April 2021

She had never opened a Bible before, and said...

May 19, 2021

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The month of April was filled with a lot of conversations and a lot of church family. As we're quickly approaching the transition into the season of parenthood (1 week to go!!), we've been trying to soak up as much time with the church and students as we can! Here is a quick glance at what we've been up to: 

- AT A GLANCE -

Teaching DJ how to make cookies!

We celebrated our church's 4-year anniversary with a picnic in the park! It was amazing to see all the new and familiar faces that God has brought together from all over the world to be one family in the gospel.

Wednesday nights, Brittany has been studying the book of Philippians with a group of ladies from church. It's been rich!

Todd's become a go-to for people with DIY needs, like putting up curtains in the new apartment of one of our favorite fellow FOCUS volunteers

We had an Easter event on the beach with a group of students from our area of Dubai. 

Lots of dinners with dear friends, like Keshav and Sanjana

Life-on-life discipleship sometimes looks like grocery shopping with students after church. They always make things more enjoyable!

Some guys from church took Ivan to ride his first ever roller coaster at a local indoor theme park. (he LOVED it)

- BETTY -

"My whole life I grew up thinking that the Ethiopian Orthodox Church was the only church...until I met 'Joy'."Over the past couple of months, God has given us the opportunity to welcome two female students from "Joy's" university into our home on multiple occasions to eat dinner, play games, and watch Harry Potter. We have loved building a friendship with these girls but have really wanted to get individual time with each of them so we could go deeper in our conversations.I (Brittany) finally got to meet up with Betty a couple weeks ago and heard of the impact Joy has had on her through their conversations and living life on campus together. Betty has been very hesitant to talk about the gospel or come with us to church, but during our conversation I was able to look at multiple Scriptures with her. She had never opened a Bible before (even though she grew up with one placed under her pillow by her parents) and she said that she had never considered that there was another Church. We also talked about a variety of topics from relationships to the Reformation. She seemed eager by the end of our time to visit church and study the Bible. Please join us in asking God to continue to draw Betty to Himself!

- PIZZA IN THE PARK -

At the beginning of the month our church organized an evangelistic student event at the park. We were excited to see over 20 students show up! We spent the time eating pizza, getting to know new students, and interviewing members of our FOCUS team about their university experience and conversion testimonies. 

- Pray with Us - 

  • Pray for fruit to be born from our one day student conference. We'll give more details in our next update!

  • Pray for Allah, a guy Todd's been playing basketball with who is intrigued by the gospel.

  • Pray for all the students who will be returning home or participating in internships this summer, that they would not lose their zeal for the Lord or the lost. 

  • Pray for God to bring Betty and DJ to a saving knowledge of Himself.

  • Pray for us to finish this semester well, and that we would be a means of God's grace to everyone around us.

  • Pray for the health of Brittany and our baby, and for his birth to come at just the right time!

- BABY UPDATE -

We have been overwhelmed with how God is providing for us as we prepare to welcome our son into the world at the end of this month! We've had students come to clean our house, many people have lent us baby items, and we're anticipating the arrival of Brittany's parents at the end of this month, bringing a number of items that friends and family have bought for us on

. The church even held a baby shower for Brittany and Ruth (pictured above), who, along with her husband, recently adopted twin girls from India. It was amazing to celebrate the many ways God grants His people the gift of children. 

The next time you hear from us, we will, Lord-willing, be holding our son in our arms! Please join us in praying for a safe delivery and the eventual salvation of our child. We hope and trust he will grow to be a man who fears and delights in the Lord above all else. 

Days of waitingDays of needDays of prayingDays of peaceJoy is buildingCan it be—Two hearts growingInto threeHoly privilegeGreat delightSowing selfTo harvest life- By Brittany Hope, 05.04.21 -