Our January 2010 Newsletter

Immanuel Family Newsletter

Alii from our family to yours! Alii is Palauan for Hello! We are glad to be bring you up to date with our ministry and family. It has been a quiet some time since you have received any news from us in a prayer letter or newsletter form. We had been posting updates via our blog/website on the internet. Unfortunately we have just been informed that it will no long be available for free to us. So we do have a new blog website that we had began to add information too before our current one was discontinued.
We want to tell you about the many things God has been doing here at the Palauan Evangelical Church on the Island of Guam. We would like to start with our Thanksgiving. We had a very special guest speaker Pastor Philip Bradley and his wife Angie to come out and visit with us from South Carolina. Both Philip and Angie attend Bible college with us at C.I.U. Philip grew up on Guam while his parents Pastor Steve and Mrs. Pat Bradley served here as missionaries. His father Steve, Pastored our church in the 1980's. Philip preached three messages that were very encouraging to so many here. As a result many people were challenged in their walk with Christ. We were so blessed to have the Bradley's here in our church and home through out the week and to celebrate Thanksgiving with them some of our friends. During this time Andy also held a baptism service. If I recall correctly 14 people were baptized. God is challenging the hearts of these people here. Our Christmas services a couple of people came to know Christ as their Savior and Lord. The Christmas songs and skits were performed in such away that people realized the real purpose of Christmas.
New Year's and new comers! Andrew has began a series of sermons on the book of Jeremiah. During the Sunday morning services our church is being challenged by God's word. They are learning more about how God is expecting of them to live. One Thing we see in our church is people can come and hear the Word of the Lord and yet continue to live their life dishonoring to God. The book of Jeremiah has been a very good way to expose this kind of behavior and make people realize that this is the kind of life God is hates and will judge severely. This past Sunday two young ladies came forward after an invitation was given and gave their hearts to Jesus. We are so blessed to be a part of these peoples lives. They are very important to us and most importantly to our Lord Jesus!
Just to update you on our family. Andrew is doing well. His job as pastor here has him, of course mostly preparing sermons that the Lord has laid upon his heart to share with these people here weekly. Also he does counseling and other types of advising through out each week. We have a couple of young men who are in training at the Pacific Island University here on Guam that are preparing to be pastors and missionaries. Andrew also tries to help spend time with them as they are growing and God is guiding them into possible future ministries. He plays basketball on Tuesdays and Sundays. Tuesdays he is playing with a group of Islanders from all different Islands and backgrounds. Sundays he plays with mostly the guys from our church and the Bible college. Several times this week he has been ask to visit people mostly to share the gospel with them. We praise God for this.
Julie is also doing well. She is very busy with caring for our one and half year old twins boys, Uriah and Malachi. She also home schools Samuel and Nathanael, who are 9 and 7 years old. She does take some time to walk a couple days a week. This has given her time to spend with some other missionaries or young women from our church who need some one to help advice them or just listen and be a friend. She also does some counseling whenever one of the women in our church may need help in certain areas of life.
Samuel is growing so fast and is learning many new things. He is currently doing unit studies on bats. His history class is teaching mommy and him both many amazing facts about our heritage. He joined a jump rope team called the Guam Skip Jacks well over a month ago and really enjoys this. We think he has found a sport that he is very good at and is very challenging to him. Nathanael is in 2nd grade and seems to love his schooling. He continues to surprise us with his love for reading and knowledge. He is a very big helper to anyone who comes to work at the church and clean or set up for events. Uriah and Malachi are learning through playing. They have an advantage with mommy always being with them all day and teaching home school to their older brothers. Uriah is out going, very easy to care for and sweet and loving. Malachi loves to be read to. He also likes to be close to mommy and is still a little shy. We are always happy to see how the two of them love to hug and kiss one another. We really enjoy being close at home with our four boys as they grow up.

We want to Thank those of you who are able to read this via internet or regular mail for your prayers and support to our family and ministry here. As we always want you to know that you are an important part of our ministry to these Palauan people living here on the Island of Guam. God Bless you all!

Lord willing.....

Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.

—James 4:13-16

I love this verse! It is a great reminder from the Lord to us! We as His children often make plans without praying about them! It reminds me of growing up my dad always said "Lord Willing"... we will do this or that. What a great way to remind your children that the plans are not ours but the Lords! He is in Control!