Friday

But the Lord stood at my side

and gave me strength,

so that through me the message

might be fully proclaimed

and all the Gentiles might hear it.

And I was delivered from the lion’s mouth.

2 Timothy 4:17 (NIV)

Frann S. Clark went to see the neurosurgeon Wednesday. The decision was made to not do surgery. Pray for Frann as she deals with the pain.

Tests for Romanian language:

Thank you all so very much for remembering us in prayer today as we took our final exam for Levels IA & IIA. We all wanted to do well, and finish strong. We were a bit anxious because we did not want a poor performance to reflect poorly on our Lord. All in all, it went well, and it was because of your prayers and His faithfulness.

I told Margie that I felt like my language skill was somewhat like a nicely arranged vegetable tray that I was carrying to the table, when I tripped. By the time the test was over—I had tossed salad for sure. It did not come out on to the test paper like our teacher put it in, but now we are ready to move forward with “some” language skill. Thanks for your support. See you soon!!!! Bob Craig

KOMpray

Kids on Mission Pray
Prayer

Prayer requests

May 23, 2008

“Let the little children come to Me,

and don’t stop them,

because the kingdom of God belongs to such as these,”

Luke 18:16b

SHE NEEDED JESUS

On a bright sunny day, a missionary in Paraguay met a little girl on the street. She was standing at a table with her mom. The girl is a 6-year-old with a sad smile, long black hair, and a very thin body. The table and a chair is the mom’s office-no walls or bookcases or cash register-just a table and chair. The little girl smiled at Iracema Kunkel, the missionary, when she stopped to talk to her mother. The little girl usually stayed beside her mother for 12 long hours, playing with some ragged and dirty dolls. Iracema Kunkel talked with her mother and just knew she needed Jesus.

The missionary told her about the love of Jesus and the mother asked Jesus to be her Savior! Now this little girl spends half a day in school and the other half at her mother’s ‘office.’ But now she has a beautiful smile (and her mother does too) because she is learning about Jesus. They keep a Bible on the table where everyone can see. They go to a Baptist church near where they live. Please pray for this little girl and this mother that they will keep on studying God’s Word and trust God to take care of them every day.

MORE PRAYER REQUESTS FROM MISSIONARY KIDS

Please pray for my sister who is going to university. I am homeschooled, please pray for my grades. MATTHEW, age 13 (Central, Eastern and Southern Africa)

Pray that more college students come to our summer program, SA101, and lots of people come to know Christ in India. ALLAN, age 13 (South Asia)

TR is my friend who lives in Japan. He has a younger sister and a younger brother. Please pray for them. He goes to my Japanese school and is in my class in 3rd grade. He’s funny. He loves nature and always talks about bugs and plants. We have a job in our classroom of taking care of all the nature stuff, like feeding the fish. I have been telling TR about Jesus, but he’s not interested in getting baptized. He doesn’t want to get baptized, because he doesn’t want to go under the water. I don’t know if he’s a Christian or not. I want him to be a Christian. Please pray for TR. RICKIE, age 8 (Pacific Rim)

My mom teaches my three brothers and me. Please pray for us and our homeschool. Pray for my dad. He is the Logistics Coordinator for Malawi-that means he helps other people who come to work in our country and he is really busy. ANNA, age 13 (Central, Eastern and Southern Africa)

Our next door neighbors have a daughter, AI, about fifteen years old. She and her family are Muslims and she goes to a school where she learns about the Koran. People have told AI and her family about Jesus, but they are still Muslims. Please pray that AI and her family will understand what they have heard about Jesus and that they would choose to believe in Him. ELIZABETH, age 17 (West Africa)

Please pray for me to learn more Thai and for me to read my Bible more. Ask God to help me to find a good friend. MORIAH, age 10 ½ (Pacific Rim)

Charles Eugene James
(January 16, 1947 – May 29, 2008)

Died on Thursday, May 29, 2008 at North Oaks Medical Center in Hammond. He was a native of Centreville, MS and a resident of Amite. Age 61 years. Visitation at McKneely Funeral Home, Amite, from 12:00 Noon on Saturday until religious services at 2:30 p.m. Saturday. Services conducted by Rev. Field Thigpen. Interment Pine Ridge Cemetery, Tangipahoa, LA. Survived by 5 sisters, Juanita Pace, St. Amant, Rita Holden, Amite, Barbara Walker, Amite, Betty Phillips, Kentwood, Nancy Morris, Amite, 2 brothers, Paul James, Amite, James Walker, Amite, Preceded in death by, father, Sidney James, mother, Mary Parker James Walker.

Rosa Lee Edwards
(November 9, 1924 – May 28, 2008)

Died at 2:50 p.m. on Wednesday, May 28, 2008 at North Oaks Medical Center in Hammond. She was a native of Hattiesburg, MS and a resident of Roseland. Age 83 years. Visitation at Roseland Baptist Church, Roseland, from 4 p.m. until 9 p.m. on Friday and from 8 a.m. until religious services at 10 a.m. Saturday. Services conducted by Rev. Mervin Strother. Interment Killian Chapel Cemetery, Amite. She is survived by her 5 daughters, Mavis Beasley, Avondale, Marilyn Dominano Bentivegna, Tickfaw, Barbara Louge, Columbia, MS, Glenda Bennett, Pumpkin Center and Debra Rowell, Albany; 1 son, Robert Edwards, Tickfaw; 1 brother, Lavon White, Roger, AR; 1 sister, Mrs. Roberta Babaz, Sulfur; 24 grandchildren; 31 great-grandchildren; 9 great-great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her husband, Robert Edwards; parents, Herbert and Lucy White; grandson, Jason Bennett; great-granddaughter, Wendy Breaux; 4 brothers, Leon White, Paul White, Robert White and Hugh L. White.

THE INNOCENCE OF CHILDHOOD

Sometimes I want to be a kid again. I want to go back to the time when:

— Decisions were made by going “eeny-meeny-miney-mo.”
— Mistakes were corrected by simply exclaiming “do over!”
— “Race issue” meant arguing about who ran the fastest.
— Money issues were handled by whoever was the banker in “Monopoly.”
— Catching fireflies could happily occupy an entire evening.
— Being old referred to anyone over 20.
— The net on a tennis court was the perfect height to play volleyball and the rules didn’t matter.
— The worst thing you could catch from the opposite sex was cooties.
— It was magic when dad would “remove” his thumb.
— It was unbelievable that dodgeball wasn’t an Olympic event.
— Having a weapon in school meant being caught with a slingshot.
— Nobody was prettier than Mom.
— Scrapes and bruises were kissed and made better.
— It was a big deal to finally be tall enough to ride the “big people” rides at the amusement park.
— Getting a foot of snow was a dream come true.
— Abilities were discovered because of a “double-dog-dare.”
— Saturday morning cartoons weren’t 30-minute ads for action figures.
— “Oly-oly-oxen-free” made perfect sense.
— Spinning around, getting dizzy and falling down was cause for giggles.
— The worst embarrassment was being picked last for a team.
— War was a card game.
— Water balloons were the ultimate weapon.
— Baseball cards in the spokes transformed any bike into a motorcycle.
— Taking drugs meant orange-flavored chewable aspirin.
— Older siblings were the worst tormentors but also the fiercest protectors.
(author unknown)

There’s an innocence about childhood. As we grow older, we lose that innocence and life becomes more complicated. Like Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden, we all live out in our own lives what it means to have sin affect our relationship with God and our relationship with one another.

“So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked…” (Genesis 3:6-7a)

Taking the fruit of a tree giving us more knowledge isn’t as wonderful as we think it will be. As we grow older, we know more and more, but often find ourselves wishing that we were younger when we didn’t know nearly as much. We can never regain that innocence, but thank God we can find forgiveness!

Have a great day!

Alan Smith
Helen Street Church of Christ
Fayetteville, North Carolina

Have a wonderful Friday!

Anna Lee