Have you ever gotten a really cool Christmas present? Like, so cool that the memory sticks with you for years and years? I remember a few years ago when my parents unexpectedly got me and my sister each an iPod Nano back when they were like the coolest consumer product ever (oh, wait, they still are). Or in elementary school when we got the original Nintendo, WITH Duck Hunt gun AND running pad for the track and field game. Awesome.

Well, this was my first Christmas away from home, and while it may have been a bit lacking in the electronic gadgets category, I was able to help someone receive their best Gift ever. We have this friend, Tom, and he’s been in contact with CT people for the last year. He came to Bible studies, and even talked to God sometimes, but was never really able to commit to following Him with his whole life. He seemed so close, yet not quite there, for what felt like forever.

In the weeks leading up to Christmas, we had some big talks with him about seeing the wrong things in our lives and how the only way to be free of them is by the Son. He came to our big Christmas party and heard a clear presentation of the whole Story, but still no decision.

Then he came to our house the next night. Leonidus, my partner, was sick and in bed, so it was just me and Tom (and the Holy Spirit). We had a great time of catching up, and then our conversation turned to God. I had him read through the Romans Road that week, and as he shared with me his thoughts on it, I could see that something was different. Something had clicked in him over the last week, and he got it all: the sin in his life, his need to turn away from it and toward the Son, all of it. As I asked him if he wanted to make a decision to follow Him with his whole life, I was nearly in tears. After a year of hard work by two different teams and many prayers, he was in.

We now have a new family member! He’s been doing great and growing every week that we see him. Thank you so much for your thoughts and support over the last year. It has been a journey, and at times quite a difficult and challenging one, but when I think of Tom, it’s all worth it. Things here are great, and we’re heading into a new and exciting time. In the next month all of our friends are going away for their winter holiday, my family is coming to visit for two weeks, and all of CT and TM are heading to Thailand. Please lift us up in these areas as you think of me:

  • Powerful work to happen in the 2nd semester so that a regular meeting can be planted on our campuses before we leave.
  • Fresh vision and wisdom for the rest of the year and for the future, for me, our people, and for CT as an organization.

Thank you so much! You mean a great deal to me over here, and it’s only by your sacrifice that my work is possible.

In Him,

Ben