Update

Hello,

It has been a couple of weeks since our last update, so we thought we would share what has been going on with us lately. We pray that you and your family are doing well and that you have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Language School
Language school continues to go well. We are moving through the material quickly and will be half way through our second textbook early next week. Because we are going through the lessons so fast, we have thought about repeating the beginners’ course when we complete the second of two books that it covers. Just the other day I met a young man who told me that when a foreigner learns their language the Chinese think of him more as a brother. It reminded me of how important our language studies are, so please continue to pray for us in this area.

Monday Nights
Our Monday night group continues to go well. Each week we have about ten people in attendance and many are asking questions and seeking to understand the truth of Scripture. This Monday we talked about how God helps us to have faith to know Jesus based on a teaching from John chapter six. At the end of our meeting, we prayed that God would help each one present to know Jesus.

Our teammates, Katherine Gould, Marcus Riley, and Yi Yue (Alex), also started a study on Saturday nights a couple of weeks ago. Please lift them up in prayer as well. Several of the seekers we know are so thirsty to learn more that they actually attend both groups!

Individual Studies
Susan and I are still trying to meet and study with individuals and couples who have either read with LST before or though other connections. For example, last week Susan met Jessie, one of Rebecca Thompson’s students from World Bible School’s online classes. She really enjoyed getting to know her a little and plans to follow-up with her in the coming weeks. Please pray that God will continue to open up opportunities for us to share God’s Word in a more personal manner.

Holiday Season
We are excited about the Holiday season, but will miss getting to spend it with our families. We were blessed, however, by getting to celebrate an early Christmas party at the Jackson’s apartment before they left for the U.S. All of our teammates were able to gather, eat some good food, and exchange Christmas ornaments. It was a wonderful evening!

On Friday, our team is meeting at our apartment to share a Thanksgiving meal. Everyone is bringing several dishes and it looks like we are going to have quite a feast. Katherine is planning to record the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and the football games on her SlingBox, so we should be able to watch those together, as well!

Help is on the Way
John, Brandy, and Zane Sloan and Paul Reding are scheduled to arrive in Beijing on December 19th for their two-week Let’s Start Talking campaign. We are so excited to see the Sloans (some of our very best friends) and to meet Paul. Please pray for them and those that they will meet during their stay. I am confident all will be blessed!

Decisions
We are not really setting a time limit on it, but are growing closer to making a decision about our plans beyond our internship year in Beijing. We would really appreciate you praying with us, as we look for God’s will and leading in our lives. We will keep you informed and will share our plans, as they become clearer to us.

Thanks for keeping up with us and for being our partners in ministry. We love you and miss you and pray the best for you and your family.

In His Love,
John, Susan, and Nash Cooper