Dear Friend of FOA,
I am very thankful for the confidence that we can have in our great God. More and more in my life I am reminded of how little confidence we can have in anything else. We are currently studying through the book of Colossians with our Romans house students, and we have been reminded that Christ is supreme, preeminent, fully God, the Head of the Body. In Christ are all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge (2:3) and we are complete in Him (2:10). And, of course, the great mystery of “Christ in you the hope of glory” (1:27). Because of truths like these (and many others from God’s Word) we have full confidence that teaching Jesus Christ is the only answer that can meet the needs of the men the Lord brings our way. We don’t mix Christ with the philosophies of the world or traditions of men or laws of religious systems (as Paul warns against in 2:8), we just teach the truth of Jesus Christ through the Word of God. Some of these other things appear to have wisdom, but they are of no value against fleshly indulgence (2:23). We want to give our men that which God tells us has value and answers the problems of life, and so we preach Jesus Christ!
With summer arriving comes a lot of activity at FOA. We are already beginning to harvest some of the fruits of the garden with anticipation of more to come. It is always a blessing to begin reaping the harvest and seeing the fruits of our labor on our plates at supper. Like many of you we have plenty of daily physical chores around the ministry to keep things going – from mowing grass, chopping wood and working in the garden to maintenance repairs and projects. We have guys keeping the buildings clean and preparing 3 meals a day. But the central part of our ministry is the men the Lord brings to us from all over the place. Recently, we have been able to bring in more men to the ministry which brings with it great opportunities as well as new challenges. Please continue to pray for our students and our staff.
Finally, please pray for one of our volunteer staff members, Duane Girton. Duane has been dealing with some physical health problems recently and we would appreciate prayers for he and his wife Mrs. Marilyn. Thank you for your prayers and support.
Because of our Confidence in Christ,
Aaron Bonner
