BCM International
201 Granite Run Drive, Suite 260
Lancaster, PA 17601
717-560-9601
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www.bcmintl.org <http://www.bcmintl.org/>
Mary Peterson
711 Tia Juana #19
Colorado Springs, CO 80909
719-636-2413
marycwhm@xxxxxxxxxx <mailto:marycwhm@xxxxxxxxxx>
marycwhm@xxxxxxxxxxx <mailto:marycwhm@xxxxxxxxxxx>
"The real victory in all service is won in secret beforehand by prayer.
Service is gathering up the results." S.D. Gordon
Fall brings the Thanksgiving season. I thank the Lord for His gracious
provision through your prayer and through your financial support to BCM for
this ministry.
When presenting the gospel to people, then teaching them spiritual truth, total
dependence on the Holy Spirit is absolutely essential; without the Spirit's
working there can be no conviction of sin, no repentance, no salvation, and no
growth. It is also important to realize that the way God's Word is presented
to individuals needs to be guided by the student's communicative and processing
skills, attitudes, interests, and by his emotional makeup. This is especially
true in working with individuals with emotional and intellectual challenges.
Sometimes we don't know how much a person understands or how he will respond to
the sharing of the Gospel or the teaching of God's Word. For example, I visit
some adults who show minimal response due to medical fragility and/or are
limited in their ability to communicate in any way. With such people I pray
for guidance in presenting God's Word though I may never know what effect the
Gospel is having in that person's life. Yet there have been surprising
occasions in which it's been evident that such folks have understood the
principle in the lesson.
For example, a very limited fellow upon seeing a paper concerning the widow's
mite pointed to the widow saying "money!" His caregiver explained that the
student remembered the lady who had given all her money to the temple.
Please pray that I will have the Lord's wisdom in presenting His Word to those
ones, like this, who ordinarily cannot communicate their understanding or, in
some instances, even respond. How encouraging it is that the Lord's Word will
not return to Him void, but will accomplish His purpose, no matter to whom it
is taught.
In some cases, caregivers also read the biblical lesson materials that are
presented. This is true of the caregiver in the above story.
To the Lord, we're just like...
On the other hand, many cognitively disabled folks make comments that
demonstrate significant understanding and insight. This may surprise or amaze
us, but it is a good reminder that the wisdom being taught is not the world's
wisdom.
One astute guy reflected: "To the Lord, we're just like glass! He sees right
through us!" I related this incident to Robert Dias who works for an agency for
adults with developmental challenges and who also serves as a pastor for a
group of mostly new believers. Robert was so impressed with this insight that
he decided to use it in a sermon.
Mr. Dias has accompanied me to some of the Bible lessons with cognitively
disabled adults. Through his visits he has seen firsthand how lessons need to
be specific to people's cognitive abilities and processing skills.
A lady who has had Bible lessons with me for many years, and who is
enthusiastic about these visits, accumulated several special needs Bible lesson
manuals. She gave these to Robert who, in turn, showed them to others at his
agency who approved of the manuals. Please pray that this will result in a new
open door for me to work with the intellectually disabled adults being served
through this new agency. Your intercession here is really appreciated.
Thanks so much for your part in this exciting ministry!
To God be the glory,
Mary
Mary Peterson
BCM # 09621
"The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much." James 5:16
