August 2005

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

When I was a mission associate at Kwansei Gakuin High School (1994-2000), every once in a while, our family would experience a totally unexpected meltdown. I’d come home and the whole family seemed completely out of control. Judy and I would stop and think to try to find the cause. Inevitably Judy would say, “Oh, yes. You’re preaching to the students next Monday.” It was true. Every time I preached, things would go awry either in or to our family. We began to realize the need to pray and turn to God at times like those, and when we did, the problem inevitably lifted.

This summer has been anything but peaceful, however. After a week at Nojiri, I got a call that a dear friend had died. Judy and I went back to Nagoya for the funeral. As we have dealt personally with this huge loss, we faced other stresses at Nojiri, the biggest of which was our car catching on fire. We fully expected we would lose the car, but the Toyota place to which we had it towed said the damage was contained and would not be expensive to fix. All this led us to ask, “Why are stressful things happening every single week in this particular August?”

Judy and I looked at each other. As it turns out, this year’s uncommon August does immediately precede the September 1-3 summer trip for Kinjo Gakuin University for which I have been asked to be the main speaker. Thus, Judy and I are asking for prayer for our family—and for me as I prepare for the talks—and for the 20 young women who will be attending the summer trip.

With love in Christ,

Andy Carrick

The 2005 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 251