Episode Transcript
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I'm JT, and this is Seen and Heard.
Hey guys, welcome to the podcast.
.999This is a place where we just can't help, but tell others of what we have seen and heard God do in our lives and in the lives of those around us.
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Every year starts with so much anticipation and excitement, a little bit of concern and not knowing all the people that are in your group.
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And like I've said before, sooner or later, you really become a really close community, a family even.
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But then by the time that the nine months is over, there are some aspects that we're limping to the finish line.
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It's been such a joy and so exciting, and we've got to see God do so many things, but also you can't sprint a marathon.
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A nine month group is really just that it is a sprint.
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We are going head first into the work we're pressing into community, pressing into what God wants to do.
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In our lives among the unreached and what our role is.
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And after that deep dive for nine months.
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You need to take a deep breath and you need to recharge.
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And I just want to give you a quick highlight of some of the things that we saw God do this year.
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What's going on this summer.
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And some of the hope that I have for our group in the fall.
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All right, let's jump into the show.
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All right guys, there's a Hebrew word.
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Ebenezer.
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And his word just means a stone of help.
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Or remembrance.
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So Samuel.
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Built this monument.
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So that Israel would remember that the Lord helped them and save them from their enemies.
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They're actually many times throughout the Bible where we're told to remember when we take the Lord's supper, we're told to remember.
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It's really important that we remember God's faithfulness and things that he's done.
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And each one of our lives.
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So that whenever I'm looking at the obstacle or the challenge or the test in front of me, I can remember God's faithfulness and I can step into that with confidence.
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Knowing that the Lord is with me.
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And so I've found it really helpful.
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That after seasons, just to look back.
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And you say, what has God done in the past nine months or the past five years or whatever it is.
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And just dream and think back with some of your friends and.
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And spend a time.
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Of gratitude and worship.
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And awe of seeing.
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What the Lord has done.
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One way that I like to remember.
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These nine month groups.
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And I started last year, I worked with a guy and we made a magazine.
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And it basically just talked about each person that was in the group.
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We talked about some unreached people, groups, some Bible passages.
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And really, I guess somebody just said, it's like a yearbook.
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And so this is a year that they should remember for the rest of their lives.
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They'll never have another year like this one.
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And so they should remember it.
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And so in 10 years, five years, whatever it is, they can look back.
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And he can remember the good things that God did in their lives, in their family.
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In their neighborhood.
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And hopefully it will just create a sense of gratitude.
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That will give them strength and encouragement as they look forward to that next challenge.
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So again, this year I made another magazine and did much the same, added a few extra things.
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There's a few articles from people.
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There are some words of encouragement from church leaders and organization leaders.
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That are really encouraging.
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And just like last year.
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There are spotlights Where you can pray for unreached peoples in specific countries and each person has their own page where they can look back and see the things that others.
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The sad about them.
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The words of encouragement, things that they saw God do in their life throughout this past year.
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And then a few notes of how.
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They want to remember this past year, how God worked in their life and passages.
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That meant a lot to them.
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I think as I look back on this past year, It's really amazing to see how God worked in each person's heart.
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How some wind.
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From.
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Just like a lack of surrender of things too getting absolutely.
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Wrecked by God.
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And.
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Saying.
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I want to give him everything.
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To see those heart postures changed throughout the year is so encouraging.
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It's so refreshing.
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To see people have the opportunity.
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To wrestle with doubts and fears.
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And the community come around them and encourage them and support them.
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I've also been encouraged at how we've been able to confess sin and struggles and for the group to come around and encourage again.
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And.
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Challenge us challenge each other.
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To pursue God and to surrender those things over to God and see victory.
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Time.
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And again, Another thing that was really encouraging from this past year was.
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To what extent they went after.
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Sharing the gospel.
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And their workspaces in the neighborhood and knocking on doors.
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Training others, to share the gospel and calling more people into the work that we're doing.
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This group.
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Has just had a lot of fun.
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In pursuing the lost around us.
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During this past nine months.
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Another really exciting thing that I saw this past year saw God do.
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Was there was a couple in our group that struggled with.
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Discerning God's direction.
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And.
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Being able to follow him in the ways that he's leading them.
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And.
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Throughout this year of just seeing their confidence grow and understanding on how God is leading them in their life.
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And how they can truly surrender those things over and trust that he is a good father and he leads them.
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Okay.
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So another way that we can look back and remember what God has done in our hearts and our lives and.
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Through our team in this nine month group.
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Each week we would.
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It's look back and say, okay, how much time do I spend with Jesus? How much time did I spend in prayer? Did I take his Sabbath that I have a joy in what I'm doing? Now share the gospel, have any spiritual conversations.
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We know from scripture that God calls us into this work, all said that.
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He may water and Apollos plant or plant and water, whatever.
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But God's the one that gives the increase.
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And so we're called to be faithful to partner with Jesus in this work.
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But when we see him move in someone's life, we get to celebrate.
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What the Lord is doing.
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And so I just want to share a few numbers of God's faithfulness throughout this past year.
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Our group had 11 people that included.
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The three liters.
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So three liters and eight participants.
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For that nine months, we prayed a total of 598 hours.
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And that's just what I have recorded.
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I'm sure that we prayed more on our own time with our group members, but just.
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That's what we wrote.
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Also, we had 1,202 spiritual conversations throughout the year.
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Our group solve 437 believers.
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Trained.
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In a tool called 4 1 1.
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One, which is, it stands for four gospel tools on one piece of paper in one hour.
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And in that training.
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We give the why? Why do we share the gospel? What is our identity that we have in Christ? Who do we share it with? What are we actually going to share? And then when.
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And so that's what the 4 1, 1 is really about.
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And this group trained.
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Over 400 people in that tool.
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They read the Bible with 41.
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Non-believers.
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And they saw 20 people come to fate.
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In this last nine months.
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And they also baptized seven people.
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And there were so many stories from this past year, and I'd love to tell you about each and every person in our group.
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But real quick, we'll just put a pin in that and we'll come back to that in just a moment.
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But first let's talk about this upcoming summer and the plans that I have coming up.
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Actually at the recording of this podcast, I'm going to Osaka Japan and I'm going to meet.
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Another worker who was a goer in Japan for over eight years.
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And we're going to meet and.
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His team is going to conduct what they call a mid-level training.
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And essentially they're going to troubleshoot and work together to identify their problems and what they call stuck judges, places where their ministry is just seems to get stuck over and over.
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And they're going to work together and problem solve as a team to how to overcome those challenges.
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And.
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And see if there's any insight or wisdom that they can offer each other.
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And I think it's a great opportunity for me to get to learn about.
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Workers overseas and how they're processing.
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The challenges that are in front of them and how they're partnering with the holy spirit to take the gospel to the people of Japan.
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I'm really excited to get to be a part of that.
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And thankful that my friend is letting me come along in a, hopefully this will do nothing, but bring more vision and more passion in my heart to do those things that there.
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Practicing overseas right here in Austin, Texas.
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After I come back from that trip.
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Not too long after my kids are going to summer camp.
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With our church.
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At that time, my wife and I are going to take time for us to connect.
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To reflect on this past year.
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And just spend time together with God.
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And then finally.
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My wife has another couple trips that she's going on.
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Jackson is going on a mission trip to Trinidad.
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And Aaron is going on a trip to new Orleans.
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And going to go serve.
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Some people there.
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And we're really excited about this summer is jam packed my July.
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Every week somebody is out of town.
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It ends with us going to staff gathering.
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With launch global in New Mexico.
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And that's just a time where everybody that's on staff gets to come back together, spend.
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Great time in worship and in the word together, and really just get to talk through some of our own.
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Some of the own challenges that we've experienced this past year and how we can move forward in the next.
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And it's really just a time that should bring a lot of excitement.
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A lot of hope and just put.
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More fuel in the tank for this next nine months.
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So with that said, Just another status update with the ministry and where we're at.
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Currently we're at about 90% support raised and there is definitely a need for more people to join our team.
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If, Anyone that you think would love to hear our story and the work that we get to do.
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And if they would consider partnering with us in this ministry, Please don't hesitate to share my information.
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Also another way that you could support this ministry.
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Is, for a one-time gift of any amount.
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I would love to send you.
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The newest magazine that talks about our past nine month GMC.
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In there.
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You'll learn all about the people that were in our nine month groups.
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How God worked in their lives.
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What passages meant a ton to them, some stories from our ministry in the harvest.
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You can pray for people, groups, read Bible passages.
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There's even a few articles in there.
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From the different mobilizers and a couple of my friends.
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I will put the giving link in the description of this podcast.
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And I will send you.
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A copy of the newest magazine in the next week or so.
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Again, I want to leave this out there for the month of may and June.
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And so anytime in the next 45 days, really.
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That anybody does a one-time gift of any amount.
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I will send you this Ebeneezer.
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To remember what God has done so that you can rejoice with us because this is part of your ministry as well.
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Okay, before we end the show.
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I just want to ask you to continue to pray with me as we go into the fall.
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We do have two new mobilizers that are going to join our team and they're actually going to be my co-leaders in this next nine months.
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Along with another co-leader.
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We have.
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About eight people that are going to be in our group.
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Currently, and the possibility of more is definitely there.
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We just pray for the hearts of those people that are going to be in our group, pray that they would surrender that things.
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In their lives that they've kept from God pray that as leaders, we would be prepared to walk through difficult things with each participant to love them well.
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Ultimately, we want to abide.
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In Jesus as a community.
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And during all of this, we're going to be processing what it means to go overseas and be a part of a team and the things that are holding us back from doing that.
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We're going to be working on.
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Our own character and development.
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We're going to be partnering together again in ministry.
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Would you also be praying that the Lord would use this next group? And a powerful way in this community and their workspaces.
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With their friends and their family.
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That we would see many more come into his kingdom as a result of this next nine month group.
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As you partner with me in prayer in many of you financially, I'm just so thankful for the work that I get to do for the work that you and I get to participate in.
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And just ask that you would continue to pray with me for this next nine month group.
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Remember guys, the Lord is faithful.
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Tell somebody about what he has been doing in your life.
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Remember, this is seen and heard.
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The podcast where we just can't help, but tell others about what we have seen in her God do in our lives and in the lives of those around us.
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We'll see you guys again soon.