Brothers in Need of Prayer Warriors!

This past week and a half has been a little wonky. First of all, I have had some powerful and challenging encounters with God. Instead of leaving me on a spiritual high like I was expecting, God has brought be to a place of dryness, asking me to rely on the knowledge that He is here, and not on my feelings about it.

A lot of the wonkiness stems from Hope Faith, though. Jodie, Sean, and I have been split up at Hope Faith, Sean working with construction and Jodie and I painting much of the time. Serving separately was different -- less inside jokes at the end of the day =) But also, the stress levels at Hope Faith have been high lately, and I like to ask you to pray for the some of the people we've come to know and love there.

Dave -- We met Dave our first day of service at Hope Faith, and from that first encounter on, Jodie, Sean, and I were constantly encouraged by his joy and love of service. He was in his thirties and had left a life of wealth and alcohol in the corporate world after being dramatically rescued by God. Two weeks ago we stopped seeing Dave around and were eventually told that he was asked to step down from his position as warehouse director because of a conflict involving pride. We don't know details, but please pray that God would heal any broken relationships, help Dave let go of pride, and keep him in His hands.

Justin -- Justin is our age and was working as a construction employee at Hope Faith. He had previously completed the Hope Faith internship, but had fallen back into drugs and was returning for support during his recovery. We got to work with him often and it was fun to have someone else our own age to work with and learn from. We haven't seen Justin in a week or so, and don't know where he's been. Pray that God would defeat his addiction to heroin and surround him with a community of people who will uphold him as God teaches him what it is to walk with Him.

Doug -- Doug was once an engineer and functioning alcoholic before he totally gave in to his addiction. In rehab, he had an encounter with God that turned his life around. He met Dave and together they dedicated a year to service at Hope Faith in gratitude to God for what he did for them. Dave was put in charge of construction at Hope Faith and is always spreading joy and taking care of people. The three of us have gotten close to Dave and love working with him. But yesterday, he came into work, not at all himself. We're not sure what's going on, but he wasn't at work today. Please pray that Doug would humbly accept love and correction from his brothers and sisters and that God would cover him with grace, not condemnation.

It's been hard see these guys leave, especially after getting to know them so well as brothers in Christ, and knowing that they were great examples for others at Hope Faith. But we know that Christ will not lose even one that the Father has given Him! Thank you so much for your prayers, brothers and sisters! I'll let you know if there are any updates with these guys. God is good and battles for His children. Not even the changes of addiction and pride can keep Him from us!