2011年7月16日
亲爱主内兄姐平安，
謝謝您们的代禱，神的帮助總是及時賜下，而且祂的恩典也是剛好夠用。
* 总是意外
六月11日我们探访陆姐妹，因为七月8-16日陆姐妹参加海地医疗短宣。但是我们到达时，陆姐妹突然睡着，没有应门，所以我们在外面等了40分钟。在等候时，我们遇见一位老朋友周同学，他已经毕业、工作了，他与几个基督徒同学还有联系，但是近来他因为考证和工作，无法参加查经班的活动。不过他还是有兴趣参加查经班的活动。这时陆姐妹就出现了，由于我们还有其它的行程，所以我们只能简短地问候陆姐妹的近况，就离开了。
六月25日我们探访汤姐妹，一起查经，因为汤姐妹要到费城工作。唐姐妹也邀请两个朋友参加查经我们向他们简介圣经和福音。他们询问为什么圣经以外还有福音书，修昆回答，圣经是历代基督徒所公认的，那些福音书只有几本手抄本，目前有的手抄本也较圣经晚很多。两周后，其中的赵同学也发邮件，与修昆继续讨论圣经矛盾的问题。修昆回答，在奴隶制度上保罗和耶稣并没有矛盾，而是质疑者先否定保罗支持奴隶制度的经文的可靠性。保罗迫害教会，是在基督徒已经逃离耶路撒冷之后，所以在犹太的基督徒没有见过保罗。
今日的慕道友问的问题都很尖锐，如果平时对于圣经没有深入的认识，那么基督徒的信仰也不过是另一个迷信。这个也很意外，一个慕道友居然能够接连发问挑战圣经地位的尖锐问题。
* 公寓事工
七月16日修昆也开始在River House公寓社区的事工。修昆约在傍晚5时到达，先探访王弟兄。王弟兄信主一年，他分享这一年来神带领他考得会计师证照，也顺利找到合适的工作。他很感激神的带领，但是也惶恐如何规划未来。修昆指出神是计划的神，在创世之前就计划好了拯救人类的计划。我们也应该按照神的心意来计划我们的未来，也只有借由读经、祷告、事奉，才能逐渐明白神的心意。聊了两个小时之后，我们唱几首赞美诗，修昆就离开了。
接着修昆遇见叶同学，就询问他的近况。叶同学指出社会和国家的诸多问题，甚至是基督徒和基督教国家在制造问题。修昆回答说，许多因素交织而造成社会问题和国家问题，很难就一两个观察点来探讨。于是修昆就他提出的问题，也提出其它的可能影响因素。因为时间太晚，都11点了，于是修昆就告别，下次见面再继续。
我们相信都是神在带领，所以这两位同学才会主动向修昆询问信仰上的疑问。
* 代祷事项
陆姐妹在七月8-16日参加海地医疗短宣，感谢神让她参与救灾。汤姐妹开始新的工作；求神给她智慧适应新环境，也带领她到忠心的教会。也求神动工，让赵同学和叶同学明白救恩，接受耶稣基督。
非常感谢您们为我们的事工所付出的支持和代禱，謝謝！
主内
修昆和惠雯
July 16, 2011
Dear brothers and sisters in the Lord,
Thank you for prayer. God's help is always in time and His grace is sufficient.
* Unexpectation
On June 11 we visited Sister Lu because she would join Haiti Medical Mission on July 8-16. Unfortunately, Sister Lu fell asleep before we arrived. Since she did not answer the door, we waited outside for forty minutes. In waiting, we met an old friedn Mr. Zhou who has graduated and is working. Mr. Zhou still has contact with some Christian friends. He could not attend the GWCBS activities because he has been busy in license exams and the new job. However, he is still interested in our activities. At this moment, Sister Lu appeared. Due to our schedule, we had only a short conversation with Sister Lu regarding her recent life before we left.
On June 25 we had Bible study with Sister Tang because she were moving to Philadelphia for the new job. Sister Tang invited two friend to join our study. We introduced the Bible and gospel to them. They asked about the gospels outside of the Bible. Tom answered them and said that the Bible is accepted by the Christians in the history. Furthermore, those gospel books has only a few of manuscripts, and those manuscripts were written much later than the Bible. Two weeks later, Mr. Zhao, one of them, sent an e-mail to Tom to continue the discussion. He raised more questions on the trustworthiness of the Bible. Tom answered and said that Paul and Jesus agreed on slavery issue if the passages in which Paul supports the slavery are accepted. Furthermore, Paul might persecute the Church after most of Christians had left Jerusalem. So Christians in Judah did not see Paul.
Today's seekers will ask sharp questions. If we do not know more the Bible, the seekers may think our faith is another superstition. It was unexpected that a seeker challenged the trustworthiness of the Bible.
* Apartments Ministry
On July 16 Tom started the River House ministry on River House Apartments site. Tom arrived around 5pm. He first visited Brother Wang. He shared the blessings God gave him in the past year. He passe CPA license exams, and he got a suitable job. He was grateful for God's blessings, but he became troubled in planning the future. Tom told him that God is the God of plans. God had made a salvation plan before he created the world. We should made plans according God's will. God's will can be manifest only after we read the Bible, pray, and serve God. After two hour talk, we sang praise songs before Tom left.
Next Tom met Mr. Ye, and asked about his recent work. Mr. Ye pointed out many troubles of society and country. Some are caused by Christians and Christian countries. Tom answer and said that the nationwide trouble is a complicated issue. One single trouble can result from many factors. Tom raised other possible factors which may cause or have affected the troubles Mr. Ye mentioned. However, it was almost 11pm. It was too late for us to discuss further. We left the discussion untill the next time.
We believe it is under God's control that two visited students asked Tom about the belief questions.
* Prayer Requests
Sister Lu joined Haiti Medical Mission on July 8-16. We thanked God for her opportunity to parcipate a Christian relief work. Sister Tang has started her new job. May God give her wisdom to new evvironment, and guide her to a faithful church. Also pray for Mr. Zhao and Mr. Ye to understand the salvation and accept Jesus Christ.
We really appreciate your support and prayer for our ministry. Thank you!
In Christ
Tom and Priscilla
