"Your Prayers Were Certainly Effective!"

Remember that a few days ago we forwarded a request for prayer for the Boston International Ministries annual Thanksgiving banquet?  Well, here's an update from our friend Barbara Beevers, the Mission Service Corps missionary who made the request!  Thanks to all of you for praying. . . God is answering!!!  Keep praying!!

                                       

                               That's Barbara and Ernie Beevers hosting young

                              internationals at last year's event.  FYI---The shawl was

                              a gift from a Chinese friend!

Dear prayer partners,
        Your prayers were certainly effective.
        You prayed that we would get hosts and guests matched up well.
Even though a host couple had to call in sick, and some students did too,
all of the hosts and guests seemed to enjoy one another.
        A research scientist brought her mother and sister who didn't
know English. Michael matched them with Chinese-American hosts. Everyone
at the table joined the conversation in Chinese. Those hosts are planning
two Thanksgiving dinners: one for Chinese-speaking guests, one for
English.
        The Lord opened the way for me to share some facts of the
Christina faith with guests from two Middle Eastern countries. I had not
met them before, so I asked about their studies and their countries. Then
we got talking about the economy.
        I asked the man if his country had a capitalist or a socialist
economy. He said, "Captialist, but a bad kind." He surprised me by
asking, "What is the difference between Baptists and other Christians?" 
        "Do you know the difference between Catholics and Protestants? I
asked. "A little," he said.
        "One difference is the source of authority," I explained.
"Protestants accept only the authority of the Bible, while Catholics add
the tradition of the Church."
        "And the Pope," he said. The woman nodded.
        Then she asked, "How are Baptists different from other
Protestants?"
        "A big difference is that we do not baptise a person or count him
as a member of the church until he is old enough to decide for himself
that he wants to follow Christ. So it's a person's own decision, not that
of parents or society, that makes him or her a Christian."
        "That's how it should be," she said.
        "Another difference is the way we baptise. Just as Jesus was
baptised in a river, we put the person under the water. The Bible
compares this to the burial and resurrection of Christ."
        "What is the burial?" he asked. "Is it our sins?" she asked.
"Yes." I said, "and then rising from the water of baptism symbolizes a
new life, following Jesus."
        I don't remember what interrupted us then, but I was thankful we
got that far.
        We are now matching students and hosts for Thanksgiving Day.
Please keep praying "that the message of the Lord may spread rapidly and
be honored, just as it was with you." (2 Thess.3:1) 
        Sincerely, Barbara
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