So I really should be going to bed now but I am afraid I will forget everything incredible that God did today. So here goes...

Maho was my first reader today and last time we studied about the incomprehendable love of Christ who forgives us no matter what we have done and how much we have hurt Him. She was completely stunned that God could forgive the people who killed his own son. then today we studied in Acts about how Peter and John kept speaking and healing in Jesus name, proclaiming that only Jesus can save. She asked me if i believed this and if I could tell my friends that Jesus was the only way to be saved and we talked about what it meant to be saved and why we must be saved. I got to tell her about how God created us and loves us so much that He wants to be with us, but we can`t because we are sinful, but because of what Christ did for us we can be with Him forever. And then she asked me, so are you afraid to die? and I told her that I was not at all afraid to die because then I would be with the one that loves me most. She was could not believe that i was twenty years old and not afraid to die. Her eyes got a little misty and she said I will never forget this. I am going home to tell my family about you and I am going to write this in my diary and I will never be able to forget your face and the joy you have when you tell me about this. Then we talked about the search for meaning in life and how pointless life seems without God. She agreed and said that when she has days where she is feeling low, she does wonder why she is here and I told her that God thought of her long ago and has been waiting and longing for her to find her purpose in life with Him. Be praying for her to remember what she realized today. She comes to study again next Tues.

I also studied with Sachiyo who believes in God and thanks him for giving her a good life, but she doesn`t think she needs anything from Him and doesn`t understand why she would need to ask for forgiveness from Him. Our lesson was on the wise man building his house on the teachings of Jesus and I told her that she is already starting to build a good foundation by coming to read. She asked me if I felt led by the Holy Spirit to do things and she said if that holy Spirit is true, it must be what keeps me coming to this. She said I start out and build the foundation during the summer when you are hear but i forget it all when you leave. This really hurts me and makes me not want to leave...

I read with Matsu about the virgin birth and he was having trouble believing in the angels that came and so we studied different references of angels in the Bible. At the end he was convinced that it was a good story and has value in establishing the religion, but may not be true. I reminded him that Luke wanted Theophilus to know he was writing the truth and I told him of the other accounts of the same events and he seemed to give the story more credit. He seems like a very wise man who wants to know more. He`s coming on Thursday.

Finally i read with Jim,who is actually Chinese. He always has the best questions. He asked me yesterday how Jesus` kingdom lasted forever, but He died so young. He also has the hardest time accepting the virgin birth. Part of this is because he has some sort of doctorate in animal reproduction and is convinced that a human could not be brought about in any other way. He wonders why the writers made the story of Jesus` birth so complicated. it would be so much easier to accept if it had been a normal birth. I told him it was God`s plan from the beginning of time and it could not have been any other way. I also told him he would read many crazier things in this book. He is coming every day so far and wants our team to visit his horse farm hopefully on Friday.

these are only a few words about what God is teaching us and our readers. God is doing so much. I don`t think any of us expected to go this deep with our readers, especially so quickly. Pray for us because Satan will surely be attacking the work that is going on, but our Father is greater!

Peace and love, michelle