This has been a wonderful and productive week for the Lord and His move in Brownsville, Texas. During this second week, we had a burden to meet with the students we contacted from the previous week who we believe are the most responsive. We have met so many positive and open students, but we are cognizant that there will be significantly less care after many of us return to our respective localities. Our hope is that many of these students will be built up with each other so that they would continue to pursue the Lord even after our departure from Brownsville.

It has been encouraging to see many students return to the Bible studies. On Tuesday, we had 45 students attend the Bible study, and 30 of these were returning students from last week’s Bible studies. We have also had many appointments with these students where we get to know their story and read the word with them. We have had appointments with at least 25 of these students.

There is also a married couple moving from Puerto Rico to Brownsville! After meeting so many students our first week, we prayed for some to migrate to Brownsville to take care of these ones. Our prayer was answered this week when a sister accepted a job here this Monday in Brownsville and her husband will most likely serve here on campus.

Prayer Burdens:

• The students would continue to pursue the Lord after our departure from Brownsville
• For the Lord to strengthen and raise up the homes. The Lord needs the homes to contain these students that they would grow in love. Pray that the Lord would cause more to migrate to Brownsville in the immediate future.
• The serving ones here in Brownsville all of a sudden have a lot of labor ahead of them. Please pray to supply and strengthen these ones!

Thank you for all your prayers. The Lord has really been moving on this campus!

Praise the Lord for what He has done, is doing, and will do in Chico! Although the gospel trip is over, His move in Chico is far from over.

The following is a brief report of what has happened during the gospel trip:

Activities:
On Friday, February 10, 2017 we had meetings with four different contacts over lunch and dinner. At night, we had our Bible seminar; 21 adults and two kids attended the seminar.

Highlights:
Three of the brothers met with a new contact over lunch. He mentioned that he couldn’t believe in God yet but he told us that something is different as we talked to him about the Lord. Two of our new contacts came to join the brothers for dinner, and one new contact came to join the sisters for dinner before the seminar. Unfortunately, only one of these contacts was available to join the seminar.

Final Stats:

• 244 Recovery Version Bible distributed (1 BfA offer card and 1 tract included)
• ~200 Basic Elements of the Christian Life, vol. 1 distributed
• ~1,202 various tracts distributed
• ~398 “The Mystery of Human Life” hand-out distributed
• ~500 BfA offer cards distributed
• 140 people contacted more than 30 seconds
• ~10 people prayed/called
• 14 people met more than once
• 2 new contacts attended home gathering
• 1 new contact attended seminar

Prayer Burdens:

• Faithful shepherding for our contacts
• Visiting saints and trainees will continue contacting those they are burdened for
• More saints to migrate to cooperate with the Lord’s move in Chico
• Pray for the gaining of a faculty member that a club can be started on campus at CSU Chico

Jesus is Lord in Chico!

Praise the Lord for the homes! We had a wonderful small group tonight with four new contacts leaving with very positive impressions. We also had a student come over last night to have a dinner with a family. It was just a very intimate time that the local saints could spend with the students. We also are full of joy to see all the saints pouring out everything by shepherding, opening the homes, and preparing all the practical details for the gospel and His move in Morgan Hill and Gilroy. We will really miss the saints in this area after the gospel trip. Their care and love for us really is impressed into us.

Enjoyment:
Tonight at the small group, we really enjoyed the footnote 2 of Exodus 20:6, “… In bringing His people out of Egypt and giving His law to them, God was courting them, wooing them, and seeking to win their affection… the covenant enacted at the mountain of God through the giving of the law was an engagement covenant, in which God betrothed the children of Israel to Himself… The highest function of the law is to bring God’s chosen people into oneness with Him, as a wife brought into oneness with her husband. In order for God and His people to be one, there must be a mutual love between them.”

Gospel Activities:
Tomorrow, Saturday (2/11), We will be having a door-knocking activity and tabling at the farmer’s market in downtown Morgan Hill. Then we will go on a hike with all the families and new contacts who are interested in coming, and eventually concluding with a dinner and fellowship afterward. The Lord’s Day will be our last day of the gospel trip concluding at the Lord’s Table.

Prayer Burdens:

• Pray that the Lord will bless tomorrow’s door-knocking and tabling at the farmer’s market.
• Pray that the Lord will bless the follow-up of the warm contacts in Morgan Hill and Gilroy.
• Pray the Lord will put the new contacts in the hearts of the local saints so they will have the burden to take care of the contacts.
• Pray for the going on of the saints to cooperate with the Lord for His move after the gospel trip.

Praise the Lord for all He has done and is doing in Folsom!

After our first day of door-knocking and tabling many saints shared that the people in Folsom seemed to be set, settled, and occupied and appeared to be very closed. However, at the conclusion of our time in Folsom, we realized that there are actually so many people who are open and seeking the Lord! The fields are white for harvest, the Lord just needs those who would cooperate with Him to go out and to feed these ones.

For the last few days of our gospel trip we focused on following up with all the contacts we had made during the past two weeks totaling to around 150. Although we still have many that need to be contacted, there were definite positive responses from some of the ones who had been contacted. Two students attending Folsom Lake College wanted to meet up on campus. Both appointments were very positive and the students were really open! The saints were able to minister Christ to them through the Word and the ministry. Additionally, both students brought a friend with them who also received a Bible during the appointment. Both students expressed a desire to meet again in a regular way.

On Thursday night, we had a small group/children’s meeting. Three new ones attended who had been contacted through door-knocking and tabling. One of the new ones, R, had also come last Thursday. It was a joy to see these new ones enter into the fellowship!

These past two weeks of labor in Folsom is just the beginning of what the Lord is doing. The care of these new ones step by step is a long-term labor. The local saints really need prayer to be strengthened and supplied to continually and regularly care for all of these new ones.

Prayer Burdens:

• The saints would continue opening to the Lord and spending much time before Him, that His heart for Folsom and all these new ones would be duplicated in them.
• That more saints and their homes would be open in a consistent way to contain the ones the Lord has blessed us with.

Laval:

Thank you so much for your prayer. We can really testify that the Lord has been able to move in the metro stations in Laval these past few days. It seems that the barrier between us and the citizens of Laval has been reduced. The people are more open to speak with us and willing to take a tract, a ministry book or a Bible. In addition, the Lord has brought us in contact with many sons of peace. We have led some new ones to pray and we have also met other seeking Christians.

At one station, we met a Christian evangelist who saw that he needed to allow the Lord to spread from his spirit into his soul and into his body. He also saw that one way to allow the Lord to spread is to read the Word. At another station, we found a Christian who is currently seeking a church. We exchanged contact information and gave him the address of the home meeting in Laval this Friday.

We hope to find many more sons of peace in the next few days. The Lord has also been sanctifying the atmosphere. At some of the stations, the Jehovah Witnesses have not been present the last few days. The Lord has been able to move in the people of Laval. May we all continue to labor in our prayer to “lay the tracks” for the Lord to move in Laval.

Ottawa:

This Thursday, the four saints that stayed behind in Ottawa, gave us a report of the follow-up labor on the campuses this past Monday through Wednesday. The report was very encouraging!

On Lord’s Day evening, the saints fellowshipped with the local brothers concerning the follow-up. These brothers were so eager to find out what to do and how to care for these contacts. The fellowship was that they could not practically care for 500 contacts but each one could find one or two to care for. On Monday, we had a drop-in Bible study from 9:30-4 at Algonquin college. In total, seven people dropped by to read the word and enjoy the Lord.

On Tuesday, we spent the day at Carleton University. We had a room booked in the library from 12-4. During this time, one Christian sister from Egypt joined us. Although there was a fire alarm that forced us to evacuate the building, this sister still remained with us and continued to fellowship with us. We had a lot of fellowship with her regarding the Triune God. This fellowship, eventually led her to experience the Triune God by calling on His name. Some of the local saints joined us for this time at Carleton University and they were encouraged. They realized that shepherding is not too difficult. They can book a room and bring their Bibles, and then have a Bible study with the contacts.

On Wednesday, we first went to University of Ottawa in the morning. Initially, we did not have a room booked. However, we went in faith and we found an empty room in the library. Three students came and we had a Bible study for 50 minutes. Initially, a group who had reserved this room came to kick us out. However, they saw our enjoyment of the word and decided to let us stay for 50 minutes. During this time, one student prayed to receive the Lord and was filled with joy. This one found the meaning of his human life! He even joined us in the afternoon Bible study at Carleton and wants to come to the home meeting this Friday. One student also helped us to book a room at the library for next week.

At Algonquin college, we had one student come to the Bible study. We enjoyed reading John 2 with him and fellowshipping with him. He really enjoyed the time, mentioning that before, he didn’t have anyone to talk with about the Lord and the Word of God. This one then booked a room for us at Algonquin for a Bible study next week.

Now, we have a room reserved for a Bible study at every campus. Praise the Lord!

Current statistics:

• Tracts: 4,903
• BfC Bible Offer Cards: 2
• Bibles: 1,581
• Basic Elements of the Christian Life, vol. 1: 1,581
• Other BfC Ministry books: 721
• Contacts >30 seconds: 1,511
• Prayed With: 45
• Second Appointment: 25
• Visited: 7

Prayer Burdens:

• The Lord would bring the seeking ones to the metro stations and to the seminar this Saturday
• The Lord would continue to clear away any hindrances: hindrances in us, hindrances in the people of Laval, hindrances due to language, and hindrances due to culture.
• The Lord would strengthen the local saints to follow-up

John 10:2-4 “But he who enters through the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he puts forth all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice.”