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Dear Friends and Family,
Hello from Holbrook! We hope you are all safe and warm, especially given the recent weather in the southeast. It has been very cold here during the nights, but the days have been sunny and typically in the 50s, with the wind starting to pick up for our windy season.
On January the 23 rd, we took 22 kids snow tubing in Flagstaff. While it was quite cold, there was no snow on the ground; they used the manufactured snow on several hills of various sizes, and the teens and some of the more adventurous adults gleefully hurled themselves on snow tubes down the slick inclines. Pizza was brought in along with other snacks, and (thankfully) there was a food truck there selling overpriced, but much-appreciated, hot cocoa and coffee. Rock music was blaring from large speakers, and when I (Jerad) finally got everyone together to talk with them about finding peace with God through Jesus and His sacrifice, and the subsequent peace that He then brings to our lives, I had to compete with Led Zeppelin blasting in the background. It is always very difficult to give a spiritual talk at the yearly snow tubing event. We pray that it did someone good among the listeners. Everyone seemed to have a good time, and the kids were worn out and quiet on the ride back to Holbrook. On February 20 th, we are planning to take a group back to Flagstaff to swim at the large and very nice indoor Aquaplex. The last time we went, we watched it snow outside on the mountains while swimming in warmth.
The Well began meeting again on January 12 th. This semester, we decided to have the younger group go on a whirlwind tour through the Bible, while seeking to learn the Old and New Testament books in order. The older group is going through the book I Don’t Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist by Norm Geisler and Frank Turek, which is an excellent book on Christian apologetics (defense of the faith). We are very concerned with getting our young people ready for the onslaught against their faith that they will most likely face in college, and so are attempting, as always, to teach them to not only know what they believe, but why they believe it. The book is a little bit heavy on the philosophical side, but the teens seem to be grasping the concepts so far.
In the Next Chapter, which is a group of 20-somethings (and a couple of leaders who are certainly well beyond their 20s) who meet together one evening a week for fellowship, coffee, and discourse, are reading through and discussing the short book Can Science Explain Everything? by Oxford mathematician and Christian, John Lennox. It makes the point that science and faith are not at war; rather, the more we learn about God’s world (science), the more amazed we are at His brilliance, and the more apparent it becomes that all of the spectacular complexity of our world and universe demands a Creator.
As always, THANK YOU so very much for your part in this ministry; we truly could not do it without your prayers and giving!
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