Great is His Faithfulness

Hello to all my friends and family!

I wanted to take a moment out of this busy training schedule to tell everyone a little more about what's been going on the last two weeks.

My experience here with TeachOverseas is like nothing I've ever done before. It's an intense program. They're training us to be excellent English teachers in just 4 weeks, and if that weren't a big enough task, we're also being taught things about how TeachOverseas works, what will be expected of us in our countries, about the culture and language (I can count to 99 in Vietnamese), about each other, and about ourselves.

God has taught me a lot about who I am, who I am capable of being, and who He wants me to be in Him. The entire process of preparing to go, then being here has been one that has stretched my faith. I got into the game really late. I got signed up in May, and decided to go in June, and as training started at the end of July, that has not been a lot of time to raise support or prepare myself emotionally and spiritually, but God has guided me to being a part of an organization that truly exemplifies the meaning of grace.

"We are a grace organization." That's a phrase we hear a lot here at training. There are teachers here that have served with TeachOverseas for at least a year, some more, that have fallen. They've given in to temptations and struggles, but rather than cut their ties, this group takes these people in. They show forgiveness, mercy, and grace like no other organization I've ever seen. Whether it's being short on funds (me) or falling in sin, TeachOverseas extends as much grace as it can to anyone that it can. On top of that, this is the type of grace that resonates with the Holy Spirit in my heart. Rather than feel that one can take advantage of this grace to do the minimum or to run off and do wrong things because you know you'll be forgiven, this place makes me feel like it would hurt them so very much to be taken advantage of. It's a feeling of true grace that exemplifies Christ's heart for us.

My teammates and I have been growing even closer together over the last two weeks, as well. They go out of their way to be encouraging and uplifting, and it's not some fake thing either. I really feel like these people care. Everyone is acting on God's call to their life.

I feel that I've truly been called to this year of service overseas, too. God has given everyone gifts, and He's guided me to a place where I have found a fit unlike any I've tried in recent memory. I'm being given the opportunity to flex my teaching abilities, and it turns out that it's a pretty natural thing for me to be doing. I feel confident and comfortable in front of my classes, (we've been teaching since our first real day of training) and everyone that has been observing me has made comments that I'm very professional and a natural. That's not to say I'm perfect, though. I'm still learning how to relate all sorts of concepts to these students and to my students in Vinh, but it's a great opportunity and I really enjoy being able to teach. All of your prayers have really helped me through.

That being said, I do have an urgent need that I'd like to pass along. I still need $8400 to cover my year teaching. There is a bare minimum that TeachOverseas requires to have been raised before we leave, but they don't tell us what that is, so I can't say whether I'll have reached that or not before it's too late, but I believe that God is faithful in everything, and having called me to this, He will complete His work in me. I'd like to be able to partner with you in this dream. Please pray and consider whether or not you would be able to help. Any amount, big or small, would be an answer to prayer. If you want to help, but are unable to right now, pray and ask God if He is leading you to pledging a monthly amount. Small amounts over the 10 months of service can add up, and I'd be so grateful if you'd take the time to pray to see if God might be calling you to share in this with me. If you want to support my teaching in Vietnam, please do the following things: 1) PRAY, PRAY, PRAY 2) Send any gift that the Lord may lead you to give to:

Harvest Bible Chapel: Rockford

4320 Spring Creek Rd.

Rockford, IL 61107

Attn: Mike Warren

Please make any checks out to: Harvest Bible Chapel: Rockford

Please put 207159 in the memo section or it might not be tax deductible, but otherwise, all donations are tax-deductible.

To those who are my prayer warriors: thank you; thank you; thank you; from the bottom of my heart, thank you! Your faithful prayers have enabled me to get to this point, and I look forward to being able to rejoice with you about God's further faithfulness.

I love you all and look forward to sharing more about how God has been able to work in my life though this experience with TeachOverseas soon.

In Christ,

Kenny Warren