Thanks, Lord, I needed that!

Last Sunday during our house church meeting one of the men in the group had a word for us and wanted to pray for us. It was very timely- all the more so as he began to pray over us. He basically said that the Lord knew our hearts were broken and He was shedding tears, too, over broken relationships. He then went on to pray for us to not be discouraged, that the Lord would help us be faithful and that He had a design in all things- including pain, disappointments, and tears. This was such an encouragement since this man is related to the couple that just left over unresolved conflict!
I spent an encouraging week attending two conferences. The first is a yearly meeting of missionaries and field leaders. This year we were 48 from about 20+ different missions. It’s a one day retreat where we share what we’re doing, resources that might be helpful, and events others could benefit from knowing about. The other conference was for church planters in France. This was a group of about 60 missionaries and French pastors who met for training and encouragement. The speaker was a Belgian pastor who has started an emerging church. He was challenging us on our concepts of church (are they manmade or Biblical?) and our ability to adapt and adjust to meet folks in a rapidly changing culture while maintaining Biblical principles. Encouraged to see that we are doing some of the things he shared, and challenged to incorporate other ideas. (i.e. using all 5 senses in our worship meetings)