2009 SOBA Slideshow

Mr. Eric McCray created this awesome slide show for our graduation ceremony. It captures the year in photos and is only about 5 minutes long. Check it out!

SOBA 2009 GRADUATION CEREMONY

We welcome you to come and honor them this year!






Devin O'Dean
Sally Sargeant
Jenner Horton
Brittany Clark
Samuel Burns
Benjamin Hororik
Ethan Bennett
Nathan Karkness

Date: Saturday August 8, 2009
Time: 7-9 pm
Place: Chapel at Vineyard Christian Fellowship in Boise, Idaho
4950 N. Bradley St. Boise, ID 83714
Dessert Reception will Follow Ceremony

July 26: Gospel reaches for first time in Philippines Rice Fields

We have been in very rural areas and busy with relationships and teaching/ preaching prep. We were in a place with no electricity for about 4 days. We just arrived back in Bohol from the CPG islands. The last week was challenging but good. The team has taught the inductive seminar 3 times and we have one more coming up. We have been on the move a lot and the biggest need from Ronnie was preaching, ministry and visiting all the church members’ houses. Each time has been filled with preaching and encouraging through the word. One girl during the youth service really was hit by God's presence and we encouraged the pastor to follow up with her with discipleship. Revival in the heart is common here but discipleship is lacking. One church was very encouraged by Philemon because of the issue of forgiveness. I personally am doing well. We have another guest traveling with us named Aldren, and I swear he is a spiritual brother. We have had so much time to encourage one another .

I am finding time with God a lot and my devotions are crucial everyday for my strength. And it helps when we share because God has put many applicable parables on my heart for later sharing with church members. Especially ones about rice fields! The Spirit has been guiding me for sure and has given me insight into things that stretch past culture and language. We went to a rice field farming area a week ago and that was the FIRST TIME ANYONE HAS BROUGHT THE GOSPEL! I got to share a parable about the rice fields...I plan on writing it out when I get back. They need & love stories! God has been so good and the Holy Spirit has been our teacher and helper. We cannot to anything on our own.

Next on the schedule...
Loboc River for lunch
Inductive Seminar
Velencia waterfalls
Preaching and teaching
Arms of Love Orphanage (preach and teach) and maybe I will adopt :)
Then fly from Tag-Manila and stay the night in the airport :) and fly home Sunday

Love you all and pray for us as we are praying for you
Everyone is healthy...Jenner and Devin have a rash (nothing big though) and Devin has been sick to her stomach.

Got to go,
Eric

July 26: Jenner's News from Philippines

Hello my friends and family! Since the last time I wrote so much more has happened! I don't much time to tell you now, so I just want to let you know that we have all stayed healthy and full of food and safe. We have been riding pum boats which have scared me because of how small they are and how much they hold. I preached a Sunday service all by myself and we have been continuing to tell people how to study the bible. So I get home on August 2 and my graduation is on August 8th. I have much appreciated your support and prayers. Thank you and I look forward to seeing some of you soon! I have so much to tell everyone!!!!
Jenner

July 26: Brittany's update on travelling Filipinos

Hello all.
We are back to civilization for at least now, so we snuck off to the same internet cafe I sent the last update from. We left the last place evidently earlier than planned, because after the boat ride, we got to the town and our ride was still an hour or two off. So we have been doing so much. Lots of walking, I had to buy new flip-flops because the ones I had been wearing were wearing down too much, they already broke, and one of the teens fixed it the first week. But they have worn down on the bottom too much. So 140 Pesos. about 2.50 US$. We are off to travel the rest of the way around the island of Buhol. We made it about half way around, before we took a boat out to a little cluster of islands for a week, and now we are back on the main land. Now we are traveling a lot this week. I think we will be at a different place every night. at some point we will be eating lunch on a ferry, going to some waterfalls, snorkeling, and then the last night (Saturday night [Friday day to you]) we will be spending the night at an orphanage in one of the towns we first visited. We made a bunch of friends with the kids at that orphanage so a night there we will stay. I hope all is going well. I still have about a week, less I suppose. Yesterday was our last Sunday here. I was the one who got to teach in front of the church. It was intense but it went really well.

Miss everyone in the USA.
Hope all is going well.
Brittany C.

July 26: Nathan's update on Ecuador team & VBS

Haha Im typing on a a Spanish key board! So sorry about punctuation!
I hope all of you are doing well, it was exciting to see some responses from you all! thanks for your encouragement and prayers!





I’ll jump right into things. I have to be at breakfast in 20 min.
This past week was a bit bumpy. We were teaching mornings and nights almost every day this last week. To start things, Sally contracted a bacterial infection in her stomach from something she ate which is weird… she eats so little. Because she was unable to keep anything down and dehydration was a factor, we took her to the hospital. She was able to rest there & heal from help from the doctors, along with some amazing mothering skills from Patty (pastor Benny's wife). She was feeling mush better in a matter of a day. She is out now and recovering. It feels good to have our sister back. While this was happening, Sam and Ben were experiencing head-cold symptoms. We are thinking it’s from all the pollution. They too are doing better now, praise God! We managed to get through all the teachings and see some people impacted through them. It is so clear to us that the enemy did not want us teaching anything that would lead people closer to Christ.
There is a quote that we used this week to sum it up it says, ¨If I were the enemy, the first aim would be to make people stop studying the Bible to make them think that studying this old book is not that important and that it would be ok not to. ¨
We say nice try! We have completed all our teachings and are not scheduled for any more. I’m a bit bummed, but looking forward to what God has next.
We united with the Vineyard team who just arrived, so now the team size is about 42ish. We have a whole hostel to ourselves! We will be working mainly with kids and setting up a Vacation Bible School (VBS) for them. It’s gonna be great, I can’t get over how cute the kids are here! Plus I really miss Claire! I am looking forward to taking tons of pictures!
Here is a stat for you: About 85% of Christians today became Christian before the age of 13. So it only makes sense that we spend our time with the kids --they are so important to God. This week is gonna be packed out, so please lift us up in prayer:

Please pray:
• Team unity and rest
• NO MORE SICKNESS
• a fast recovery for Sally
• Safety from theft and for traveling
• that many Children would be impacted by VBS

Thank you guys so much for supporting the team & I in prayer. We could not be doing what we are doing without that. I miss you all and can’t wait to see you all. Thanks for being a part of this trip! Blessings on your day! I gotta run!
-- Nathan

July 21: Nate's Update from Ecuador

Hey Guys! Once again, I don’t have too much time so I will make it short. We are back in Quito after spending 4 days in Tena teaching, and painting a church. The bus ride went well. Today we had a day off so we went to a zip-line place out in the country about 2 hrs from Quito… it was great! Tonight we will be teaching the Inductive Bible study method to a small group. We will be doing some more teaching later this week & will also be getting ready for the bigger team that comes later.
Things to pray for:
• Mike's back (our leader): He tweaked it and it is stiff in the mornings. He is
doing better but we want him totally good to go.
• Pray for our safety in Quito where it’s generally a bit dangerous
• Pray for our teachings --that they go well; things are tough with the language
and translation.
• Pray for our rest so we can keep going strong

- Nathan

July 19: Brittany's update- Leaving Buena Vista, Philippines

Hello. Made it to another Internet cafe. 15 pesos per hour.... that is about20 US cents. It is pretty crazy. But all has been going extremely well. We finished out a week in the village of Buena Vista with a wonderful group of people. We stayed at the Pastor who has been our contact here. The girls stayed in one of the rooms in his house, while the guys were about 1000 yards off in the woods at one of the youth's homes. We spent a lot of time getting to know some amazing people, which has been absolutely great, but then when we left it was really hard. The group taught two 2-hour classes about how to study the Bible, which went extremely well. We were able to see some of the Island of Buhol's most beautiful tourist attractions, The Chocolate Hills, and a spring that fed a pool. Going to the pool felt amazing… it is pretty hot here and very humid. So now we are on our way to an island called CPG... I do not know what that stands for but that is all right. We will be spending a week there and will be doing random things. Then awhile after that, we head home to the USA. So all has been going really well, we are starting to get on each other's nerves a bit more, which is a problem, but we are working on that.

Please keep us (Brittany, Devin, Jenner, Eric, and Ethan) in your thoughts and prayers.

July 13- Eric in hte Philippines

We are here safe in the Philippines!

My four students & I arrived in the Philippines on August 8th. I taught the book of Ezra on the 10th and then we flew down to Bohol Island on the 11th. Devin preached at church on Saturday and on Sunday I preached. We have been staying very busy and are on the move a lot. The students have been inductively studying the New Testament all year, God has given them so much to give to these people... but they (along with myself) are learning quickly that the Filipino people have so much to give as well. When I preached, I encouraged the church that we as Americans have more to learn than to teach and to not be shy (because they naturally are) to share there stories with us. That opened a floodgate! People have been very open to telling us about their lives. We are doing a lot of teaching, but the most impactful things is like last night-- when Ethan and I stayed up with 5 of the male youth and shared stories of God's faithfulness. The girls have been doing the same with the female youth. We are now in Buena Vista in a little village and are continuing to sleep in nice harsh conditions! But it is so good! We of course have seen cockroaches, massive spiders, 16-foot python (in a cage of course), and other things. The roosters speak to us every morning!
Ronnie and Naomi have been wonderful hosts. They sure do know how to be hospitable! Our goal, like I have said, is to refresh them. I shared that with them the first night... I said God put it in my heart that our team would be like a charger to cell phone... that when we are here, they would feel recharged. And Ronnie became teary-eyed and said that was what he was praying for!
As intimate as it has been, most of our time is filled with laughing...they love to laugh. You can see the stars inside Ronnies house and he said that in America we have 5 star hotels but his house is an all-star hotel because you can see all the stars! They have these 3 huge pigs they are fattening up for food and he said when we leave he is going to miss us...but he will go to the pigs and cuddle with them because they have pink skin like us white Americans! haha. He loves to laugh and make jokes. He is a 21st Century Paul...he has 10 churches and we are visiting 8 of them this month. So other than church work, we will do some construction, encouraging, also seeing the beauty of what God has put his hand on in this nation!
So in short, it has been great! We are learning so much and are attempting to break the mold a bit of American dominance. Filipinos have so much to offer, so we are enjoying raising them up as well through Bible Study and Teaching.

On the schedule today:
-Help Naomi at the local market
-Outreach
-Maybe basketball outreach again
-More bucket showers
-Squatty potty! Oh how I have missed those
-Frog hunting tonight with the youth for frog and rice as a meal!

We love you guys and again, thank you for your prayers. Please pray for health, because we don't always know what we are eating or drinking. Naomi is an incredible cook and is a really hard worker! She is going out of her way as we speak to get us purified water.
Ok, I am done. I could go on and on.

Eric

July 13: Nathan writes from Ecuador

Top photo is of Velma (one of team leaders and medical professional) & Sally (soba student). They ran medical clinics for hundreds of women who needed exams.





Nate writes: Hey guys. God is doing some amazing things over here. We have taken three students under our wing. They speak English pretty well & have such a passion for learning this Inductive bible-study method. I could go on and on about how amazing they are and the divine things that God has been doing through us, but I don’t have enough time. I’ve got to keep it short. Our first teaching went very well with them today and we plan to meet again tomorrow. Re courses are very limited over here, but we did find a very small Christian bookstore to buy them a NIBD in Spanish to use as a recourse for background information. Because of their strong passion for God, we expect that they will continue to study as a group after we leave. They are already talking about passing on this new "gold nugget" we have given them of Bible-study tools. These guys have blessed us so much through the power of God and their obedience (its a long story). We have been able to speak into peoples’ lives here and have seen 2 people delivered of demon possession. Let’s just say that the Holy Spirit was moving Saturday night!!! I believe God wants to start something big through these three amazing people (Sari, Renaldo, and Andreas). Miss you all and can’t wait to see you. God is doing some amazing things! For now just know that things are going great! Blessings and thank you all so much for your prayers and support.

July 6, 2009: Ready to leave for the Philippines

Here are a few pictures of the family we are going to be spending time with in Bohol.
Bottom Picture: (Ruth- 15 yrs and Keziah May- 2 yrs)
Middle Picture: (Keziah May, Naomi, and Ronnie)
Top Picture: (Ronnie and his girls)
This is the family God has blessed us with. They have been incredible through email and a few phone conversations. We are looking forward to getting there and meeting them.
They live in poverty and are filled with joy! Ronnie said, "You guys in America have 5 star hotels... well my house is an All Star hotel.... when you sleep upstairs you can see All the Stars because there are holes in the roof!" He is a man with a great sense of humor who is sold out to church planting.
--Eric, Philippines team leader

Team Bohol, Philippines!

As of July 7, 2009, myself and my team (from left to right: Brittany, Ethan, Jenner, and Devin) will be leaving for Manila where I will be teaching the book of Ezra at the YWAM bases SBS. Following the teaching, we will be flying down south to spend time on the island of Bohol where the students will get a whole month to apply what they have learned this year during SOBA. They will be preaching, teaching and serving the people of Bohol. Our goal and objective is to love and serve the Vineyard pastor, Ronnie and his family that we are coming alongside. We want to encourage them and refresh them for the next phase of their ministry. They pastor 10 churches on the island of Bohol and we will be traveling to most of them (Apostle Paul style) to teach the Bible Overview and the Inductive Method to both pastors and the congregation. We are extremely exited and I personally am exited to see what God does in and through my students. They are going to get plenty of chances to apply what they have learned and that is the goal... School of Biblical Action. I will be doing my best to keep this blog updated with stories and pictures of the team and their accomplishments during this next month. Thank you and here are some prayer points for when it's on your heart...

• For my teaching of Ezra at the YWAM base
• 1 day later, a student will be preaching at the youth service at Ronnies church
• 1 days later I will be preaching at Pastor Ronnies church
• Unity as a team (patience, humility, flexibility, grace, etc.)
• Health as well as miracles, both big and "small"
• A supernatural, Jesus like love and compassion for the people of the Philippines (that they would know they are being cared for)

Michael and Terra in Germany

Can you find us? We're in front of the table on the left. My husband, 11-month old, and I had the privilege of attending the School of Biblical Studies (SBS) International Conference in Hurloch, Germany. About 26 schools were represented and we got to hear from them and share what we're doing with SOBA. SOBA is a unique blend of SBS for the New Testament and elements of discipleship. It was awesome to hear the new international emphasis on frontier missions and the SBS internet courses that we will soon be involved with and hopefully offer for the Vineyard. All in all, it was a great time for reconnecting with old friends and colleagues, spending time as a family in Germany, and being exposed to what God's doing through the teaching of His word around the world!

2009 SOBA students

Ethan, Sam, Nathan, ben
Jenner, Brittany, Sally, & Devin

Jenner makes kids smile in Texas

This was a side of Texas I had never seen. As we came to Galveston for the Vineyard National Conference (SOBA was going to help out while as well as attend the sessions), we drove over a long bridge that connected the mainland with the Island. There were tons of palm trees on the island, although it was easy to see the devastation from last year’s hurricane Ike.
Mid-week, the pastors and conference attendee helped throw a huge outreach for the community. The goal of this outreach was to bring the community that got hit by hurricane back together a bit. On Tuesday afternoon we spent quite a few hours setting up for the outreach day. We built fences to designate the specific booth areas for the event. Altogether there was a prayer station, a medical station, a kids play area, a family portrait site, a hair-cutting area, a grocery station and a food court. I was working in the kids area doing one of the things I love most-- making them balloon animals/swords. The kid zone was so big! I got to go into the haircutting tent and make the kids a balloon while they were waiting to get a haircut. It was so much fun. I have such a passion for kids. At the end of the day, there was extra food leftover, so some of us drove around town and gave it away to the people who were left with nothing from the hurricane devastation. Cars were stopping us to receive the extra food. It was such an awesome day. I have so much fun just loving and giving to those who have so little. I would have to say this was probably my favorite day.
The next day was a very fun day though. Thursday was our day off. We didn’t have to be at the conference center until about 9:20am instead of like 7:30 or 8am. I stayed awake during that morning session, finally. Wes Stafford from Compassion International came and spoke. Compassion International is a children sponsorship program like Worldvision. It was a really speech and he had stories about kids that made me cry. It was a great session. After lunch, some of us went the beach. So the ocean for me is my peace. I love the ocean beyond reason. I want to get married on the beach. The ocean is just where I love to be. The water was perfect. The water off the Baha Peninsula is warm but California is still cold and this was just right and especially in the heat of Galveston. It was me and the 4 guys out in the ocean just having a blast. It was so shallow so I could go out as far as the guys and not be under water. They are all like a foot taller than me. We were riding the waves and just enjoying ourselves. At one point they guys decided to launch me and I got like 10feet in the air by using the momentum of the waves. It was extreme fun!
Worship & prayer during the conference was also a lot of fun. One of our leaders, Eric, came and prayed for me and it was so awesome. Everything he prayed was going through my head at the exact time he prayed about it. It was a dead-on prayer and I needed it so bad. Afterwards, three of us prayed for a pastor and his family who head up a Vineyard church in Chicago, and God moved through my prayers even though I often times feel uncomfortable praying out loud. He has taught me so much about prayer and worship this year, and when he shows me his enormous love for me. It always blows me away. I’ve learned so much this year & really enjoyed the conference.

Ethan enjoys Texas Outreach

My time in Galveston, Texas at the Vineyard National Conference was so awesome. Just being able to hang out with all of the pastors and see them come together and just concentrate on their lives, not having to worry about anyone else, was amazing. With all of the things that SOBA got to do in Texas, my favorite had to be the big local outreach that we helped out with. I got to see all of the pastors come together and really serve the people who were affected by the huge hurricane last year. It was so amazing to see what true servant-leadership looks like because everyone that i talked to really wanted to be there, giving back to these people and helping them out in any way that they could. God really showed me what being a true leader was all about. The pastors there not only were serving others, but they were being vulnerable when they would come up for prayer. Even thought the trip down there and the way back was long and cramped, i wouldn't change that ride for a second because it really brought all of us closer together and God was working right from the start. I thank God that we got a chance to go there because it was truly amazing and also i got to swim in the ocean --so that was a big plus haha. -Ethan James Bennett

Nathan on the Streets

Ok so my name is Nathan. I’m from Washington State and I love Jesus more than anything. He is my main interest. Therefore, I love anything that has to do with him --like running, biking, hiking, camping, swimming, star-watching, playing guitar, I’m sure you have the picture. I’m here at SOBA so that I can get to know him more. It's a long story how I ended up here, so all I will say is that it was divine and I have never been more certain that this is where God wants me. With that said, I have never had so many mind-blowing revelations, a-ha moments, and sweet encounters with my Lover and Creator God, than I have in this school.

We've done so many amazing things this year, but no one has talked about our “Homeless Experience” yet so I guess I will. Our SOBA class has been involved with a church-ministry which feeds the homeless after church on Sundays. So when I heard that our class was going to be spending two days eating and sleeping with the homeless, I was so excited to experience the flip0-side: instead of being the server, I would be served; instead of having a wallet and phone, I would have nothing on me but an ID. But the excitement soon wore off when the rain and cold sunk in and I realized that no one wanted to talk to me because I had dirty holy clothes and shoes and was sleeping on benches and hanging out under bridges.

Out of all the things I learned, one life-changing lesson that God had showed me stands out to me. During our time at the shelter, the guys and I had cultivated a friendship with one of the dudes that was staying at the shelter. We told sweet Chuck Norris jokes and talked about random stuff with this guy. I don’t want to say what his name was, so I will call him Chuck for now. During our conversations with Chuck, I started to see that there was something different about this guy. He would look out for others, was always happy and considerate, and I would always leave the conversation feeling uplifted and smiling. I kept asking myself, "What is different about this guy? Why do I like to be around him? What does he have that others don’t? have" It wasn’t until the last day when we were sitting around the table chatting with Chuck, that my questions were answered. Somehow we had gotten on the subject of a Bible verse, the one about not casting your pearls to the swine. When the discussion was wrapping up, one of the SOBA guys asked “so what one piece of advice would you give us right now?” Now if I was asked a question like that, I would have to ponder for a few weeks-- maybe even a year. Chuck's response was simple yet profound and it poured out of his mouth without hesitation. Leaning in closely, he said, “At all costs, with everything in you, fight for fellowship with your Heavenly Father. That can never be taken away.” Wow. This was something that I had heard all my life, but it didn’t really hit me until that moment. I think it sunk in because it was said by someone who had been through it all; someone who had lost everything, yet was living out this truth. God had hit me over the head with this simple and profound truth that I want to live out of for the rest of my life: the most important thing is to be in an intimate relationship with my heavenly father.

Building a Fence: Excerpt from Pastor Tri Robinson

This past week eight VCOM students (Vineyard College of Mission) accompanied by their leaders came up and spent two days with Nancy and I here at Timber Butte. The directors of the school, Michael and Terra Montford, asked Nancy and I to share how we had discovered the path we have taken and how God had directed us on it. Using Romans 12 as a Biblical reference we shared our life story and exhorted them to investigate what the scripture means when it says; “Don’t copy the behavior of and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will know what God wants you to do, and you will know how good and pleasing and perfect his will really is”. [Romans 12:2] As the students sat in the comfort of my study Nancy and I shared...

Read more at Tri's Blog: http://timberbuttehomestead.com/?s=%2353

Ben's Bread

So, fasting, huh? This discipline assignment was a set up from God. I did the 30 Hour Famine last December at my church in Colorado, and the recent national date for it was the weekend we had our SOBA spiritual disciplines assignment (we each took a chapter from "Celebration of Disciplines" and had to practice it). I wanted to do the 30 Hour Famine fast again, but really didn't have the motivation. When I went to class that Friday and was handed my discipline book, fasting was the chapter I opened. I immediately thought. “Oh man, I'm gonna end up getting that. Bummer.” I did get it, but not as a bummer. I enjoyed the fast and the realization of how much more focus I can be putting on God. I really enjoy learning these things about God! It is so awesome how he can bless us with gifts, and even work His glory through giving up something.

I have found that almost every area of normal life can serve as a distraction to hearing God's voice, and that goes for food too. Focus is very hard to obtain in this modern lifestyle with cell phones, internet, fast food, billboards everywhere, music on the radio everywhere you go, and the constant allure of entertainment. But in order to hear God, many times we need to remove distractions so that we can focus on Him. And that is what fasting does. For me, not thinking about food frees a large part of my day to focus on God, and every time I feel hungry, or see food, I am reminded that I am sacrificing for God, which pulls me into worship and focus on His voice. Pretty cool how going without a comfort can actually tune in your spiritual senses. While fasting from food really helps me focus, other areas of life also distract me constantly. Basically, anything that I do often, and decide to give up in order to hear God, will focus my attention. That thing I give up really just makes more time and serves as a reminder that God wants to speak to me.

In the Bible, major things have happened when people fasted. The Jews in Media/Persia fasted while Esther went into the king. And God worked wonders, saving his people from the plot to kill them. These things can still happen. Once when France was threatening to invade Britain, the king set up a country-wide fast. The whole country came together to worship God and pray, and France didn't invade. So fasting also opens the door to God answering prayers when you are praying earnestly for God to do something.

Sally on Local Outreach

WOW! The SOBA class had their first topical week, and my goodness did we have a great time! Having just finished studying Colossians, we were all pretty keen to find out the religious views of the people around Boise. Was the religious culture today still one of confusion and vast differentiation? Was the culture of Collosae and the culture of Boise alike in any way? We sought to find out how the people of Boise felt about their spirituality, religion and the church. Our aim was to make a documentary of what we found through interviewing people on camera, and to connect with the people in our local community.

For me personally the experience really pushed me out of my comfort zone and forced me to really put myself in a position of uncertainty; I really did not know what I was going to hear or feel. Prier to heading downtown I took some time to pray. I wandered up the beautiful Camel’s Back hills and looked over the city and asked God to show me what He was going to do that afternoon. I felt God say that the SOBA students were not only going to plant seeds in people’s lives, but also grow seeds that had already been planted. Keeping that in mind I headed downtown with the other students and upon arrival I went to find some coffee. I found myself directed towards Starbucks and was greeted by a couple of very chatty girls behind the counter. Whilst deciding on my order I felt that I should start my project with the girls behind the counter. I took the opportunity to get to know them a little before asking them both the questions that we had outlined for our interviews. Asking the question “What do you think about God?” to the girl behind the counter in Starbucks, by myself, in Boise Idaho was a pretty big leap of faith! There was a moment or two of shock and horror on their face, but then they both just said, “Wow, what a good question”. Taking the step of faith to follow His direction really gave me an opportunity to witness to a couple of strangers in Starbucks about Jesus. After finding out that they both had grown up in church, they asked what I was doing in Idaho and what I believed. As we talked it also became apparent that one of the girls had been hoping to visit the Vineyard; someone had told her about it and she just hadn’t gotten around to visiting. And suddenly it all clicked – growing seeds that have already been planted – and I invited her to church that Sunday. As I was about to leave, she just smiled and said “I just love it when things like this happen!” And I agree. God is willing to lead us in every day of our lives, in situations that are scary and safe. God is just longing for people to step forward and let Him move through them. I am the first to admit that I do not always listen, or allow myself to be open to Him moving at any time in my day. But, when we do……this world gets changed just a little more. Taking a minute in Starbucks to chat or buying someone their coffee to simply bless them can plant a seed of Jesus in their lives, or grow one that has already been planted, and it can potentially change their lives. I can only encourage you to be open and have fun with God!
(Written by Sally)

Brittany Forgives

My name is Brittany Clark, I am 19 years old. I came over to Idaho from a town in mid/southern Maine. I came here to try and find myself, not in myself but rather what God has for me in life. Not really planning on dealing with my past, it was a surprise when, through various events in SOBA including our study of Philemon, I emailed my father saying that I forgave him and asking for him to forgive me for not forgiving him sooner. When I was young (the first 10 years of my life I think) he was less than a nice guy. Leaving me with quite a few negative ideals of myself, and of how love should be. I had known I should confront him about it one day, but always found reasons not to. But in reading Philemon we were shown through the word how important forgiveness was and is. I prayed a lot about it and God thankfully gave me the courage to email my father bringing up his treatment of me as a child. After more prayer before sending it one of my friends and I prayed more and in a dramatic event pressed the SEND button. The next morning I saw I had gotten a response but I couldn't bring myself to read it. Later that night another of my friends (from back home) talked me into reading it. My dad took it extremely well and I think it really opened up our relationship, though now that I am almost 3000 miles away I'm not sure how much that can blossom. Through finally confronting my father about it I hoped to be able to put it in my past and not have it as a crutch for why I fear so much. So now I hope to be able to get through my fears and be able to grow in who I am and in what God wants me to do with my life.

Devin's Application of Grace

This past week we have been studying Titus and oh wow! I thoroughly enjoyed studying it and really getting the fact that it's only by God's grace that we are saved. In the book of Titus, God is calling Titus to instruct the Cretans on how to live a Godly lifestyle... not because it will earn them brownie points and not because they will be loved more by God, but because it is a response to His grace.

We had to do a creative application from all that we learned from Titus, so my classmate Sally and I decided to go to Moxie Java and buy the first three people who walked through the doors their lunch or drink of choice. We prayed that God would show up and give us divine appointments... and sure enough, God and his humbling sense of humor kicked in.

1. The first woman was a successful older business woman, who shot us down and immediately said 'no'. We pressed on, and though at first we didn't get a 'yes', we did get a 'why?' We explained to her what we had been learning and how we were living out what God was teaching us and putting on our hearts. The woman was astounded. We got to talking and she opened up about her life and all her accomplishments, (and man did she have some!).
2. The next couple came in (elderly folks) and we got the same 'NO' response, but the first woman got involved and said... 'Ask them why!' So they did and we explained to them the same thing we told the first woman.... so the couple let us buy them their coffee. We then found ourselves in a huge discussion with all of them... both parties seemingly touched by the fact that someone had blessed them and noticed them that day.
3. The third person walks in... a quiet and somber young woman, timid and shy, trying to move around us without being seen. But we saw her. Poor girl... if only she knew what she was getting into. :) We got the same 'No' followed by a 'why' response, but eventually she gave in once we explained to her that we just wanted to bless her. Sally started talking to her while I was still talking to the other three people, and she found out that the young woman had studied in England (and Sally is from England), so they connected and talked for a few moments until the girl eventually backed away and sat down to eat her lunch in quiet. But she was noticed, and there was no denying that that was the very thing God had wanted for her.
   

In the end the first woman gave us her business card and told us to stay in touch, the elderly couple thanked us and went on their way, and the young woman just sat in silence and ate her lunch. But then we saw the real work God was doing. The Moxie Java girls had stood there the whole time in shock and in excitement about what we were doing. Two of the girls, a BSU student & a Jehovah's Witness, saw our actions and the love we had for God and His work. They asked questions and wanted to know more... which was very exciting. So a simple application has turned into the beginnings of a relationship with these girls that we hope to continue to grow this year, so that they might feel God's love and the worth they have in him. Thank you God for all you have done and continue to do! Isn't He awesome?!

Thoughts from Sam...

Since I have started SOBA, God has been giving me many new experiences and a much more broadened perspective on things. I have adapted and discovered how to encounter God in ways I’m not used to…mostly through His Word. Many lies I have been living in have finally been brought to light. My identity in Jesus has been growing more confident and I have begun to see who I am in Him. I have been able to let go of things in the past that have been slowing me down my whole life. I have been able to forgive myself, others, and ask forgiveness from them of anything in the past that has been a roadblock. My character has, and is continuing, to improve. I have been surrounded by a group of staff who has goals for me and is willing to do all they can so I can reach these goals. They are always seeking to give me feedback to help make me a better person and carry the character of Jesus. I can’t wait to see how much God is going to continue to mold and shape me in His image over these next 7-8 months.

God has revealed to me a whole new and refreshing way to approach and encounter His word. So far I have learned how to get out of the Word all that He has intended. I have been able to go deeper and apply into my life what I read and learn. I have learned to observe things I would have never before noticed. I have learned how to interpret these observations and find their meaning and purpose. Now, unlike before, when I study the Bible the Holy Spirit reveals things to me and creates an adventurous atmosphere. He is my leader and guide throughout all the hidden treasures in this beautiful Book. He is steadily using this Bible study method to change my life for His glory so I can be prepared and equipped to be a useful tool in advancing His Kingdom.

~ Sam (student)

And we're off!

Have you ever been a part of something that just seemed to gel? Where God just seems to do it and show up? That's what this school has felt like for us. The last few years have been a long journey of hard effort, time, energy, lots of prayer, tears, and opposition, but from day one of this school, it's been clear to all of us that GOD IS IN THIS THING. God was always in SBS (our previous bible school which ran the last 2 years), but for whatever reason, he is making it very clear by his presence, that this school is just right for this group and for this season. Every class, every event, every exercise and teaching, has gone so smoothly and produced so much fruit already, that we just praise God for doing it and using us in the process. It's as if God has just taken all of our human efforts and simply breathed on them with his abundant life that is not going to come back to us void.

Michael & I (Terra) faced much personal opposition when we were praying & deciding to create this school as a combination of a discipleship school & sbs (School of Biblical Studies). Within the few days we had to decide, we lost hope of a salary, our furnace went out, we needed emergency auto-maintenance that required a few thousand dollars, and my computer broke. Some people might have seen those things as red flags signaling to not move forward, but in our hearts we knew it was just confirmation that we were to push ahead full-throttle. We weren't sure how it would all work out, but God spoke personally to us & confirmed it... so we decided to give it a go.

We now see why we were facing that opposition. The enemy didn't want this to happen! Just in three weeks, we have seen our students:

WEEK ONE:

• Grow strong community and trust with each other
• Learn how to be open, real, & vulnerable
• Face their own individual "poser" and take steps toward seeing him shrink in their lives (we explored this concept during our amazing retreat with Randy & Terri; basic concept found in the book "Posers, Fakers, & Wannabees"
• Examine why they do or don't trust people & take steps toward growing in that
• Face their strongest fears in life head-on and burn them in the fire
• Support each other with accountability & agreements
  

WEEK TWO:

• Learn the basics of the inductive Bible-study method
• Discover the rich depth in Philemon's 25 verses
• Experience true forgiveness from the ones closest to them in their lives (Actually sending letters to those they wanted to forgive)

WEEK THREE:

• Learn more details about the inductive method through the book of Titus
• Experience how to give and receive feedback with each other --just as Titus was able to give hard feedback to those who he was discipling
• Experience and meditate on the value & function of Christ's grace
• Practice showing grace to others through a lifestyle of good works

So in three little weeks, we have revealed our brokenness, seen Christ bring healing, leaned on each other in love, and gained more tools for our own self-discovery and for relationship with others. We have likewise gained more biblical tools for understanding our Father in heaven so that He can continue to teach us his transforming truth-- that we might be made whole IN Him and FOR Him. Because He has given us all the grace we could ever imagine, we can extend that to others and bring His upside-down kingdom into our broken world. I'm excited for what is to come next week as we study humility and unity in the book of Philippians!
~ Terra Montford