Dear Friend of FOA,
As I write this letter, my heart is heavy. Over the past 24 hours I have been informed of the passing of two of our former students. One died of a drug overdose, the other made the decision to take his own life. Both young men, both tragic. My heart is heavy for their families and friends. I am thankful that I don’t receive these phone calls all the time, but one is more than I care to receive, and I have unfortunately received more than just these 2 over the past few months.
In the midst of the sorrow, I am thankful that we had the privilege of ministering the truth of God’s Word to both of these men and giving them the answer of newness of life in Christ Jesus. While we can’t control whether a person receives the Word or believes the Word, we still teach the truth with great confidence that God uses His Word to change people’s lives. While the decisions these men made that led to their death are certainly not the will of God, I do not believe these decisions determine their eternal life. That decision is based on whether they chose to believe in Jesus Christ as their Savior or reject Jesus Christ as their Savior. That is the gospel we teach each day!
Solomon tells us in Ecclesiastes 7:2, “It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, because that is the end of every man, and the living takes it to heart.” NASB. This world offers no hope in itself or man’s wisdom. Please pray for our students to see the urgency and importance of receiving Jesus Christ as Savior and walking in fellowship with Him to deal with the difficulties of this life. He is the only One who can give true hope to our lives.
In last month’s letter I asked you to pray for our financial situation. You will see that our giving increased last month although we still did not cover our monthly expenses. We are thankful for the Lord’s continued provision for this ministry and ask you to continue to pray with us concerning our finances. I also asked you to begin praying about how you or your church might encourage our men this Christmas with material or financial donations to help with Christmas gift bags for our men. On the back there is a list of items needed. If you desire to give towards this need please have all donations in by December 20th so we can have these bags ready. Thank you for your gifts and prayers and have a happy Thanksgiving in thankfulness to the Lord.
Thankful for the God of all Comfort,
Aaron Bonner
