​On a related note, we are thanking God for His touch on the life of Sandra Plants, wife of Pastor Tim Plants at Stillwater.  On Tuesday April 19, one week after we were there, Sandra suffered a massive pulmonary embolism in her lungs, causing her heart to stop three times.  She was revived through CPR, and then transported to the hospital in Reno, where she has shown miraculous progress, being able to now breathe on her own, sit up at moments, and do some talking.  We continue to pray for Sandra’s full recovery, and for the continued work of running the race, carrying the flame, and handing off the baton through their lives.  I pray the same for you and for each of us.  As Paul wrote about to Timothy, may we continue to fight the good fight, finish the race well, and keep the faith. 
 
Running together in Christ,
 
John

I loved their theme for the revival and might adopt it for my own: “Renewed, Rising Up, and Running Together.”  I told the congregation that I have not seen a congregation more prepared in prayer and focus for revival services, and the Lord worked mightily through that, I believe.  We saw God moving in some amazing ways in these services, and it was often the still power of the Holy Spirit at the end of the services and during prayer around the altar that was often the most impactive, with people lingering for a long time in worship.  People from all over the congregation of various ages were responding to Jesus.  ​As is now usual with the places where God takes us, the life and interactions with the people were as much of a blessing as the services. 

Carey and I have been privileged to travel to Oklahoma every fall for the past several years.  This trip was filled with many interesting obstacles that we came to realize as being part of the spiritual battle on this journey.  It seemed to have been some of the most intense spiritual opposition I have felt in some time, experienced physically and spiritually, and so we were grateful to know of the prayers of our friends and family as we went.  We began the first Sunday in Caddo, OK at the Church of the Nazarene, our very first time to be there.  It was a privilege to get to know Pastor Timothy Traxel, his wife Sarah, and their two young boys, whom we were blessed to join every evening for a dinner so graciously provided by people in the church.  The services continued through Wednesday evening, and we were touched by the gracious and warm hospitality of the people, and we were thankful to be able to share the Word with them from 1 Corinthians 11.  I am also grateful for the way in which God is working through Pastor Tim and Sarah and others there to reach out to children and young people in this very small town.  We prayed that this time would be spiritually strengthening for them and an encouragement going forward.  From Caddo, we drove the two and a half hours to Chandler, OK, in the northeastern part of the state.  Chandler has been our regular destination for these past several years as we are longtime friends (over 20 years) with Pastor Keith and Nancy Cole and the Chandler Church of the Nazarene congregation.  Per the usual schedule there, we began services Friday evening and continued through Sunday morning, having two on Saturday.  I was especially encouraged by this visit to Chandler.  

​This responsiveness seems to be the common thread that I see, whether it be at the food pantry, the thrift store, weekly meetings with recovery groups, various other small groups, or the services on Sunday and the revival services we have when we are there.  I believe that the only explanation of this is the reality of Jesus Himself working through people who are available and dependent upon Him.  Essential to this, I believe, is the genuine focus of this Fallon body on the Word of God.  There is a continual hunger and seeking after Him in the Word, and new people that come to the church are drawn into this and discipled in the same kind of seeking.  This is their “DNA.”  I praise God for this group.  It is truly the case that Carey and I are strengthened in Him every time we go there as we are reminded more of who Jesus is, what His kingdom looks like, and what He wants to do through anyone who is available to Him. It gives us a deeper hunger to be as available to Him.  Thank you to our Fallon family in Christ for being such a witness.  I would encourage anyone to consider Fallon as a possible destination for your work and witness or mission trip.  You won’t leave the same! 
 
In Christ,
 
John

We were immediately struck by the warmness of the fellowship in the church.  The people there have a deep and genuine love for one another, and they extended that to Carey and me from the very first moment.  While having revival services was something new to many if not most of the congregation, the response was nothing short of amazing.  In short, the Lord answered our prayers for revival.  The people responded to the moving of the Holy Spirit in each and every service, and there was a very real sense of something “building” throughout the meeting, culminating in a wonderful closing service on Wednesday night.  I have a personal prayer and picture of what I always hope for revival to be.  I have the image of a group of people on a hike up a very tall mountain.  My prayer for revival is that the group “base camp” is moved higher up the mountain.  This seems to have taken place in this time as people responded to Jesus, and we are so grateful.  

It is encouraging to see how they have walked ahead through a beautiful pastoral transition from our longtime friend and brother, Mark Miller, who handed off the baton to Vanessa Chitwood, who has served as the associate for a few years.  I wish every church could experience such a “handing off” of the baton.  The people were so earnest and open as always in seeking and hearing the Word during our time there, with genuine response.  One of the special things about these services was the privilege of ending this time with the Lord’s Supper together after I had shared throughout the meetings from 1 Corinthians chapter 11 and Paul’s message on the Lord Supper.  I realized as I preached during these days in Issaquah that these truths were for me in a way I had not realized that I needed.  I need to be rescued by His grace from some of the things in my life that have become “normal;” I need to be caught up more in Jesus; and I need to more be aware of how Jesus wants to make every moment and activity of this life “sacramental,” full of His presence.  I came home from Issaquah more refreshed and encouraged.  It is a special privilege and blessing for me to have Carey travel with me.  As I looked at him, I realized anew how precious every moment in this life is, and way in which Jesus wants to fill every word and act with His presence and grace.  I’m looking forward with excitement, in a new way, for how He will do that today and in the moments ahead.  

In Christ,

John

Have you even been in one of those gatherings when the Holy Spirit just filled the room?  That is the only way to describe our final class session with the students today.  We began with prayer and singing (I just learned today that the class next door sometimes had a difficult time hearing their teacher this week because of the singing coming from our class!) as the students lifted their hands in praise.  They were all very excited because this was the day they got to each have 5 minutes to present what they have discovered in the Word over these two weeks.  They graciously listened, encouraged, and applauded at the end of each of the 25 presentations today.  Many of them dressed up again today and were so proud to stand before the group to share from God’s Word.  Each and every presentation was excellent.  Most of all, it was exciting to see the passion in their hearts for Jesus and the gospel as they spoke. 

The end of class was one of the most touching experiences I have ever had.  I shared from my heart for a few minutes about what the class had meant to me, and admonished them to continue in what they have learned --- that my prayer was that this would be more than a course, but would become a lifestyle for them.  I urged them to stay in the Word, to continue to seek Jesus, to disciple others, and to bring those people to heaven with them.  I shared that we are brothers and sisters in this journey, and that we are now running this race together.  I told them that if I did not see them again until heaven, I would look forward to rejoicing with them there for all Jesus did in our lives and others.  As we prepared to close this last class, some students spontaneously and passionately stood to tell what this class had meant to them.  One of them then said that it was their turn to gather around Simeon and me to pray for us.  We joined hands in a circle and sang a song of praise (in Creole) that rang out loudly throughout the building and outside (I saw our door crack open a few times as other people we peeking in to see what was taking place).  After this the students all prayed with loud voices, just as in the book of Acts, and then took turns embracing us as we went our ways.  My eyes were full of tears as we experienced the reality of Jesus together in these powerful moments. 

Grades are all turned in, and we had a final supper tonight with the missionaries, who have so graciously served and blessed us in the Spirit of Christ.  What a great fellowship we have had together with them and the other visiting professors.  I head home tomorrow, but will forever take the students with me in my heart.  I have been greatly affected by this time with them and feel that it will shape the rest of my life.  I thank the Lord for this gift.  Thank you for praying and being a part of what He has done here, which will matter for eternity.  As my fellow professor, Bob Petruccio says, let's continue "to make much to do [or ado] about Jesus." 

In Christ,

John

“The elder to the beloved Gaius, whom I love in truth.”  As I studied this, I realized how God has given us this dynamic of His life in the class these two weeks, and this is how I feel this for these students.  I am grateful for and amazed with the love of Jesus and how He can overwhelm us with His own heart.  I will most definitely carry that with me for these students far past tomorrow into eternity.  Thank you for your prayer that has opened the way for Him to make that a reality here these days.  

In Christ,

John

I have to confess that the days are full and I am weary in every aspect of humanity.  But the days are rich!  After class, chapel, and lunch, Simeon and I spent a couple of hours grading papers before I went to the missionary prayer meeting.  The other OMS missionaries and guest came over from the other campus for their joint weekly Bible study and prayer time.  It was a blessing as my fellow visiting professor, Larry Lain, shared from Ephesians chapter 4.  It was powerful truth.  It was right from there to dinner, after which I am sitting down to write now before some fellowship time and a then later a video chat with my family!  The time here is winding down as we only have two days of classes left before I come home on Saturday.  I thought I would take minute here to share about my host family here, the Heckmans.  They have been so gracious and made everything like home for Larry and me as we are staying with them.  I appreciate their ministry here on the campus as full-time OMS missionaries, with Phil as the director of operations , overseeing grounds and maintenance staff (you should see the beautiful grounds!), and Emily serving through hospitality for visiting teams (a BIG part of what they do here), teaching, and helping lead worship in chapel.