What’s New?
I’m afraid we’re long overdue for a newsletter update such as this, our apologies! I’m writing this current letter while I sit in the classroom where our School of the New Testament just had its first day. It was a day that caused me a great deal of personal reflection for a number of reasons. One of those reasons being the fact that our classroom was populated by a certain percentage of students who had just gone through our previous year’s School of the Old Testament–but we also had a number of alumni from previous years join our class once again to take on a new challenge of not only studying the Bible, but learning how to teach it themselves (a new learning track we’re piloting this year). Seeing faces from across the years of Emmaus all in one classroom, continuing to seek God through His Word, was a powerful experience!
As I was getting ready to welcome our students with a quick message about the heart of our mission and ministry, a particular passage came to mind from the book of Hebrews:
“Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power….“
Hebrews 1:1-3
The journey that these students are about to embark on is no small thing. According to a 2021 study done by Barna, 75% of U.S. adults reported reading the Bible anywhere between once a week and never. And yet the Bible remains the most accessible source for knowing the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature through the person of Jesus. What could be more important?
Ministry Update
Below is a digital brochure you can flip through to see what else has been going on with all our staff and programs so far this year:
Personal and Family
As to current work at Emmaus, my next large teaching assignment is on the letter to the Romans. Despite working for Emmaus nearly 9 years and sitting in on many Romans lectures since, this is one book I’ve yet to teach myself! But I’m incredibly excited to get even more acquainted with a book that has so powerfully impacted my life personally, like it has for so many others before me.
As to our family, it feels like a so many things in life are happening all at once! Work, school, swim lessons…. potty training…. One of the more exciting recent developments is that Benaiah graduated from Preschool and is beginning Kindergarten at home with Samantha, which has been a *fun new challenge.
We also had the really fun opportunity over the summer to visit the grandparents in Virginia and hang out with a multitude of cousins.
And Samantha got crafty, even setting up her own booth at our church’s fair to sell her handmade hats and legendary cookies.
Prayer
We’d appreciate prayers on a less fun recent development: the vehicle I used to drive every day to work recently broke down and out of necessity we had to buy a new car. While we’re super thankful that we were able to find another car, it has been an incredible financial strain for us in this season.
We’d also appreciate prayer for this future year of learning how to homeschool and also for our ministry at Emmaus, especially our staff and students.
Help Support Our Family
We’d really appreciate your support as we continue to seek God’s will for our family’s life. If you’d like to help us continue our work with Emmaus Bible Ministries, you can click here to donate online through a one-time or recurring payment. Just follow the prompts and select our names 🙂
You can also donate by mailing checks to:
Emmaus Bible Ministries
P.O. Box 620473
Oviedo, FL 32762-0473
**Please include a note with our names designating the check as staff support.
Thank you all for your continued love and support for our Family and Mission.
– The McRaes
The McRae Family 