Dear
Friend of FOA,
In
last month’s letter, dad announced the change of leadership at FOA. I am
thankful to the Lord for the ministry of FOA and consider it a privilege to
serve as the next director. I was
blessed to grow up here when my parents moved our family to FOA in 1982 when I
was just two. I trusted Christ as my Savior here. I was taught the Word of God
here. I met my wife here. I have seen God’s faithfulness in so many ways
including His faithfulness to use His Word to change people’s lives. The heart
of this ministry has always been that Jesus Christ is the answer to the sin
struggles we all face, including drug and alcohol addiction. Let me assure you
that this will CONTINUE to be the focus. There is no other answer! We want the students
the Lord sends our way to come to know Jesus Christ as their personal Savior
and then grow in Him to understand Him as their very life. We do this through the teaching of God’s
Word. Please pray for our staff as we minister the truths of God’s Word to
these men, and please pray for the students to be receptive to the truth of
God’s Word. While some have associated FOA with Dick Barth, who founded and led
FOA for 35 years, or Mike Bonner, who has been director these past 27 years, these
were simply the men used by the Lord. They, along with the boards and staff who
served with them, have stewarded His ministry well. I am privileged to be a
part of that stewardship and am trusting the Lord for how He will direct FOA in
the years to come.
The
year 2020 has been different for everyone. At FOA we have had to change our
interactions with the community like most of you. We are thankful to the Lord
that thus far we have not had the virus amongst our men. We look forward to a
“different” Thanksgiving this year but always thanking the Lord for His
faithfulness. Pray for our men during this holiday season as some of them will
be separated from families. It is our prayer that we as a staff can encourage
them and that ultimately they will find their encouragement in the Lord.
Each
year at Christmas we like to encourage our men with a gift bag. Many of you in years
past have been so generous to help with these gifts, and we appreciate your prayerful
consideration concerning the need this year.
A list of the items needed is on the back of this letter. If you are able to help, please send these
items by December 20th.
With
gratefulness for God’s faithfulness and your support,
Aaron
Bonner
The need we have this year for the Christmas bags we
want to give to our men include items such as sweat shirts, underwear,
t-shirts, socks, gloves, toboggans, toothpaste, shaving cream, razors,
deodorant, bath soap, shampoo, spiral notebooks, pens, popcorn, and assorted
candies. If you decide to send any
clothing articles please get sizes Medium thru XXL. We appreciate anything that you send to help
our men. You could send a designated
money gift if you would rather do that and we will purchase what is needed. Thank you for considering this request.