Good News - January 2020

On the personal side it is the joy of seeing progress among numerous churches from all denominations work together in south Florida under the flag of “Church United” to connect, collaborate and celebrate with the goal of making a huge impact for Christ and an awesome 2023 vision for S. Florida. On the national scene what surprised me is the sad lack of support by Washington elected officials, regardless the party, for the duly elected president and the dis- tractions from working on issues to benefit the citizens. Don Campion , President, Banyan Air Service What surprised me the most has been the continued polarization of the na- tion despite unprecedented prosperity. I pray that God would grant in 2020 a time of unity and reconciliation as a nation. George R. Moraitis, Jr ., Moraitis, Cofar, Karney, Moraitis & Quailey Personal : Having been blessed with two granddaughters, our family was joyfully surprised to find out our daughter is expecting a baby boy due in Febru- ary! “Sons are a heritage from the Lord, children a rewards from Him” (Psalm 127:3). National : Luis Palau is known as the “Billy Graham of LatinAmerica,” trav- eling globally to preach the Good News of Jesus Christ! As part of the Luis Palau Association National Women’s Prayer Team, we were all surprised and amazed to receive this praise report on behalf of Luis who, two years ago was diagnosed with Stage IV lung cancer and was given only a fewmonths to live. The day before his 85th BD last month, his oncologist joyfully reported, “all is stable! One of the tumors actually shrank.” Praise God and Happy Birthday Luis! “Nothing will be impossible for you” (Matthew 17:20). International : As Luis has pulled back from travel these past two years, he is overjoyed and blessed to see how powerfully God is using his son, Andrew, as he follows in his dad’s footsteps. Just this last week, Andrew and his team preached the Good News to more than 10,000 people in multiple churches in China and distributed 24,000 copies of their special Gospel book entitled What is Christmas? “May we shout for joy over your victory and lift up our banners in the Name of our God. May God grant all your requests” (Psalm 20:5). Gita Santangelo , Community Prayer Partner I think what surprised me the most is how divided our country has become. It seems we’ve lost perspective on what an amazing country we live in, and I hope people will remember that it’s truly a privilege to be here, and we should not take it for granted. Gregg Wallick , President, Best Roofing, Inc. Looking back at 2019, my biggest surprise has been the deep divide in the Body of Christ over political issues and scriptural interpretation. I am pray- ing John 17 prayers for 2020;that we would be One, as our Heavenly Father and his son are one, SO THAT the world may believe. Julie Mullins , Pastor, Christ Fellowship God continues to always be faithful to us, and even though it should not surprise us, what happened unexpectedly to us at South Florida Bible College & Theological Seminary, was how God opened the doors for us to purchase the facility we have been renting. We can now begin to expand even further and continue to help people fulfill the call of God upon their lives! Dr. Mary Drabik , President, South Florida Bible College & Theological Seminary Looking back on 2019, the greatest surprise I had was my youngest son driving down from Virginia for one night to surprise me for my 60th birthday. I had no idea he was going to do that because he was in his senior year and the school work needed to finish was crushing down on him. I was so de- lighted to see him - it made not only my birthday but my entire year. Oksana Horton , Artistic Director, Torch & Trumpet Theater Company, a subsidiary of Revelation Ministries The thing that surprised me the most on a personal and national level is to see so many Christians that are compromising their religious convictions to support and protect immoral, corrupt and selfish politicians, even to the point of distorting the truth and lying for them. I believe that Christians should always stand for truth and speak truth always in order to glorify our heavenly father. This is personal to me because I care very much how the church is viewed in the eyes of the unbelievers. O’Neal Dozier , Pastor, The Worldwide Christian Center On a personal level, my biggest surprise (and several doctors as well), was that my husband who had Stage 4 Pancreatic Cancer as well as bladder cancer is cured! He is finishing up prophylactic radiation and oral chemother- apy by the beginning of January and then he just needs to do re-checks every six months. “I am the Lord, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me?” (Jeremiah 32:27). Patricia Colangelo , EdS, Director of Operations, Trinity International University Florida Wants to Know… Gregg Wallick Julie Mullins Dr. Mary Drabi Oksana Horton O’Neal Dozier Patricia Colangelo Collins Forman Deborah Cusick Dennis DeMarois Don Campion George R. Moraitis Gita Santangelo