November Prayer Requests and Praises

Praises

• Praise God for those who have decided to give and increase their giving during this difficult season - it has been a huge blessing
• Praise God for the seven students who have chosen to apprentice as leaders
• Praise God for all of the evangelism opportunities we've had this year
• Praise God for zoom and the internet so that we can continue to do ministry and connect with students

Prayers

• Please pray for the 7 apprentices as they lead parts or all of small groups and receive training on and practice evangelism. And pray that their relationship with Jesus would grow in depth and richness.  
• Please pray for one of our non-Christian students (we'll call her H) who has been wrestling with suicide this semester.  She is receiving professional help and counseling, but we would love prayer that she would lean on Jesus and trust Him with her life.
• Please pray in general for students suffering from mental illness.  There has been an increase in depression, loneliness, anxiety and other forms of mental illness in this difficult year.
• Pray for momentum to continue after Thanksgiving as there will be no in-person classes and perhaps not even in-person small groups. 
• Pray that whatever Christmas party happens (in person or online) would build community with students and would be joyful.  Pray that students would still form friendships with one another even if it must happen virtually. 
• Justin is trying to relearn the piano so that he can lead worship for staff and students.  Please pray that he would remember and for the Spirit to teach him how to lead worship. 
• Prayers for perseverance for Justin as we continue to do ministry in this pandemic.  He is tired of always having to create a plan A, B and C.  We are tired of not knowing what to expect and having circumstances change continuously.  Almost every week one of our students (or us!) is having to quarantine.  
• Lastly, please pray for God to provide the $200/month needed to end the fiscal year well in July. 

June Prayer Requests and Praises

Praises:

• Praise God for the physical rest He gave to us on this sabbatical!
• Praise God for the ways He has shown us who we are and how to rest in His grace AND for all the lessons He has taught us individually and as a family
• Praise God for continued health for baby and Samantha
• Praise God for His perfect timing in this sabbatical
• Praise God that there will be students on campus in the fall and for everything the LORD is planning to do

Prayers:

• Pray that we would be led by the Holy Spirit as we reflect on this sabbatical and as we listen for what's next for us with our work in InterVarsity. 
• Pray that God would prepare us for renewed ministry in the fall at UVU
• Pray for students as they make decisions about whether to attend classes in person in the fall and for faculty as they prepare for more hybrid and online classes
• Pray for UVU's leadership as they make decisions on what campus life will look like in the fall
• Pray for continued health for baby and Samantha and for a safe delivery (baby is due July 29)
• Pray for a complete restoration of all funding lost during the past few months. 

A few more Ireland pics for the curious!

Prayers and Praises in this season of revival!

Praises:

• Praise God for online platforms that allow students to continue to meet together.
• Praise God for the students who have decided to follow Jesus in the midst of COVID-19
• Praise God that we had a joyful, beautiful time in Ireland as a family and saw God there AND that we were able to return to the US safely and have had no symptoms of COVID-19
• Praise God that baby girl Tappan is healthy and growing as expected
• Praises that God has provided for us in some really neat ways in the past month, including refinancing our home and receiving an interest-free loan to re-do our roof

Prayers:

Please pray that UVU's small groups would continue to thrive as they meet online for the remainder of the semester and that our leaders and volunteer (Yume, Jessica, Olivia, and Noah) would persevere and find creative ways to connect with people. 

• Pray for our seniors whose time on campus has ended prematurely and whose graduation ceremonies have been cancelled. Please specifically pray for our international students, including our student leader Yume, who have had to return early to their home country. 
• Pray for InterVarsity's national large group which meets every Friday at 6pm (with the exception of Good Friday) and has been attended by thousands of students each week. There is an invitation for students to respond to Jesus each week. 
• Pray for Justin and Samantha as they rethink their sabbatical. We are both feeling a bit confused as all of our event-type plans have been cancelled. The questions we're asking is, "God, how are you inviting us to engage with the rest of our sabbatical?"
• Pray for Autumn who is such a social extrovert and is struggling being at home with mom and dad. She is constantly asking to have people over or to go to the playground or to nana's house. We are praying God would give her a good imagination and satisfy her with good things during this time.
• Pray that God would continue to protect our health, especially Samantha's as she is 6 months pregnant. 
• Pray as God leads you over our finances. During this season of lay-offs and furloughs, we know that it might mean we lose monthly support. We completely trust God to provide for us, but appreciate your prayers.
• Pray for discernment as we begin to think about what ministry looks like for us in the next year once we return in July. What will our roles be and how might they change? How do we navigate our calling and this next season of having an infant? How might God be expanding our vision in InterVarsity?

Sabbatical Personal Requests and Praises

Praises:

• Praise God for baby girl Tappan joining us in July 2020!
• Praise God that we received an interest-free loan to replace our roof (an expense we had not planned on this year)
• Praise God for the gift of this sabbatical, for the ways God is growing us, and for the rest He has for us in Him

Prayers:

• Pray that we would have soft hearts as God grows us and teaches us
• Pray that our trip to Ireland would be a time to disconnect, grow as a family, and enjoy God's presence. Also pray for Autumn as this is an extremely long trip for her and a very long flight. 
• Keep praying for baby girl Tappan! Our ultrasound is March 4th and it is tempting to be afraid as this is when we found out Dillon's problems. Pray that we hold on to the hope we have in Christ. 

Please see the previous blog post on Spring 2020 semester prayers and praises for ways you can be continuing to pray for ministry at UVU!