“Lord, when I feel that what I'm doing is insignificant and unimportant, help me to remember that everything I do is significant and important in your eyes, because you love me and you put me here, and no one else can do what I am doing in exactly the way I do it.” ― Brennan Manning
FROM THE DESK OF: the Director of Miscellaneous
I was a quarterback in high school and I was awesome. So awesome that a grand total of zero schools offered me a scholarship to continue being awesome for them. However, I was invited by a couple of schools to pay my own way and be what’s affectionately referred to as a walk-on athlete. Walk-on, meaning free, and athlete, meaning we’ll figure out where to put you later.
In the revolving door of ministry and non-profits, everyone is an athlete. Some days you are a receiver, some days you are a quarterback. Very few have the budgets, staff or resources to specialize so everyone becomes a generalist.
At Uttermost Sports, we find ourselves in a time of transition (again). We’ve said goodbye to former staff members, welcomed in new ones and the current staff is settling into new positions. All of this is par for the course (we exclusively use sports metaphors) for our little organization. We continue to maximize where we can so we can focus our energies on helping workers in the field without siphoning resources for our US office.
We appreciate your prayers as we dive into another season of change.
For the win[dow],
Bubby Bryan
VERSE OF THE WEEK: Romans 8:31-34
“What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else? Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? No one—for God himself has given us right standing with himself. Who then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us."
COUNTRY OF THE WEEK: NORTH KOREA
The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), commonly referred to as North Korea, is a country of nearly 25 million located on the Korean Peninsula. North Korea shares a border with China and the Republic of Korea; a demilitarized zone separates the North and South Korea, and both countries claim sovereignty over the entire peninsula. DPRK is communist and isolated, run by the Kim family and closed to most of the world. The government controls all aspects of life, including employment and travel. Christians in DPRK, and there are several hundred thousand of them, are often forced into labor camps, according to World Watch List: "For the 12th consecutive year, this is the place where Christian persecution is most extreme. The God-like worship of the leader, Kim Jong-Un, and his predecessors leaves no room for any other religion, and Christians face unimaginable pressure in every sphere of life." Pray for Christians to persevere and for the Gospel to flourish in harsh conditions. Pray for the relief of so many who suffer from things like hunger, unfair punishment, and loss.
PRAYER REQUESTS:
- our worker's daughter went to be with Jesus yesterday; pray for all those who mourn, for "they will be comforted." We do not grieve as those without hope!
- it's training time for our newest Director of Development; pray for him to acclimate quickly!
- our event in Norman, OK, is next week; pray for all the right people to come and be touched by the Holy Spirit!
- a friend of ours, in New England for graduate school, is in need of encouragement as she continues to pursue relationships with her peers