First I want to apologize for not posting our last few weeks of Alpha. Our last few weeks have been crazy and we haven't gotten around to it. Thank you to everyone who continued praying for us and the lives of the people involved despite our lack of reminders/updates.
Tonight we ate Chicken and Apple Curry, watched the last video, handed out certificates and had a time for some people to share their experiences/what they learned. Throughout the course we averaged about 10-11 people a night and had 9 that "completed" the course and received certificates. Out of those 9 people 3 were already fairly committed to God, and at least 2 others (maybe all of them?) have made serious committments to God.
We talked about what was next and all of them seemed to be pretty excited to continue meeting and studying the Bible together. As people talked tonight, I had the impression that one of the most meaningful experiences for them was the family and friendship that has formed amongst all of us, as odd of a group as we are (we have people ranging from 14 to 60+ years old). They also commented on the opportunity to discuss real issues together, learn new things and the freedom to say what they think without being judged. As I write this, I feel like I'm copying the promotional literature from Alpha and I'm remembering that I really didn't believe that God could work in this way. I have been proven wrong.
Next Friday we're having an introduction to the next Alpha course that we'll be starting in mid-September. Everyone has the opportunity to invite people to come to find out about the course and we're hoping to see 40 people or so there. If we do have that many people, it's going to be interesting because we'll be doing it in a different location and it a slightly different style to accomdate the larger group setting. Please be praying this week. We hope that many new people will come and have the opportunity to see what God offers for their lives. Also please pray for all the logistics (this includes painting the room we would be meeting in).
