Sometimes a chance meeting can mark
you forever.

Dear Friends,

I’ve spent the last five days in and out of a Czech hospital. Our 15-year old son, Caleb, has been in considerable pain from a blockage in his stomach. Six years ago a long episode of similar illness resulted in the removal of a foot and a half of his intestines by surgery. We don’t know if we are back on a similar road again.

The timing of all this is uncanny. Just like six years ago, we are right in the middle of a major push to expand the ministry and touch the lives of more young people. And Caleb is not the only place where we are feeling the heat – my last weeks have been full of unexpected crises and difficult problems.

You would think that courageous steps of faith and faithful service would somehow push back the enemy. But actually the opposite is true. A light that shines in the darkness just attracts attention – and opposition. Peter encouraged us to “not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you.” (1 Pet 4:12) And Paul reminded us that “our battle is not against flesh and blood.”

I don’t enjoy trouble and pain. But I also want my life to count for Jesus Christ. Somehow I need to be prepared to face the difficulty I don’t enjoy in order to produce the eternal fruit that I long for. That is not an easy task!

Just like a soldier trains to develop physical and emotional resources to handle the stress of the battlefield, so we as believers must “toughen up” in a spiritual way to be able to face the enemy. To help our team be better prepared, we are focusing our Spring training conference on this topic. At the end of April we will gather almost 200 of our team and their children around the theme: “Fit for Battle”. Will you pray with us for this important event?

As Caleb was collecting his things for admittance to the hospital he said. “I wonder what good God is going to bring out of this for me.” Then, as he reflected on his first operation at 9 years of age, he said. “I’m not hard, but that experience did make me tough. There is a difference between hard and tough, you know.”

Thanks, Caleb, for the good reminder.

Dave Patty
President, Josiah Venture