North Shore Alliance Church

"All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, 'God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble' " (1 Peter 1:5).  As we "officially" delve into culture and language study this month, we pray that God will give us a humble attitude, especially at this time where I feel there is great opportunity for pride to rear up.  It might be pride that hinders us from being willing to make fools of ourselves and put ourselves out there in order to learn and grow in this new culture and language.  Or that causes us to compare our progress to each other, instead of encouraging each other in ways one is excelling.  It could even lead us to try by our own strength and effort to enter and learn this language and culture instead of relying on His strength.  We pray that God's Spirit would intervene when our pride comes out, and that by His grace we would take the humble position and in accepting our weakness draw from His immeasurable strength.

Vessels of His glory. (2 Cor. 4:7)

Andrew and Megan

Prayer Requests:

1. Culture Outings- on Monday and Wednesday we are going out for the morning with a Filipino language helper from the NTM language school here to start out our "National Language and Culture Acquisition" (NCLA) time here in Manila.  The outings are to expose us to different aspects of Filipino culture.  Pray that (1) we would absorb as much as possible during these outings and (2) the kids would do well at home while we are away.

2. Church community- continue to pray that we'd be sensitive to what church here in our community to join and be involved in.

3.  Humility- it is so important to keep a humble attitude, in our relationships, as we study language and culture and with each new experience we have.  Pray that we will take the humble position as we follow the Lord's ultimate example of humility in becoming a man and walking this earth among us.

Praise:

1. Starting NCLA- we are SO excited to be starting "official" culture and language acquisition, and are thankful for the simple fact that we are excited to be doing this and not worried or scared (which would be a very natural reaction).  God's grace is sufficient!

2.  A Sweet Time- we praise God for the precious time he has given us over the last three months to just settle into life here, enjoy our wonderful kids and relax and rejuvenate before a demanding schedule begins.  I can't say enough how sweet it has been to have this priceless time with the kids and enjoying their little milestones since we've been here (Brenna- rolling over, finding her voice, sleeping through the night- a big highlight ;) Kaden- getting so adventurous on the playground, doing so great with potty training, starting to use more sentences).

3. His Body- we praise God for all of you and many more back home that have supported us in such special ways through e-mails, packages, prayers and ultimately letting us know that we are thought of and interceded for!  What a blessing that God calls us to work together to accomplish this task by His strength! Thank you for your faithfulness in spurring us on!

4. God's word- we are so thankful for the living word of God, the special revelation we have of God-breathed Scripture to speak to us daily and transform our lives, and the privilege we have of sharing this word one day with a group that has never had access to it before.