For the past 25 years, this newsletter has provided a real-world view of how Navigators are serving God to advance the Gospel among the nations. Worldwide is in fact filled with stories about how God is empowering us to joyfully persevere in the face extreme opposition.
When this joy invades my life, it settles in the inner citadel of the soul. It is there regardless of circumstances. It is boundless. It will not displace the emotional highs but will delight in them. It will not disappear with emotional lows but will live above them.
Describing himself as “downcast, perplexed, hard pressed on every side,” Paul tells of “troubles, hardships, distresses, beatings, imprisonments, riots, hard work, sleepless nights” and “hunger.” But he remembered four realities which kept him going during that dark time.
Although we each have a personal relationship with Jesus, we need a small community of believers to fully mature into the likeness of Christ. Spiritual growth does not occur in isolation.
Most of the kids in her institution had lice. The food was bland. Chores were rigorous. Punishments were severe. At age six, after committing a minor infraction, Sophia was forced to hold up a heavy chair for an extended period. On some occasions, the teachers beat the kids with phone cords and then placed them in hot showers.
