Big prayer need coming along. We are taking 80+ students and volunteers to Houston this weekend, October 6-7 to visit the Space center, hear from a believing NASA official, stay with host families, go to church (sometimes for the first time), enjoy the Galveston Bay and most of all, enjoy being together for an intense and lengthy amount of time.

Some of my closest student friends in this ministry in the past came from these trips. The October trip features the UT Arlington, TCU, some SMU students, and UT Tyler students. Later in November the UTD, Collin College, Richland College and the majority of the SMU students will be going. This year we are trying to put people from existing groups together in cars, host homes etc.

It’s interesting the type of diversity in the groups that are already forming in our ministries. Let me give you an example. In one of the host homes and car pairs, led by our new key team member at UTA Caitlyn there will be young women from Venezuela, Germany, USA, Mexico, Colombia, Tajikistan, Korea, Kazakhstan, and Iran. (UN anyone). In my car I will have two each from Saudi Arabia, Mexico & Thailand and of course Japanese/American. Almost every car (15 cars) is like this. Our prayer is that each of these groups on the trip can get close enough to stick together and morph into a M:28 Discovery Study. We hope to this trip helps them to  consider the God who created the heavens and the earth and also consider the God who is present in peace in the event they just experienced together. Pray for us and pray for the host families and the students.

Some quick hits…

• Praise the Lord as he provided for this trip. As of a couple of weeks ago we didn’t have a NASA official/astronaut, we had very few host homes, and drivers to take the students down. Even on Monday of this week I think we only had 5-6 host homes and 8 drivers. God in the last few days provided what seems be enough host homes (some in special ways), enough drivers and vehicles. It as amazing to watch. I felt like we were watching a telethon or something as we regularly had to update the tally board. Praise the Lord, praise for the drivers to stepped up, praise for the cars that work, praise for Jeff Newpher and Virginia Hopkins who worked tirelessly in Houston to line up the homes. Praise God for the Host Families! Praise for God providing the NASA official. God is SO good.
• Lisa had the week off and we were able to do a lot of things around the how including TOGETHER painting our bedroom and getting our car windows tinted, etc. It was a special time being around each other, sometimes working together, sometimes working side by side. Praise the Lord for our marriage.
• This week’s Friday night was incredible as new host’s Todd and Angela Moore and their boys provided their home and their church small group provided the food. The student enjoyed very much the time and the wonderful hospitality by the Moores and their home group. One Muslim student from Saudi Arabia sat in on our Discovery  and really was taken aback by the Ingil (the NT in Arabic) and wanted one. Another German student told me with great emotion how she wish she had come sooner to one of these. A couple of Saudis, Austrians and a Spaniard shared how much they appreciate a place where they can ask questions about deep things so freely. It was such a blessing to be there together! The Moores are very busy people and we praise the Lord the He was able to allow them to host our group this last week.

• The Rangers lost last Tuesday (beginning of the slide?) but the 10 Koreans that we went with to the game were blesses. The oo’s and ah’s and thank you’s came regularly. God close to a student names Lahm. Very influential in the group and open to us.