the rush continues

just an update on our holidays, and an request to pray for our students at SALT

There’s been a paucity of postings lately, and so I thought I should explain: we’ve been on our annual Christmas visit to Louisiana, so it’s been very difficult to get significant internet time.

Actually, I probably won’t post again until next year. We got in last night and in less than two hours we’ll be on the road again!

We’ve got to turn around and head down to the Chi Alpha Winter Conference (called SALT) held near LA. Looks like the car will be receiving another 1,000 miles or so…

We have around 10 people heading down to SALT. SALT is usually a very significant time in students’ lives: people are transformed, filled with the Holy Spirit, receive specific vocational guidance, and are generally touched by God in some pretty significant ways. Please pray for our time there!

See you next year.

Please Pray for Paula Marks

please pray for Paula Marks–she’s in a coma

I just received this email: “Last evening, Paula Marks, wife of Bob Marks [Bob is on the Chi Alpha national leadership team], had a brain aneurysm burst. She is currently in a coma in neuro intensive care unit and is unresponsive. Please keep Paula and the family in your prayers, they need a miracle.”

Please pray for Paula and Bob. They’re both wonderful people (although I’d ask you to pray for them even if they were scoundrels). FYI: Bob is on Chi Alpha’s national leadership team and is a veteran missionary to France.

UPDATE: On 12/4 in the morning I received this email:
“Many of you are emailing me wanting a latest update on my mom.

She is very ill and the doctor told us, that he is NOT seeing significant improvements.

We are told that less than 1% survive this kind of aneurysm.…

That does not mean that our faith is gone! Unless God interferes she will pass on so we continue to pray for a divine miracle.

Please pray with us for this miracle because I do know that God does perform miracles.

Several of you want to know what to pray for specifically so here it is:

The doctor wants to see if her lift 2 fingers on command and then he will recognize that she is not neurologically impaired.

That is what I am praying for. I told her that last night and reminded her that her strength is in the LORD. PSALM 121 is what we have taped in her room…we are also reminding her that it is “Not by might, nor by power but by His spirit, says the Lord.” Thank you for praying for her! ”

UPDATE: on 12/4 in the afternoon I received this message:
We just got a call from the hospital…when the doctor asked Paula to raise
her two fingers- she did.

Praise God for his answer to prayer! The family is very encouraged, but
Paula still needs our prayers for continued healing.

How To Pray For Us

Pray that God would give us opportunities and the ability to take advantage of them.

If you ever don’t know what to pray for us, pray for us like the early church prayed for the apostle Paul:

“Be sure to pray that God will make a way for us to spread his message and explain the mystery about Christ… Please pray that I will make the message as clear as possible.” Colossians 4.3–4, CEV

In other words, pray these two things:
1) That God will create opportunities for us to tell Stanford students about God’s love for them.
2) That God will enable us to take advantage of those opportunities to communicate the gospel clearly and credibly.

And as always, you can look at our list of prayer requests.

Pray for the new students!

Some specific prayers you can offer on behalf of students.

This Thursday the new students will begin arriving at Stanford for orientation week.

As the website says, 1,752 freshmen and transfer students will take part in NSO 2002 from Thursday, Sept. 19 to Tuesday, Sept. 24.

Wow.

These students needs prayer, and lots of it.

1) That those far from Christ would encounter Him.
2) That those who serve Him would remain pure in the midst of temptation.
3) That those who serve Him would be bold in their witness to God’s overwhelming grace.
4) That all students would select their friends wisely.

Pray For These Incoming Freshmen!

A list of incoming freshman and some specific prayer requests on their behalf.

Stanford has given us a list of incoming freshmen who are interested in getting involved in a group similar to Chi Alpha. I’ll be contacting each of them and seeking to help them transition smoothly. I’ll also be praying for them daily: could you join me in praying specifically for each one of these things?


  1. That God would prepare them for the opportunities and challenges that are about to be laid at their feet.
  2. That God would make His purpose in bringing them to Stanford clear to them.
  3. Most of all, “that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give [them] the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that [they] may know him better… also that the eyes of [their] hearts may be enlightened in order that [they] may know the hope to which he has called [them], the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe.” Ephesians 1.17–19, NIV

If you’d like to pray for them by name, here they are: Aaron, Akilah, Albert, Alfredo, Alina, Amanda, Arin, Ben, Brandon, Camille, Casey, Charles, Chioma, Chris, Chris, Christian, Christine, Chuck, Collin, Cyndy, Cyrus, Danny, David, Dena, Diana, Didi, Dominique, Ean, Eden, Eleazar, Emily, Eric, Jamelia, Jamie, Janine, Jessica, Jessica, John, Julia, Julian, June, Juston, Karen, Karen, Katie, Kevin, Kirsten, Laura, Lauren, Lauren, Lindell, Lisa, Lisa, Maria, Mark, Michael, Michael, Michelle, Naima, Natalie, Nathan, Nathaniel, Nicolas, Nicolas, Ochuko, Omorinsola, Paul, Quynhanh, Rachel, Richard, Samantha, Steph, Stephanie, Stephanie, Stuart, Suhan, Tamarah, Taylor, Timothy, Victor, and Yoko.

Supper With Pastor Richard Cook

A great meeting with our executive presbyter is clouded by some bad news about Chi Alpha.

Tonight Paula and I were able to meet Richard Cook and his wife for supper at the local Chili’s. Pastor Cook pastors Spirit of Life Church in San Carlos, and is also one of the Northern California/Nevada executive presbyters.

We had a great time! Unfortunately, Brother Cook was able to confirm some bad news that I received when I met with Pastor Beiser. It seems that Chi Alpha has a very negative reputation with the Assemblies of God churches in the Bay Area. The reasons aren’t particularly important (at least not worth broadcasting over the Internet), but the ramifications for our ministry are going to be pretty radical. It will definitely affect how quickly we can reach full funding so that we can begin ministering on campus.

Please pray that God will give us favor with local churches and will give us wisdom in relating to the churches that feel they’ve been burned by Chi Alpha in the past.

Pray For These Chi Alphans!

Cover these first two Chi Alpha students in prayer!

There
are a few students currently involved with the Chi Alpha group at Stanford.
The three most involved are a junior named Luis Trujillo [last name
pronounced “true heal”, he’s the guy on the right], a freshman named
Andrew Wright (he’s the guy on the left), and another junior named Wilbur Montana (he’s the invisible guy in the middle).
Please pray that God would grant them favor with their peers as
they seek to reach out and favor in their studies so that they may get
good grades! Also pray for encouragement–it’s challenging to maintain
your faith at Stanford.

Our Big Prayer Needs

We are busy refining our plan for our first few quarters at Stanford.
Please pray that God would show us His strategy for the campus!

We are confident that God is preparing the campus for us even while
He prepares us for the campus. Please pray for our future small
group leaders, worship leaders, and the other students God is working
in.

We need to finish raising our budget to be able to start on campus in the Fall Quarter. Pray that God would connect us with the partners He’s already raised up!