Peterson's Prayer Guide - November 2008

“Happy are those who fear the Lord… All goes well for those who are generous, who lend freely and conduct their business fairly… They do not fear bad news; they confidently trust the Lord to care for them.” Psalm 112:1,5,7 (NLV)

Aren’t you glad we have Scriptures like these to encourage us in these unpredictable days? God is good and He is faithful to those who obey Him and walk in His paths.

Last month we were part of the Amazing Race Missions conference at our church here. It was a busy and exciting time as we watched many in the church having their eyes opened to the needs of the world. Already our own small group is starting to plan a short term mission trip for next summer. Thanks for your prayers. These are exciting days!

At the beginning of the summer, I started a big project to clean out our home office, throwing away or shredding piles and piles of paper and reorganizing things. I worked many hours on it, and am happy to say that it is finished. A great feeling!

Gary writes: We are changing the name of our WordSpring Discovery Center to Wycliffe Discovery Center. Though there was a good reason to call it WordSpring, it has been confusing for many of our visitors and especially in advertising who we are. This may seem minor, but to change signs, brochures, posters, websites, banners, etc. is going to take time and money. We expect in the long run it will be more than worth it, however. Wycliffe has also decided to close the Discovery Center on Saturdays for financial reasons. Some Saturdays we’ve had lots of visitors, and on others, only a handful, but we’ve had to have a full complement of staff on at all times just in case. If we have groups book in advance, we will still open for them on Saturdays.

We have recently lost one key staff member due to changing family needs, and another is retiring at the end of the year. We have also lost the main person who scheduled groups, so that has put more responsibility on the rest of us. Pray that we can find some experienced people who will be able to help us.

Gary’s November Schedule

3rd I speak at our “Face to Face” (meet a missionary) program for visitors. We never know how many people will be there or where they will come from. In the past, I’ve had some incredible opportunities with our visitors.

4th National Election Day. WordSpring will be a voting location. We have done it for the primaries and midterm elections, and have had some phenomenal opportunities to talk with people – though only if they ask directly. We are expecting 2,000+ on the day. The most we’ve had before was almost 1200. I expect to have a 10-12 hour day. Pray for divine contacts.

5th I will be filling in as host for the day at Wordspring. I enjoy this, but it does take me away from preparing for groups. Pray for divine contacts.
Robyn and I will also be teaching a new mission preparation class at our church in the evening (filling in while the regular teachers are away.)

6th I will speak to the Saint Cloud (the town we live in) Ministerial Association. Pray that I will not only inform, but inspire the pastors to be involved in missions and Bible translation. We are hoping that some from their congregations would be willing to help us as volunteers at Wycliffe during the months when the snowbirds are gone.

11th Wycliffe’s International Day of Prayer. Every November 11th Wycliffe members around the world spend a day in prayer following the example of our founder. It was November 11th when Cameron Townsend spent a day in prayer before getting permission to enter Mexico, where eventually we started as an organization.

12th (tentative) A-Z Adventure & Mission Encounter for Citrus Heights Academy – 50 students from 3rd – 12th grade & 6-12 adults.

13th – 15th Robyn and I will be driving with Josiah to a scholarship weekend at Columbia International University in Columbia, South Carolina, (about 8 hours away). The college will be granting a number of scholarships that weekend, including one for full tuition for 4 years. Josiah worked hard writing the required essays for the occasion. He will have to miss two days of school, so pray that he can get caught up without too much stress. Pray too that God will use this event to help Josiah know if this is the college he should attend. It is one of his top choices right now.

18th – Dec. 6th Mom Peterson flies out from California for a visit. Pray that we’ll be a blessing to each other.

17th – 20th It will be all hands on deck to prepare to launch Wycliffe’s Last Language Campaign kick off celebration. People are coming from all over America and the world.

21st – 22nd Last Language Celebration. These will be long days, lots of work but lots of potential to connect with key people. Pray for inspiration and energy. We are already well underway with our preparation. Check out www.lastlanguagescampaign.org to see what it’s about.

22nd My birthday. My age matches the year I was born – minus the “19” part in front of course.

24th – 26 Taking some vacation time to spend with my family and enjoy Thanksgiving.

27th Thanksgiving Day. A time to celebrate God’s blessings on us as a nation and to be thankful.

We’re so thankful for you and the part you play in our lives and ministry. Thank you for the gift of your involvement with us!