The Knobloch Report
“Growing”
Fall 2009
           
When thinking about a common “thread” that could tie this letter together, the word “growing” came to mind.   A lot of growing is going on in the Knobloch family! 
            First of all Kylie is certainly growing!  She turned two in August and delights us with the things she is learning and doing.  We are constantly saying and hearing, “I can’t believe how big she’s getting!”  That’s kind of weird, isn’t it?  Of course she’s growing!  Just think how incredulous we would be if she stopped growing all together!  I guess we mean that little lives just go by so fast that we almost regret seeing them grow up.  I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard the comment, “Treasure this time!  It goes by so fast!”  Good advice, if not a little saddening.  But I was encouraged when a dad said to me as he smiled at Kylie, “It just keeps getting better!”  So far I’d say he’s right! 
            Kylie loved spending the summer doing puppets almost every single day.  Even when we weren’t with the puppets she was talking about them!  As you may know, our theme this year has been “Jesus is the King”.  Our summer itinerary held eleven weeks of ministry with over 60 programs!  That’s over 60 opportunities we were given to share the Gospel and to encourage growth in the Lord!  I love this job!  At the end of the summer we put together the list of decisions for Christ that we knew of.  Frankly when I first looked at the numbers I was discouraged.  I thought, “Boy!  It seems like we’ve seen more decisions in the past!”  But then I stopped and thought, “Wait.  Hold it.  First of all, God’s “spiritual economics” don’t work according to any human numeric system.  Second, it is not mine or anyone else’s job to save people.  That is the work of the Holy Spirit.  Our job is to share the Gospel.”  Then I began to think – not according to numbers, but according to individuals.  What a difference!  I thought of the boy who at the invitation jumped up from his seat and with absolute purpose and confidence marched to the back of the auditorium to receive Christ as Savior.  And I thought of the boy at another church who came to Christ for salvation.  I learned that the church had been witnessing to him for a long time and it finally bore fruit at the VBS!  His sister was also saved that week!  It bears out the scripture in 1 Corinthians 3:6 where Paul said, “I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.”  We do not know what God is doing in the hearts of kids who are exposed to His Word.  As we look to see people grow in Christ, sometimes our job is to plant, and sometimes it is to water, and sometimes it is to realize the harvest. 
            As we went through this past summer our whole team was deeply impacted by the Lord’s provision through the obedience and generosity of His saints.  Money is a useful thing to have, but the love we experienced though the act of God’s people selflessly and often sacrificially giving was invaluable.  God is taking care of all of our needs in abundance.  We are not yet to 100% of our committed monthly support (it’s still in the mid-60’s range), but our support is growing and we are trusting the Lord for the completion of that goal.  Perhaps you would join us in a special prayer request?  We cannot do what we do without the two women who make up the rest of our team, Juli and Nicole.  And while the Lord has been faithful to them, they both have a long way to go in meeting their support requirements.  When you pray for us, perhaps you could also remember them in prayer.  They are an integral part of what we are doing. 
           
Here is a PRAISE BULLETIN!  Because of the Lord’s faithfulness to us through individuals’ and churches’ financial support, I have been able to commit to being full-time with God’s Helping Hands – not just in the summer travel months, but year round!  This means a couple of things.  For one, I no longer need to supplement my income by working in the public school (although if I eventually have a little spare time I may try to give some of it to the school).  It also means that my responsibilities with the ministry are growing!  This year I have been given the responsibility of writing all new material for programs.  This is a REALLY big job.  Please pray for me!  Pray for creativity in developing themes, scripts, illustrations, and ideas.  Please pray that the messages in the scripts would be clear and doctrinally sound.  Please pray for endurance as this kind of work can really drain your “creative juices”, and there are deadlines to meet.  I’m very excited about what the Lord has in store if I will listen to Him.  Currently I am putting the finishing touches on material for a new missions series and trying to wrap up the writing for a Christmas program.  Very soon, I need to drive hard into writing the material for next year’s series. 
            Speaking of next year, another thing that is growing is the amount of opportunities to fill our 2010 calendar!  We have begun the process of scheduling for the Summer of 2010 and already we have many requests.  Praise God!  Please pray that He will have free reign in the scheduling. 
            Another PRAISE BULLETIN!  As some of you already know, the growing in the Knobloch family has become very literal as we are expecting a new addition to the family in February!  We found out this summer that “Baby Knobloch” was on its way and our excitement (as well as Amber’s tummy) has been growing ever since!  Kylie seems to be grasping the idea of “a baby in Mommy’s tummy” quite well, and will often talk to it.  We think she will make a great (and possibly overbearing) big sister.  She LOVES babies! 
            Thank you for taking the time to read this letter.  You are so important to us.  Many of you support us financially and we thank you!  You are God’s instrument of blessing to us enabling us to focus on reaching boys and girls for Christ!  And many of you pray for us.  This is a gift for which there is no measure.  And your prayers are the gift that we need the most!  Please do not stop praying!  The summer and its opportunities are past, but the work is not.  We have been very busy this fall already and will continue to be with missions conferences in October.  Also, our work at the God’s Helping Hands office is greater in the fall.  But as I close this letter, there is one very particular thing I would ask that you pray for and it also has to do with growing. 
            Amber and I feel the need to grow in our prayer life and in our knowledge of Christ.  We want our desire for Him and His Word to grow.  This is something we’ve been asking the Lord to generate in us.  Would you beseech the Lord on our behalf in this matter?  Soon we will have a new baby in the house.  It will be up at all hours of the day and night needing to eat and be cared for.  We want to be something like that.  As it says in 1 Peter 2:2-3, “As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:  If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious.” 
            Thank you!  We would love to pray for you, too!  You can e-mail us at cknobloch@ghhinc.org.  If you would like to receive our prayer letter by e-mail, or would like to stop receiving them, you can e-mail those requests to office@ghhinc.org.   

                        Serving Christ with you,

                                                                                                                        Chris and Amber Knobloch, Kylie (and Baby)
                        God’s Helping Hands Inc.
                        www.ghhinc.org