September 12, 2007
Dear praying friends,
God continues to bless us in answer to your faithful prayers. Our summer was truly amazing and the new school year is off to a good start for both of us.
Summer Adventures
Recognizing that this might be our last summer off of work/school together, we did our best to make the most of it. After Matthew took two summer school classes and Emily’s family visited, Emily went to Spain to study Spanish and travel. Meanwhile, Matthew did class work, hung out with friends, helped out at VBS and prepared to preach. (He was able to preach 3 times this summer, and all went well.) With the exception of one horrible travel day, everything came together beautifully for Emily’s trip. She learned a lot, visited many new places, and had many opportunities to talk to people about what it means to be a Christian. Matthew was also well taken care of by friends and God helped him make good use of his time. Thanks for praying!
After 10 days together in Portland we hit the road, traveling almost 3500 miles over three weeks. We had valuable, deep visits with many friends and family and an amazing time camping in Yellowstone. God kept us safe and provided time for us to relax. We both felt ready for the new school year when we arrived home, and your prayers were a big part of that!
Back to School
The school year is already well under way. Matthew is glad to have just four academic classes: Preaching Epistles, Galatians (a Greek class), Spiritual Warfare, and Contemporary Theology and Ethics. We’re both excited that Emily is able to audit Spiritual Warfare. In addition to academics, Matthew continues his internship responsibilities at Central Bible Church and seeks to learn all he can from our Senior Pastor. He also hopes to be looking and applying for ministry jobs.
Emily is teaching three levels of Spanish (1, 2, and 3) at Beaverton High and is very grateful to have the same materials for levels 1 and 3 (for her first time as a teacher!). She is still serving on the Student Wives Fellowship board, helping Multnomah students' wives connect and receive spiritual input. Emily is feeling excited and thankful to have more opportunities for spiritual meat this semester through a women's Bible study at church and the Spiritual Warfare class. Do pray for us both to have wisdom in managing our schedules.
Approaching the Unknown Future
We have really enjoyed our first two years here in Portland and are looking forward to making the most of the year ahead, but even just entering this final year we feel the unknowns of post-graduation future approaching faster than ever. We know what our lives will probably look like between now and July 1st of next year (when we must be out of on-campus housing), but there are so many questions about what comes after that: Where will we live? What will Matthew do for work? Will it be God’s timing for us to start a family? We’re excited about what God has in store for us but also a little bit nervous. We would very much appreciate your prayers as this time of unknowns draws closer.
Praise Updates:
☼ Praise God for enabling Emily to both learn from and enjoy her time in Spain.
☼ Praise God for sustaining us spiritually and emotionally while we were apart.
☼ Praise God for protecting us on the road and blessing our time with friends and family.
☼ Praise God for working it out for us to take Spiritual Warfare together.
☼ Praise God for an encouraging start to a busy school year.
Prayer Requests:
☼ Pray for Matthew to be disciplined and wise in using his time.
☼ Pray for Emily to balance her priorities and set limits to not get overloaded this semester.
☼ Pray for God to provide the right ministry job at the right time.
☼ Pray for God’s perfect timing for us to start a family.
☼ Pray for peace and joy as we look ahead to the unknowns in our future.
Staying Connected
As always, we would love to hear from you! Feel free to call or e-mail us at any time. We’ve also started a blog at MandEmBrooks.blogspot.com. This is another way you can stay connected by reading and commenting as we share what God is doing in our lives. You can also find both of us on Facebook or Matthew on MySpace if you use those services.
Gratefully yours,
Matthew and Emily
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