I am still waiting for the subtitled video for the Teen version of our material to arrive from Turkey. Needless to say, I'm feeling a bit anxious about it as we are a week away from leaving, and without that, it will be enormously difficult to teach the class. So that is one way you can pray for us - that I will receive that DVD prior to our leaving.
The material we will be using is call Active Parenting, a program of parenting education I have taught over the past 23 years. I began teaching parenting classes when our son (our first born) was two years old, prompted by the desire to become the best possible for our own family, and then pass on whatever I was learning to others. It's a tremendous program that powerfully influenced my wife and I in raising our own children, and one I believe represents biblical values without being a overtly Christian parenting program. This way it works great as a church-based AND a community outreach ministry. We will teach two modules of Active Parenting - one for parents of children ages 5-12, and one for parents of teen-agers. Each module will offer three different sessions: two for members of the church to accommodate their different schedules, and one as an outreach to the community. So we will be teaching six classes over the course of three consecutive weekends. Between class sessions, we will make home visits to consult with families about particular problems they may be having.
In case you're wondering how this all came about - two summers ago when I went to Turkey with IMPACT, I taught a one-evening session on Teaching Responsibility through Natural and Logical Consequences. Though I thought it was nominally effective at best, I heard later that it was very impacting for the people who attended, and they requested I come back out just to teach the entire course. Parenting issues are a big concern for the congregation, and they want to make ministry to parents a priority. Being that parenting has always been a priority for me, saying "yes" was easy!
So I am very excited about this opportunity, and grateful for my teammates, Ron and Peggy. We are meeting again this Thursday in order to do our part to be as prepared as possible, and of course, trusting God to be faithful in his part to lead and guide us, helping us adapt as necessary, and bearing the fruit of the kingdom.
Thank you for all your prayers and financial support. I will probably post once or twice more before we leave, and then try to give daily updates during our time in Turkey.
Faithfully in Christ Jesus,
Charlie
