JonandLaurieIrons

Curious Lilly I have always thought about getting another dog, and most of our past dogs have usually come to us as strays.  And like this little puppy, she has come to our neighborhood the same way.  Lilly has kept us busy, during the current 'social distancing' now enforced in our county. Because of her mix breeds, she is full of energy and speed that is impossible to keep up with and the constant curiosity of a child who wants to chew everything in sight. She also is learning to do her business outside and not in the house. When we first come to the revelation about the things of God, we usually come to Him full of energy, similar to this little puppy and we go at things at break neck speed. When we see things that God is doing, we have a constant curiosity much like a child, wanting to understand all that God is doing and showing us. And unfortunately we tend to "poop" on the places, people and things God has given us until he teaches us where and whom to do

What a great time we had together this winter getting to know some of the students who came from South Korea for our Korean Leadership Training school.  Fellowship over a meal is one way of 'breaking the ice' and allowing the students as well as us to relax and be ourselves.  Bringing cultures together is fairly easy when it is over a meal.  Sadly due to Covid -19, we were not able to see this school go on outreach, which was planned to go to Europe and tour the East Coast. With the currently the current situation, the students decided to return home early. Please be praying for these and the sixteen others as they return home to be with their families and loved ones. They will be truly missed.

We have to seize the moment when opportunities come our way. Much like these two pioneers, who in the near future, will take the gospel of Jesus Christ and be witnesses, even to the utter most ends of the earth. (Acts 1:8b) We have to be prepared at any time and in any season.  Teaching, Coaching, preparing International Leaders for is a full time job. Please be in prayer with us as we continue to do the work that God as directed us to do.

If you’re anything like me, goal-setting and actually seeing the goal through to its end is two different things all together. There are a lot of good goal-setting ideas we have had and we mean well at first, but they’re also easy to get tired of. One of the things I’ve wanted to do this year is to set better goals and write down all of my one year goals … and then rank the top 5. Then, I ask myself 4 follow-up questions for each goal. I write this down in a journal (and on my computer for easy reference) so I can access it quickly. Here are the 4 follow-up questions as well as a few of my own personal goals for the coming year :-) Why do you want to accomplish this goal? What is the pain you will feel if you don’t accomplish this goal? What is the pleasure you’ll get from accomplishing this goal? How will accomplishing this goal contribute to others? #1. Make exercise and healthy eating part of my lifestyle A year ago this past August, I had a scare that turned out to b

Teaching English as a Second Language can be a difficult task from year to year, If I don't have the desire to teach. Yet, each year for me seems to get more enjoyable and more exciting as the students are not the same from year to year. 'Practice makes perfect' is a phrase I have taught my students this semester to remember for it is pertinent to the current status for all of us.  For the six students who came to join us this semester to learn and for me to teach them. I so appreciate this older couple closest to me, who are from Incheon, South Korea. They are fellow missionaries, with YWAM, like myself, who have a heart to understand each others language to communicate it more effectively. We also have a heart for young people to join us in reaching others for Christ, Jesus.

Twenty-four years ago, this November 7th, this little guy came into our lives. It wasn't the usual pregnancy that most couples who are having their babies delivered naturally, yet all the same I want to give a great "shout out" to the many young girls who place their babies up for adoption each year instead of choosing to abort them or just discard them in some horrific way. Many of our friends know this young man today as he has grown to be quite the respected individual in our community serving them at the local Dairy Queen for the past six years as the training Manager and Assistant Manager. Now he has made the transition to becoming the future manager at the local Wal Mart of shipping and receiving. Since he has been gone, DQ corp. called him to offer him to be manager of his own store in the nearby area. He declined. We still love having him around.

Have a BBQ!  Offer food to University students and you got yourself a party. That's right, either host one or go to one, and just hang out with people from different nations and just start talking. The tough part for me though, is remembering who I had talked to, their name and what he had talked about.  I am part of a group of ESL teachers from YWAM Tyler who fellowship with a group of Graduates students who called "English Corner". We meet on Friday mornings to discuss helpful topics such as how order a subway sandwich, how to tip waiters and waitresses in America, how to make friends, what to do if you 'pulled over' by the police; etc. We also have fun learning new idioms that us Americans take for granted but our Internationals have little or no idea what we mean by them.