The Thomas Telegram

Dear Friends-

Hope that all is well where you are and that you are enjoying a slower pace of life over the summer.   For us life is quite a bit different when students leave campus.  We are thankful for that change of pace.  It is often a chance to reflect and refresh as well as a time to catch up on some things and prepare for the coming fall when students come back to campus.  This summer we are raising personal support for our family and ministry as well as preparing for the fall rush when students come back to campus.

Last week Ben and Katie had the opportunity to participate in day camps that are offered in our area.  Ben went to a baseball camp and Katie went to a drama camp put on at a local high school.  For both of our kids it was a week of new experiences that stretched them and helped them to grow.   Baseball camp was pretty amazing to watch.  The counselors that ran this camp were college students themselves and to watch them try to herd 25, five & six year olds was quite interesting.   Benjamin had never played baseball before and looking back at that week it has reminded me that growth is hard but very valuable.  Last week Ben was learning how to throw a baseball, how to catch, hit and run the bases.  He remarked to me one day after camp, “Dad I don’t like being sweaty…”  This launched us into an interesting conversation about the value of working hard and sweating in the process.

I don’t know about you but I understand what Ben is saying.  Discomfort in the process of the goal is often difficult.  Like my son I often want to avoid that discomfort.  Too often my desire is for life to just be easy so that I can avoid the discomfort.  It is amazing to me how God uses discomfort in our lives to accomplish his purposes.

This summer six of our recent graduates from George Mason are preparing for a one or two year internship with Campus Crusade at various ministry locations around the world.  Jenny is one of those students.  Jenny had been involved with our ministry at GMU for most of her college career and was a fantastic leader for our ministry.  As she approached graduation, Jenny felt God calling her to trust him and go to Australia for a year with Campus Crusade to do evangelism and discipleship with our ministry there.  Over the summer and fall Jenny will be developing a team of people who can prayerfully and financially support her ministry over this next year.  Like us, Jenny is raising money for her ministry and living needs.  This is a great opportunity but it can also be pretty uncomfortable at times.  Asking people to invest in ministry during a time of economic trouble requires us to believe in God’s provision and to boldly ask.  The amazing thing is that this prepares us for ministry.  Trusting in God’s provision and boldly asking is what daily ministry is often about.

As we pray for Jenny and her future ministry in Australia, we praise God for you.  Because of your prayers and support of this ministry, God has used us to help Jenny grow and now take part in bringing the Gospel to people around the world.  Is the goal worth it?  Absolutely!  Discomfort in the process of God’s work is always worth it, because bringing glory to Jesus is far greater than our momentary discomfort!  Thank you for your investment in the lives of college students.   It is worth it!

Serving Jesus together with you!

Dave, Debbi, Katie, Ben and Rachel Thomas