Promoting Biblical Parenting.... Slowly

Remember the online tool for biblical parenting in Arabic I mentioned in last month's e-newsletter? After 6 months of waiting on different volunteers who have been working on it, it is still not ready. This has been discouraging to me. I don't want to begin meeting with more pastors/leaders here until this online tool is functional. However, I think I see God's hand in this. The waiting has given me time to focus on Arabic. I have been working with a tutor to correct my speaking mistakes. I realize that I have formed a lot of bad habits that I did not know about. This is humbling for me but at least I now realize it! For long-term effectiveness in the region, language is essential. The waiting has also given my wife and I time to process our recent transitions of moving and sending Samuel and Anna back to the US. Still, I'm itching to promote biblical parenting here. Would you ask God to make it happen, in His timing?

Remember the Egyptian family I mentioned in last month's e-newsletter? We had our third meeting yesterday. In the second meeting she said that while she believes that spanking is biblical, she cannot bring herself do it. Instead, she waits for her husband to come home to do it. She repented of this and says that she has begun chastising her children herself, with less yelling. I asked her if she had a flexible daily routine with the kids. Her reply was, "No... we are Egyptians!" Her children basically do whatever they want whenever they want, including meals. I told her that there are American families with no routine also, but that God wants our young children to understand that they are under authorities who know what is best for them and therefore plan their day for them. The sooner they can learn to live under authority, the easier it will be for them to accept Christ's Lordship over their lives. She agreed to try it. The husband said that he has been experiencing more victory over being angry with his kids. Please pray for this family. They seem very teachable. They are a committed Christian family who has left their country to serve God here in Jordan, where there are fewer Christians than in Egypt.

We like our new home. The park beside us has been a great place for all of us to get exercise and met others. My wife has begun homeschooling the kids. We are not sure how involved we should be with the pre-school for refugee kids. Please ask God for good ministry opportunities for my wife and the kids, especially for Max.