim lives for God's Kingdom.