Y2K
(Yes to the King!)For I, the Lord your God, hold your right hand;
it is I who say to you, “Do not fear, I will help you”.
Isaiah 41:13
Scary thought, isn’t it? In only a few weeks, 1999 will have ended and the 2000 milestone will be here.
You should see the frenzy around here! Several newspapers have warned Americans regarding large gatherings of people on Dec. 31st since they would be good terrorist targets. Smaller cities are trying to take all the necessary precautions for power outages in the middle of the winter, and smaller banks are racing against time to get their computers in order (our former bank is one of those).
In Jerusalem, thousands of Christians have gathered to witness the second coming of Christ on New Year’s Eve (probably central-standard time?). Regarding this gathering, an Israeli policeman was interviewed for the BBC network and said “There are at least 100 millenialists who have already come to Israel to wait for the return of Christ, and thousands more are expected. One Israeli policeman expressed concern about this matter: “If the Messiah doesn’t show up as expected, we fear some disappointed believers may take matters into their own hands to hasten along the end of time. Given all the problems we have here already, Israel cannot afford a Waco.”
Amazing isn’t it? It seems that most everybody forgets God’s words according to Isaiah! But who can blame them? Susy and I have also been guilty of worrying when clearly God has been in control.
It seems that trials wait for other trials and jump in front of you all at once. The end of a busy semester, the hectic schedule of the Advent season, yearly ministry evaluations and deadlines for my ordination process! Specially difficult was receiving the news that a cousin of mine was killed in a motorcycle accident in Mexico a couple of weeks ago. We grew up together, and even though we had not kept in touch for the last few years, it was difficult to assimilate. Please pray for his family. His wife, parents and brother are devastated, and will be going through difficult times this season.
And while we are on prayer requests... let me throw one at you that is very much on our minds. In order to be ordained as a minister of Word and Sacrament, one has to successfully go through seminary, a series of meetings with Presbytery (the next one is January 11th) and 5 ordination exams! The dreaded ordination exams are generally taken some 8 months prior to graduation, and the percentage of students that pass all 5 at the same time is close to 15%. The rest have to repeat one or two (or three or four!).
Because of my immigration status (which suggests that I graduate, get ordained, and receive a call to minister full time in a larger church... .all by May 2001!!!!!) I have been granted special permission to take 3 of the 5 ords (as we call the exams) during the month of February.
I started studying on Dec, 3rd and no matter how much I study, I feel that I am already behind! (Can you sense the “worrying:” theme coming along?)
One exam is of Bible content. They ask 100 questions from anywhere in the Bible and you are supposed to answer 70 correctly. This includes Bible references (Thank you Mr. & Mrs. Burke! The daily bread dinner quiz is paying off!)
The other exams are on Worship and Sacraments & Biblical Exegesis on the Gospel of John. So, if you wanted some prayer requests, believe me... I’m just starting!
In regards to work related news... Scales Mound and Apple River Presbyterian Churches are doing well. Our attendance has not improved or decreased, but geography does not leave much room for harvest (2 towns of 350 people in the middle of nowhere. Remember?).
One of the churches is started to be very concerned about its short-time future (10 years from now). We are hurting for money, and we have to whole generations missing in our pews. The average age is 76 yrs old, and our organist is not Y2K compliant (she is retiring in January after 15+ years of service). This is not as bad as it sounds, because as long as there is an awareness of the problem, and trust in the Lord, there is room for growth.
I will start a second job on January 18th ( a volunteer position to fulfill my clinical pastoral education). While serving these 2 churches and going to seminary I will be the interim chaplain for the Galena Hospital - Nursing Home. I will not be on call 24 hours a day, rather I will minister there according to a schedule. My responsibilities will include visitation, crisis intervention, assistance in time of death, a regular mid-week Bible Study and a monthly worship service (the other 3 weeks are taken by area pastors). Sounds like a full schedule? Yup! More prayer is welcomed this way.
Susy is enjoying a time off from work. She is not teaching Spanish this year and loving it! She spends most of her time turning this house into a home, and tending our two extremely demanding puppies! She is very much involved in the church’s women’s group and led the last Bible Study on “The Pursuit of Holiness”. On top of it all, she is beside herself, for we are now uncles! (Nope. Not because of my brother Fernando!!!!!).
Susy’s brother Guillermo and his wife just had a beautiful baby girl and named her Alissa. And as you can imagine, the proud aunt covered our refrigerator with “Alissa pictures” !
So... there it is! Sorry we have been SO bad at keeping in touch, but be sure that you are always in our prayers. Thank you so much for your kind support. God has indeed made you a blessing during this seminary training. Please give our love to the youth groups and the 20-30’s in Union.
Grace and Peace
Greg & Susy Stovell