God is a good God, and He's in a good mood!

Please know that, although this is a school, you are also partnering with us as we minister to many, many people here. Living in this Bethel "kingdom culture" gives us much opportunity to build relationships with students as well as visitors and our lives are spent speaking into people's lives, ministering Jesus' love through prayer, and much time spent praying for people for healing, provision, and a deeper relationship with God. It is so wonderful to see how God can touch people through the hearts of his children.

Healing

We have been busier than normal this past couple of weeks. Last week, Randy Clark was here with a healing conference that filled the Redding Convention Center day and night for 4 days. We attended during the days as students, and nights as prayer servants when people came from all over to attend free night services. There were many healings of blindness, deafness, lung disease, arthritis, pain, etc. One of the most remarkable was people who had metal screws and rods in their body were healed of pain and they were able to move and flex as if they had no metal in their bodies. This happened, I think, to about 25 people.

Ministry Work

Rick continues to work on Sundays, cooking and cleaning in the Bethel kitchen as they serve hundreds of homeless who come to eat and also low income families who bring their children. Many stay for church as well.

I volunteer for the church's "Pastor on Call" ministry team for three hours one day a week. We pray with people over the phone who call in for prayer. My first day was last week, and I talked to about 5 people from around the country who called in. Two other people worked the same morning. The phones were busy. I am learning so much by doing this ministry. I am also filling in for the testimony writer at the healing rooms while she is in Haiti with the Bethel team that is on its way there. I did that for the first time last Saturday and it was quite an experience to talk with so many people who had experienced a healing touch from the Lord that morning. I'll be doing that again tomorrow morning.

Rick and I love to host some of the students for dinner occasionally. They love a home-cooked meal and we love to get to know them better in this way. They are remarkable young people from around the world that have such a heart to serve the Lord and love Him so intimately. We are learning so much from them, and I think they like and need to be around us mom and dad type people.

Remembering to "Be Still" ...

Rick has a job lined up for tomorrow installing a garage door opener. We are still asking for God's hand in a job he can do around school hours. I've been so busy with Bethel this past two weeks, that I haven't been able to work much for the paper. But they did approve six ideas I had for stories that I'll start working on next week. I find myself so drawn to all that Bethel is doing for classes - both school and night classes - and wanting to volunteer that I realize I can't do it all. I have to cut back. Most importantly I can't forsake the quiet time I need every day with the Lord - learning to listen - learning to rest in Him. From that place I get direction, clarity, energy and creativity. Whew - we all have to remember that important secret place with God. It's not about us being busy doing His stuff. It's about our relationship with Him - our quiet times with him - and out of those, understanding what He's doing and entering into that. So...I am spending the weekend rearranging and cutting out some of the extra things I'm doing so I can still do my job with the paper, have my quiet time, and keep up with school.

By the way - I'm on Facebook - find me and be my friend! I'm listed under Christine Krohn Tracy - Northern Colorado

Love to you all!!!

Mission Trips

(Please be in prayer with us for the people of Haiti.)

We are preparing to go on our mission trips scheduled for March.

Rick will be going to Arcata, California - a coastal town - where he will be ministering through carpentry and service to the people of this community. Chris will be going to Tijuana, Mexico - just over the California border, (her first mission trip!) where she will be joining a large team to bring night-time services, healing ministry, and in-home visits to wonderful people who are hungry for God's love.

If you would like to support this outreach, in prayer - or financially  - we would be so thankful.

We are needing to raise an additional $500 toward these trips. (Chris - $300; Rick - $200).

Thank you so much to all who continue to pray for us and to all who have given so generously to our time here at Bethel School. We have been so amazingly and deeply blessed.

Donations may be made to Kremmling Community Church, P. O. Box 1330, Kremmling, CO 80459. (Please attach a note with our name so it will go into our account.)

2010 - A year of blessing and increase

Happy New Year to our friends and family!

Rick and I spent a quiet New Year's Eve and day together, cooking, studying and watching movies. It's been a quick Christmas break, and we're almost caught up with the bunch of homework we have due as soon as we get back on Tuesday.

We had a great time with our daughter, Bess, who was here for Christmas and stayed nearly a week. We took a road trip to see the mighty coastal redwoods and were amazed at their beauty and how small we were next to them.

We also enjoyed having our young international friends over while Bess was here.

This past few days we have learned more of what it means to be still, relax, rest, and soak. We are learning that God meets us in the secret places of our quiet times, and in those times, fills us with himself, his purposes and a new and surprising knowledge and experience of His love for us.

In this New Year, may we all experience that love. The "no matter what" kind of love that doesn't ask for performance, busy-ness, or anything...but loves us madly with the Love of a kind, good, happy Father who is so proud of us and loves to spend time with us.

Our senior leader here, Bill Johnson, in his New Years message, said he felt God was giving him permission to share a promise that had been given to him years ago. Bill now felt God wanted to give that same promise to us. And Rick and I feel God wants us to hand it forward to you, since you are partnering with us!

Isaiah 45:2-3

I will go before you;

and  make the crooked places straight

I will break in pieces the gates of bronze

and cut the bars of iron

I will give you the treasures of darkness,

and hidden riches of secret places

that you may know that I the Lord

who calls you by your name,

am the God of Israel.

Bill said the crooked places are our problems and challenges and roadblocks - God will straighten them out.

The gates and bars keep us from His promises - and he is breaking barriers down.

The treasures of darkness are people. Our loved ones who don't know Christ, who aren't free.

Hidden riches can be many things, including financial provision. But also blessings, gifts, and spiritual things.

May this bless you in many ways!!!

We spend a lot of time in prayer and would love to pray for you. Let us know how we can pray. Write to us at ctracy@mac.com, or send us mail. Our address info is on this page!

Rick and Chris