Greetings in the name of Jesus Christ from The Oaks. The weather has certainly changed and the nights are windy, cold, and frosty. For our family this has always been our favorite time of the year, getting together with family and friends celebrating the true meaning of Christmas, the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ. When you open your presents by your Christmas tree this year please be reminded of the greatest gift we all received over 2000 years ago, salvation in the form of a baby.
Recently we asked for prayer for our Fierce Women of the Word Retreat we hosted here at The Oaks. We are thrilled to report that we had 130 women in attendance from various west coast ministries. We were excited because all over the country, World Impact had leadership retreats and they were all focused on being Fierce Women and Men of the Word. This is the first time I recall that our retreats have been aligned completely across the spectrum.
The Oaks OLI (Oaks Leadership Institute) Program has been launched for the second year in a row and is up and running. The intern program is smaller this year, but we are more focused and intentional in developing these young leaders who currently are living at The Oaks for the next several months. Please pray with us specifically for: Leo, Mike, James, Adam, and Ryan. Each of these guys are great young men with unlimited potential to impact their cities. Are they perfect, by all means NO; but they have hearts of gold and attitudes that are open to learning. I recently showed them something very basic to many of us: checking the vehicle you drive. They appreciated that I took time to show them the basics: how to check all of the fluid levels under the hood, belts, tires, air filter, tire pressure, etc. Some of us grew up with parents, teachers or mentors who showed us such things. Some of the guys had never even seen under the hood of a vehicle, let alone how to perform the most basic maintenance tasks. Some of these young men have never even driven before. Thank you for your continued prayers for the OLI Program.
It is critical that we finish the year strong financially. Your year-end giving is making a difference and is greatly appreciated. Thank you for your faithful prayers and financial support.
