January
31, 2013
Dear Friend,
Another month has flown by so fast that
I have to stop and look at the mileage log (which has over 3,500 miles
recorded) to have an idea of what all has taken place. As I look at
destinations and dates, memories of the first month of the year come to the
surface. One destination was the K.U. Medical Center to pray with a young
mother whose four month old son was being treated for RSV. Trips to Wichita and
Lincoln, NE, were also made to visit and pray with a family whose teenage
daughter was seriously hurt in a car accident. The teenage girl had been to
several Teens For Christ Rallies and one of our dodgeball outreaches. I
recognized her name as her mother stood next to me while members of the
Concordia Fire Department extricated her from a destroyed car before the
helicopter whisked her away to Wichita. Her father called me last night to
share with me that she took 30 steps at the rehab hospital yesterday in
Lincoln.
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Elijah
on the day we prayed with him and his mother at K.U. Medical Center.
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Other
recorded outings were for TFC Bible Club meetings in Lincoln and Miltonvale
along with our ministry in Topeka. One trip was to preach at Lincoln Community
Church on the first Sunday of 2013. Another trip was to Junction City for
Duaine’s monthly Air Force meeting. While in Junction City, the plan was to have
dinner with a lady who participated in TFC as a teenager and now has a family
of her own. Dinner had to be postponed because the day was too much for her
little girl.
When
I stop and reflect back on the month that begins year 29 of ministry for me, I
yet again come to the realization that we are totally dependent upon God’s
provision through His people. Without you and other individuals, one or two
businesses and a handful of churches, we would be handicapped and unable to be
there with the Gospel for teenagers and their families who need to hear about
Jesus Christ.
In
an interview that was published in World
Magazine earlier this month, Joni Erickson Tada responded to this lead
in by Marvin Olasky:
The humble are ... “People who wake up in the morning knowing they can’t do this
thing called life without the divine help of the Savior. That makes my
disability such an advantage.”
I
can list off scores of people who are better at “youth ministry” than I am.
Good “youth ministry” people these days can play a guitar, sing with boldness,
exhibit athletic prowess and weave relevant messages that captivate the crowd to
whom they are playing. All of these areas I feel a lack that may seem like a
disability to many. Like Joni, however, I view my “disabilities” as an
advantage that makes me more dependent upon the Lord. Nothing that Lisa or I
accomplish through Teens For Christ is done without His divine help. And with
that said, my friend, you are a part of that divine help. Your prayers and your
support enable us to enter into a variety of situations and minister with
confidence.
In
many situations, I like to point teenagers and adults to this passage of
Scripture:
Humble yourselves,
therefore, under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper
time, casting all your anxiety upon Him, because He cares for you. ~
First Peter 5:6-7 (NASB)
As we enter the new year, we seek to
humbly cast all our “anxiety upon Him” that we might realize the power of His
“mighty hand” at work as we serve Him.
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Jossalin
poses with her Smiley Face Pancakes after her first experience with “lab work”
on January 28th. She declared, “Never again!”
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Thank you once again for encouraging and
praying for us. Along with our ministry needs, please pray for our little
Jossalin as she has her adenoids removed on February 1st and tubes put into her
ears. Duaine would appreciate your prayers as well as his senior year
progresses with new experiences such being part of the cast of Concordia High
School’s production of The Diary of Anne
Frank. Take care and may you have a very blessed February!
Yours For Youth!
Kent and Lisa Otott
Romans 10:15
Kent and Lisa Otott
Romans 10:15
