Peterson's Prayer Guide - October 2006

I want to be a suit of clothes for the Lord Jesus. I invite Him to walk around in my body as His temple. My heart’s passion is to let Him think with my mind, love with my heart, speak with my lips and continue to seek and save sinners through me.”
Quote by Bill Bright in his book, God - Discover His character.

We’ve been asking prayer for our contacts with neighbors. In the past two weeks alone, we’ve had some fantastic opportunities both to build friendships and to talk about the Lord. One neighbor lady came to church with me yesterday and was deeply impacted by the sermon. She had attended a Catholic church years ago, so this is a new beginning for her. Pray that we’ll keep being intentional in these relationships and that God will use us as a light in this community.

Praise the Lord! I emptied my e-mail inbox for the first time in several years! Now I’m working hard to keep up with what comes in day by day so I don’t get so far behind again. Thanks for praying! When I told Esther I’d done it, she admitted that she didn’t think it was humanly possible for me to ever catch up. Yes, it’s a good feeling! Please pray for Gary to get on top of his work email too.

I have confirmed that I can keep my Australian citizenship while applying for US. I’ve studied the civics questions so I can pass the required test. Now I need to get on with the rest of the application. As I look at the next few weeks, there’s a lot going on. Pray that I’ll continue to make steady progress on this important job and get it submitted this month.

We want to get a newsletter done this month too. Pray that we’ll know what to include, and produce a letter that will inform and encourage our friends.

Gary will be going to Southern California to attend a memorial service on the 15th for Ray Posey, who went to be with his Lord in July. He was a special friend and mentor to Gary in his early years of mission involvement and was a groomsman in our wedding. Pray that Gary will be a blessing to Ray’s family as he shares with them part of Ray’s life that they probably didn’t know much about. Gary just found out Ray’s sister has advanced cancer and may not be able to make it to her brother’s memorial.

Esther will be leaving on Sept. 30th for a month of outreach in Chile with half of her DTS group. The rest are going to Peru. They will return to southern Argentina for the second month of outreach. Please pray for safety and good health as they travel around. Pray that they will stay close to God, and function well as a team. The girl who will be Esther’s interpreter hasn’t done it before and doesn’t know a lot of English, so they’re both a bit nervous about that (though Esther’s Spanish ability has improved a lot!) Pray that God will work powerfully through them to draw people to Himself.

Josiah had a good opportunity to talk to a fellow student on the bus this past week about the existence of God. There will be more such conversations to come with this young man. Pray that God will show Himself to be real and give Josiah wisdom to know how to talk with him. Josiah is still learning how to manage his homework load. He’s started refereeing soccer games again on Saturdays, and is glad to be earning some money. Drama group started again last week, so that is his regular Friday night activity. They do skits for the youth services on Sundays. Please continue to pray for safety as he gains experience as a driver.

We will be hosting a missionary family from the 7th-10th. Mark (the dad/husband) attended one of the jungle camps that we ran in New Zealand back in the early 80’s and felt called to be a missionary. He and his family have served in Ecuador for over 10 years now and are on their way home to New Zealand. Pray that we’ll be a blessing to the Pavelkas during their stay.

Gary’s work is both a joy and a struggle. He needs a strategy for how to go about “marketing” Wordspring - encouraging people to come and visit. Please continue to pray for divine creativity and some good people to brainstorm with about how to do it. Please pray for these items on his schedule this month too:

17th Special tour and orientation for new Wycliffe recruiters
22nd Preaching at the church we attend here in Florida

Gary writes: Today I got a call from a colleague saying that her husband was sick, and he had very special guests he was hosting here at our center. “Would you be able to show this person around for him?” she asked. “Sure”, I said, “Who is it?” It was a very influential business man/radio commentator/politician in central Florida, along with a prominent business woman. They came at my colleague’s invitation to have lunch and get acquainted with Wycliffe. He and I got to talk about the Gospel as we spent time together. What a great opportunity!

Last week I met a young lady already here for Wycliffe’s Training Camp for new members. She looked at me and said “Gary Peterson! Do you remember meeting me two years ago when I came for a visit? You showed me around and talked to me about Wycliffe?” I’m grateful I did remember meeting her, though I had to confess that I didn’t remember her name. I asked what she was doing here now, and she replied “I’m here because I’ve joined Wycliffe, and you were a part of making that happen.”

So thank you for your part in all that God is doing. We greatly appreciate your prayers for the events, contacts and divine surprises God brings our way. Have a blessed month!