Sara & Josh – January Update

January 2020

The end of last semester was packed full and we just kept right on going into the holidays~

We hope you were able to enjoy time celebrating Christmas and the New Year with family and friends! We had a quick but lovely visit to Oregon–thankful for all of the conversations we were able to have and already anticipating the next visit to catch up with those of you up there we missed.

Fall semester highlights

• We had a great first semester having three college guys live with us!
• Last semester as a part of our discipleship house we had weekly morning prayer Wednesday 6:30-7:30am at our house. This is something I started participating in during my college years, continued overseas, and now am so glad to have again with the Challenge students. Some weeks it was just us from the house, but most other weeks other staff and several other students came, too. Every week it was an encouraging time of praise and intercession.
• Two of the students on the Challenge core team are sensing a call into vocational ministry, and thankfully they are newly engaged to each other! John (who also lives with us) took the opportunity to develop his gift of teaching and preaching and spoke twice at the on-campus large group meeting.
• While we are no longer hosting the weekly large group international friendship night (IFN) I have personally been so encouraged by the time and energy freed-up to invest in fewer students more deeply. H, M, and T recently returned to Japan, but we met weekly, sometimes twice a week, all semester to study key Bible passages together. We were able to spend fun time together too, going to a pumpkin patch, coming to our house for dinner and a movie, even going Christmas caroling in our neighborhood. They each shared that their thinking about God, the Bible, and Christians has significantly changed through their time reading and discussing the Bible and because of their time with authentic Christians in Challenge. Pray for God to continue to pursue them and stir their hearts and minds to learn more in Japan, and to bring them into contact with authentic Christians! Christian and Mark- 2 housemates- also hosted a small group Bible study with international students.
• Fall semester marked a new focus on discipleship groups–groups of 3-5 including a leader that emphasize personal growth and accountability. We saw our core team students grow as leaders and compassionate disciplers as they invested in younger students and their peers.
• Paula, an international student from Spain, committed her life to Jesus during our Fall Discipleship Conference!
• Josh has been having a blast discipling a group of young men who were in the youth group for several years and now are freshmen age, having transitioned really well into the Challenge community.
• Josh was officially ordained as a pastor of our church, Del Cerro Baptist!
• Josh and I finished our first year of seminary! Only…several more to go! whew.

Prayer fuel and upcoming dates:

• Vision and unity for Challenge staff meetings next Tues-Wed as we prepare for the semester.
• Vision for the core team students while they are still on break.
• Our kick-off sign-up event is Jan 19th, pray for students to invite students to be a part of reaching campus with the message of Jesus
• First day of outreach on campus is Jan 21. Pray for BOB! That we would have a Burden for the lost and hurting, that God would bring Opportunities, and that we would be Bold to take them!