News, Prayers, Waco Today, and More!

Friends:

Good evening! Hope you've had a good weekend. Great weather today, eh?! I spent the afternoon trimming crape myrtles. The bad news I'm covering with cuts and scrapes. The crape myrtles may be much smaller, but I think they won the battle. The good news is the work's done!

Let's thank the VanZees for bringing our donuts this morning. Thanks for taking care of us, Brian and Jill!

We had so many prayers and praises this morning that we ran out of time! Lots of people are dealing with challenges and sharing in joys. Let's go ahead and get to it.

First off, Beth Ramsdell recently hurt her knee while working with some pigs for FFA. She will be having an MRI this week to figure out what needs to be done. Please pray for good news for Beth, a good surgery if necessary, and a speedy recovery.

Rod and Shannon have asked us to pray for Denise, a friend of their's. Denise's Dad passed away recently from a heart attack. Please pray for everyone in the family who is mourning this loss.

Please pray for the Buhners. Shelley's company will be going through some cutbacks in the weeks ahead. Please pray that everything will be okay for Shelley. Pray for peace, comfort, and patience for the Buhners during the next few weeks. We're praying for you guys, Shawn and Shelley!

Christina G. would like for us to pray for her friend Dwayne, who recently learned that he may have cancer. Pray that everything will be okay for Dwayne. Christina also would like for us to pray for her as she starts her internship through Baylor's School of Social Work tomorrow. Finally, Christina's boyfriend Tim is trying to quit smoking, and she would like for us to pray that he will be successful.

Teresa S. brought a praise today that Ben has been reassigned to a rig in Franklin, Texas, which is just a couple hours away. Praise God that Ben will be closer to home! As usual, please continue to pray for Ben's safety while he is away working. He will be home on Tuesday.

Vince E. brought a praise today for the VanZees! For those of you who haven't seen it, Brian, Jill, Raelynn, and Breeley were recently highlighted in an article in the Waco Today magazine. What a great family choice! Let's praise God for the VanZees and the way they serve as role models for other adopting parents. Click here if you would like to read the article. Way to go, Brian and Jill! I have yet to see the hard copy version, but I hope they'll be pictures! That's where Raelynn really shines through.

Also on the VanZee front, Jill would like for us to pray for Brian as he works to organize a major symposium toward the end of this month in Dallas. Brian has a lot of work to do between now and then. Pray that God will be with Brian as he does this work and that everything will go well at the symposium.

I just learned this evening that Mallory Nicholson has been diagnosed with RSV. I don't have many details, but it appears that Mallory is doing a bit better. Please pray for her speedy and complete recovery. Hang in there, Nicholsons!

I believe that the Fadals are still on tap to close out their old home on Thursday, Jan 15th. Please pray that everything will stay firm and that Fadals can close the book on this house on Thursday!

Last but not least, Ben and Nicki Sanchez have been going through some difficult times lately. Severus had an accident just before Christmas, which has led to lots of difficulties with the family. Please ask God to be with Nicki, Severus, and Ben during these long, stressful weeks. Pray that everything will be resolved soon and that their family will be back to steady days very soon. We're praying for you, Ben and Nicki! Take it one day at a time. As I said today, please let us know how we can help you. We are here to do whatever we can to support you.

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I believe that covers our prayers and praises. If you have a chance before next Sunday, take a look at John 11:17-44. For those of you who were in class this morning, I distributed the lesson, so you can take a look at the questions ahead of time if you'd like. We'll take a careful look at the famous story of Lazarus. I think the way in which Hummel (the author of this series) uses what Christ does with Lazarus to teach us about priorities is quite creative. I'll look forward to our discussion next week.

Okay, I have one more prayer. I start classes on Tuesday. I get to teach my favorite two classes this semester. I ask that you pray that everything gets off to a great start. I am honestly so excited about getting started that I can't stand it, and I mean that. I think that's a prayer and a praise all at the same time. I absolutely love my job and the opportunity to teach these students on Tuesday. Pray that I will be up to the challenge to give these bright, motivated souls what they need and deserve. More importantly, pray that I will be able to give them what God wants them to have.

Have a great week, everyone. Dana and I look forward to seeing you next week!

Wes and Dana