Heartland Update

Greetings from Oklahoma! My sister Emily and I have been at Heartland Baptist Bible College for over a month now. I can't even begin to express how good God has been to us. I have absolutely no question that this is where we are supposed to be. The Lord has been teaching me so many amazing things in the past month -- in the classroom, of course, but especially in my heart. I can't wait to see how He will lead me in the steps ahead.

The following is from a post I wrote last week on the blog my sister and I are updating during our time here at Heartland. If you would like to stay current with us, visit our blog at emilynaomihbbc.blogspot.com.

Here is a list of the classes Emily and I have this semester. Emily's major is Church Education and mine is Missions. All of our classes are the same this semester except I have a Cults class while Emily is in her Ladies class. 

Cultures and Customs 

Bible Doctrines I 

Cults (Naomi) 

Research and Style 

Methods of Teaching 

Fundamentals of Speech

Ladies Class III (Emily)

Choir 

Piano Lessons 

 We have learned so much already. Cultures and Customs is one of my favorite classes as I am gaining so many new insights into the different ways of different peoples. I know it's really going to help me in the future. Of course I'm learning important truths in Bible Doctrines I and Cults. We're writing twenty-page papers in Research and Style! My topic is why we can trust the King James Bible to be the preserved, infallible Word of God. Methods of Teaching has been such a great class. I have so many new ideas for teaching already and, although the class lasts three straight hours on Monday, it goes by so quickly because we're all having so much fun while evaluating each others' teaching methods. It's like going to Sunday School all over again. (chuckle) Fundamentals of Speech is an easier class and has actually been fun. We are divided into smaller groups (all girls or all guys) where we give our speeches on different topics -- so it's not intimidating at all. =) Choir is a blessing! We're learning three different Christmas pieces for a cantata in December. We sing in the choir loft at church each Wednesday. Piano lessons have been a tremendous help to both Emily and myself. Our teacher is such a sweet lady and has helped us in so many areas already. We also have chapel services twice a week which is always such a huge help and uplifter! The Lord always has something especially for me during chapel.

It's a fairly full schedule but we do have days throughout the week that are slower. We're keeping up with our assignments and are making good grades, praise God! Our first month here at Heartland has been so incredible. Everything is completely different from home... and we do miss home terribly. Now that the newness and excitement of being here is wearing off the homesickness is especially keen. I never dreamed I would ever be so busy, but it has been such a blessing and I'm grateful to the Lord for giving me the opportunity to be here. 

If I could use one word to describe my experiences of the past month, it would be opportunities. Of course we had many ways to serve the Lord in our ministry at home, but here we have such a wide outreach. It has been amazing to have so many opportunities to be involved in ministry at our home church here in Oklahoma City, Southwest Baptist, as well as at Heartland. I get to work in the third-to-fifth grade junior church once a month at Southwest and I love it! It is a bit overwhelming as the numbers reach three hundred -- it's what you call an overwhelming blessing. (chuckle) Emily is working with the three-year-olds once a month. We have visitation on Tuesday evenings which has been another incredible opportunity. We have also been going on Saturday morning visitation from the church as our schedules allow us to do more. I also attended Friday night street evangelism last week; it was great and I hope to go again tomorrow! And we also signed up for the monthly Friends of Heartland ministry. We travel on a bus to another church and help them with visitation. Last Saturday was our first trip; we went to Derby, Kansas to be a blessing to North Woodlawn Baptist Church. It was an amazing opportunity. Praise the Lord! 

Another opportunity we have at Heartland is the missionary prayer band. We meet at 6 PM every Saturday to read prayer letters from missionaries around the world and to lift them up before the Lord. There is a great emphasis each week on different unreached people groups. Missionary prayer band is one of the highlights of my week. I'm so grateful so be able to have a part. Yet one more exciting opportunity I have is learning sign language. I've wanted to learn for several years so as soon as I heard the church has classes each Sunday before the evening service, I knew it was something else the Lord wanted me to be involved in. I'm so excited to finally be learning how to sign! It is a beautiful language. I can't wait to be able to communicate with the deaf people in the church. 

Heartland has such a God-glorifying spirit. The students who are attending are here for the right reasons and it is very evident in their daily lives. I am so blessed to be among them as we serve the Lord together! I'm thrilled to see what the Lord will have for us to do throughout our time here! Thank you all so much for your prayers for me and Emily. I know they are making a difference each and every day.