If you have been keeping up with us for a while, you know that playground updates are typically about kids as the parents are usually inside and I am the “auntie” outside watching everyone.

Well, yesterday one of the Rohingya moms came out for some sunshine with her 3 month old son. Raven and I went over to see the baby and say hi to mom.

Raven went back to playing, but I stayed and was pleasantly surprised to have a long, friendly talk with the mom. She is around my age and has 6 kids, including a daughter who’s Raven’s age.

We talked about life, kids, marriage, family ties that I didn’t know about though I know the familes, etc. It seemed to be of comfort to her that I recalled her mother and other family members who have passed away or moved out of state.

I am grateful to God for allowing us to learn more about each other and for allowing me the opportunity to connect with her more deeply.

During a recent conversation with two moms in the homeschool group, they each shared hard things their respective families are going through.

One family was approaching the one-year anniversary of the grandfather’s passing.

The grandmother of the other family passed away days before our time together. The dad of this family has cancer that has returned and spread.

They each proclaim faith in Jesus. The latter asked us to pray for her family, the former said she would. I grabbed their hands, right in the entranceway of the library, and said, “Let’s pray now.” God granted me favor with them and allowed me to minister to them in prayer.

Pray with us for each of these families. We know how hard losing someone is, the impact of cancer, and the extra challenges as holidays approach. Pray for comfort and peace that surpasses all understanding as God meets with them.

When one of the other co-founders of the homeschool group came to me about this year’s Christmas celebration, I had concerns. You see, last year, Jesus and discussions about Him were relegated to the first 30 minutes of the event. There were some manger and wise men themed crafts, but not much else.

So this year, when she mentioned concerns of possibly offending people with lots of Gospel/Jesus time, I was upset. I stepped out of leadership for the group last year to focus on cross-cultural ministry in our complex, so I was unsure of how she would receive my push back and concern.

Thankfully, we talked it out a couple of days later. I expressed my concerns and shared that if anyone is going to be offended, let it be because of Jesus being proclaimed and celebrated during this event out of our love for Him and them.

We concluded that she will make it known to all who are invited that we will be sharing about Jesus, without limiting when or for how long. We will have a time in The Bible, Christian faith-based crafts, and maybe even Christmas time worship songs.

Pray for the leadership to be bold, for me to spur them on in proclamation of Truth no matter the cost, and for those who come to hear, learn and believe in the One True God who willingly gave Himself to death and rebirth for our good and His glory.

On Twitch, you can search for streamers by categories including family friendly and Christian. This has proven helpful and frustrating for Jay as this is the platform he primarily streams on.

On one hand, he has met many new people who are interested in learning about God. On the other hand, he has run into many men who are teaching false doctrines.

As a man with the gift of prophecy (calling people back to God’s Word), Jay is compelled to speak Truth to these men and their communities.

This doesn’t always go smoothly as several are unwilling to see what The Scripture says.

Please pray for Jay as he continues speaking Truth for the sake of the souls of the streamers/false teachers and those who consume their content without willingness to wrestle in looking at what the Bible says for themselves. Pray that these eager listeners would no longer desire their ears to be tickled, but would pick up Scripture and read it for themselves. Pray the the men teaching would see the error in their ways, recognize the added judgment from God in leading people astray, and repent.

Jay has been discipling a man in the UK for a few years. The man’s fiancé, K, had questions about what it means to follow Christ and spent time reading the Bible. Recently, she had more questions that her fiancé, B, asked to Jay. It didn’t take long for the 3 of them to get into a call.

In the days following the group conversation, Jay received a message that K has decided to follow Jesus! B has since led her in discovery Bible studies as well as in worship through song! They are actively seeking a local church to plug into.

Praise God for His grace and mercy and for our new sister in Christ! Rejoice with us!

As our neighbor, A*, navigates being separated from her husband, she is facing new challenges.

One of her sons receives disability benefits, but has been overpaid by a lot. Reading the letters and telling her was no easy task. She has a relative lined up to take her to the office and work through the details.

She applied for food snaps. Since she doesn’t work and her husband’s child support leaves gaps, she needs this help for their 4 kids. Praise God for His favor and perseverance that I was able to get her connected for an interview. I ran point on “interference” with her kids so she could have as quiet an environment as possible for the call. She has documents to take to the office. Pray that this would happen soon so that she can get food for her family.

She came over recently to ask me a question about birth control. She has only just started taking it and is experiencing minor, normal side-effects. In light of her role according to Islam, she hasn’t considered birth control before, but is taking steps to prevent additional pregnancies with her abusive husband, even though they are separated.

Pray for A*. Pray for the kids. Pray for us as we walk alongside this family through these hard times.

When we returned strengthened from the conference, God gave us extra work.

In a previous post, we shared about a Burmese Muslim (Rohingya) neighbor who needed help.

A mistake by the postal worker opened doors for Patti to connect deeper with not only this mom, but some of the other Rohingya women as well.

The mom (A*) has been abused by her husband in many ways and decided to share about it with Patti. Since then, the husband has been confronted with the sin of abusing his wife and not taking care of his family.

He decided to leave her and there were talks of divorce one week after we got home. He has since returned to the home; we are unsure of the terms, forgiveness, or reconciliation as of yet.

We have been blessed to buy food for them when they had none, to get the check cashed, and to help out with home needs while dad was not living with them (new chain on the door for her protection and piece of mind as well as a blown breaker).

Please pray for A, her husband, and their four kids (ages 8, 5, 4, and 2) during this challenging that time. It is never easy and always heartbreaking when a marriage ends, especially when there are children involved. Pray for us to continue in boldness and tenderness as we walk with this family.