The Thompson Times

Dear Partners in the ministry

It is simply gorgeous up here in the Pacific Northwest. Spring finally arrived the middle of May and now summer has promise of being just perfect. And after last winter, phew! I’m not kidding, we had the snowiest winter on record, with almost 130” in our area. But after 5 months of snow it finally melted. The tulips popped open and thankfully, the deer didn’t eat ours. The apple, pear, and cherry trees are all in full bloom, along with the blueberries, raspberries, marionberries and strawberries. We even planted a wonderful veggie garden. And we already have a great crop this summer. All this activity reminds me of living in Guatemala, “the Land of Eternal Spring”, where it’s always Spring and never winter (Hmm. Reminds me of a story I once read). Oh, sigh!

Something else is promising our first crop. We are hopeful of our first three graduates of the Online Masters Degree program this fall –

Luís Rodríquez of Puebla, México, started his Masters program at SETECA and was able to go home to serve in his church and teach at a seminary in Puebla and continue working to finish his degree through the Online Masters Program.

Ricardo García, also of Puebla, México, has pastored churches in that area and is now teaching at a Bible Institute in Puebla.

These gentlemen are in need of your prayers as they are finishing writing a thesis this summer. They are very close to finishing. Pray that God will give them time, energy and focus to be able to finish in the short spaces of time they have available this summer. (Remember, for Alejandro in Bolivia below the equator, it is winter.)
Pray for Alvin. He will be reading and evaluating both of their theses. He is still teaching and sometime students need a little extra explanation or a little extra encouragement. Alvin needs extra insight into how to help these students.

This July, our son and his family, Vaughn & Traci and Stefen & Liam are coming to spend some time with us. We hope you have a wonderful and relaxing summer. Enjoy your vacation. We certainly plan to. And let’s all remember to continue worshiping and serving the Lord. After all, He’s the one who blessed us.

Serving Christ with joy,
Alvin & Laurie

*By the way, check out our new shopping page at http://www.alvinthompson.org/text-links.html

Posted by Alvin at 02:42 PM | Permalink

UNPRECEDENTED! That’s the term that is being used to describe the lows in the stock market, the highs in the national debt, the greed among corporate executives, the global corruption and suffering. But, not all the news is bad. UNPRECEDENTED is the best way we can describe the interest and growth of the online study at SETECA. In the midst of the “doom and gloom” in the world, God is raising up men and women with a hunger for the Word and a desire for preparation to “preach the Word,” to “be ready in season and out of season.” And we are excited for the privilege of being a part of the work that God is doing.

The online Masters Degree program continues to grow. And now, beginning this past January, 2009, we began the two-year undergraduate program. And as of the printing of this letter, this program will increase by 20% in it’s second quarter. We now have programs on three levels, Undergraduate, Masters and Doctoral. Wow! It is truly UNPRECEDENTED! And the extraordinary thing is that this is happening in the Spanish-speaking world and among Bible believing Christians, who are already serving in the Church.

These are unparalleled times. But in reality, the work that God is doing is not UNPRECEDENTED. Throughout history He has raised up His workers in difficult times to preach the Word. He’s just doing it again. We are merely working where the Spirit of God is obviously moving. In this we are not only presented with challenges but with great opportunities. We are challenged with providing a quality education with quality professors in an online environment to build into the lives of students who are dedicated to the ministry. Please be in prayer for the process.

• Pray that God will protect these men and women both physically and spiritually as they seek to improve their ability to preach and teach God’s Word.
• Pray that God will provide financially for the students, as well as those of us in faculty and administration.
• Pray that we will have quality professors that can learn and adapt to the teaching skills need in an online environment.

Thank you for your prayers and support. We hope you have a wonderful Resurrection Day and that God is blessing you as you have blessed us in your cooperation with His work.

Blessings be yours!

He is risen! He is risen indeed!

Posted by Alvin at 11:27 AM | Permalink

Dear Friends

I don’t know if you recall, but four years ago when we moved back to the U.S. so that Alvin could develop the Online Masters Program for SETECA, we chose to move to Coeur d’Alene, Idaho to help my sister, Catherine, a nurse by trade, to care for my aging parents. This has been a real blessing, not only helping to care for my parents but learning from my sister, about the needs of the elderly. She has a wonderful gift of service and quickly senses others needs and is able to evaluate how to meet them. It has been a blessing for us both to serve along side her and her husband Bruce.

A year and a half ago we rejoiced with the angels when my parents prayed to accept Christ’s gift of salvation. Then God began Dad’s journey home. He left us to be with his Lord this past April. The time has been filled these past three months with helping Mom and with the visits of our grieving family members. Dad was an amazing man and he is missed.

In the midst of all the family events Alvin managed to continue communicating with students, directing his classes, grading papers and administrating the program. It was quite a scheduling challenge. God in His great grace allowed Alvin moments of peace to accomplish his work. We are also happy to see that our first students are working on their theses and looking forward to graduating next year.

And we are thankful that we were able to get away and take some time for ourselves, something we rarely get to do. We are enjoying the summer and hope you are too. We are also thankful for you. May God bless your gifts of prayers and support, not only for us and the 30 students that are learning more about God and His Word, but for the 30 congregations that are being blessed as they are discipled by these pastors and teachers.

You can pray for...
1. the students that are working on their theses to finish the program. This is a challenge as the demands of ministry call for their attention.
2. the expansion of the online Masters program and the addition of a program for undergraduates.
3. our Fall trip to supporting churches on the West Coast. Please pray for safety and provision. Also, call us if you are open to our visit.
4. our ministry to our neighbors.

Blessings Friends,

Laurie
for the both of us

Posted by Alvin at 02:34 PM | Permalink

Dear Friends,

Remember how we were all dreaming of a white Christmas? Last Fall our friend, Paola, from Guatemala stayed with us for two months and was so delighted when the snow finally arrived.

Well, that dream is long gone. Enough is enough! We are still sitting under a foot of snow and it’s been melting for a couple of weeks now.

Our dog, Shamus, is even wondering, “what happened to my world?” and “How am I going to find my ball? ”

Now, we are dreaming of warm Latin America again.

In January, Alvin taught a couple of workshops at the Seminary in Guatemala City for the teachers that are teaching in the online program and those interested in the possibilities for using our electronic classroom. It was a huge success. In all, he had more than 50 teachers attend. They were excited to hear about the possibilities of online education and the new “classroom.”

Laurie, went along, of course, for all of the social activities, the breakfasts, the midmorning “cafecitos”, the lunches, the afternoon “cafecitos”, the dinner parties and all the shopping trips. We had a lot of catching up to do with our friends.

You can see more pics of winter in North Idaho and our trip to Guatemala by going to our photos page at http://www.flickr.com/photos/alnlaurie/

Well we’re home now and life is moving on. Here’s a quick run down on how you can pray for us.
* Alvin is teaching, preparing to speak at a 4-day Leadership Conference of the Northwest District of the EFCA the end of March as well as preaching in April in Dallas at Waterbrook Bible Fellowship.
* Laurie is teaching, serving at church and helping out with her parents care.
* We have started a neighborhood Bible study and 4 families are coming to learn about the Bible. These are the same neighbors that we have been going out to dinner with most Friday nights for 3 years now. Maybe we will see some fruit.
* We are still looking for financial backers for the online program. Details are on our website or you can call or write to us.

Blessings Friends,
Alvin & Laurie

Posted by Alvin at 05:52 PM | Permalink

Dear Friends,

It has been several months since you heard from us and we do apologize. The worst part is that so many critical things have happened for which we could have used and continue to need your prayers. We are a bit overwhelmed. We are also very excited, a little stressed, healing, over-worked and looking forward to a little break. Where to begin? Where to begin?

Preparation and teaching continue to be our primary focus. Alvin taught courses on the Gospel of Mark and Old Testament Theology in April through September. Laurie finished teaching 1 & 2 Timothy in May, did her Summer series “Wonderfully Made” in June and just began the Fall study on Ephesians.

The big news here is our fellowship. On the recommendation of one of our supporting churches to broaden our support base and through a series of interesting meetings, the Lord has lead us into a church planting situation. So, in addition to being busy with our teaching responsibilities we have been busy planting a new church, Northwoods Fellowship [www.northwoodsfellowship.com] . No, Alvin is not the pastor (he still has a full-time job with SETECA), however, we have been working closely with the pastor and his wife. We have an interesting congregation with 50% of the people in recovery from addictions. This is not surprising considering the biggest social problem here in North Idaho is meth and alcohol addictions. It’s huge around here. So, our church has established a Celebrate Recovery program (begun by Saddleback Church). This has been quite a challenge for all of us. We are all learning to deal with the numerous family crises that are a regular occurrence in recovering families, as well as the spiritual needs, the physical needs and of course the financial learning curve that is required. For example, one couple in our church recently received custody of their 5 children from 2 previous marriages, and were in great need of assistance. Needless to say, we are doing counseling and some hands on help. Meanwhile, Alvin is an elder and has done some preaching and he is leading our fellowship group. Laurie is developing the women’s ministries and leading a Bible study. Oh yes, she is also the administrative assistant for the church and is doing the visual projection on Sunday morning (quite a learning curve). She took this position to help make up our financial deficit (we are $1,650/month under full support - click to donate). Unfortunately, the need is tremendous and the pay is slim (when it comes). We are happy to be serving here. It’s sometimes exhausting but very exciting and we recognize that the need is great.

This summer we experienced much joy and some difficulties. We helped our son, Vaughn and his family move into their very first house and our daughter, Jacqueline and her family came to visit from Dallas for a couple of weeks. Children and grandchildren are truly a blessing from the Lord! Then, as you will recall, one of the reasons that we chose to live here in Coeur d’Alene when we moved back to the U.S. was to help Laurie’s sister care for their parents. After their father had a medical crisis this summer, we helped move them into a retirement home. As you can imagine, this has been an adjustment for all of us. Oh, and did I mention Laurie broke her toe? She’s healing.

Fall looks to be busy. Along with a very busy schedule we have a 15 year old friend from Guatemala, Paola, who is coming to spend a couple of months with us to work on her English. This will be fun. Alvin will also be presenting a paper at the Evangelical Theological Society Annual Meeting. Still lots of work to be done. As you can see, there are a lot of prayer requests in this letter. Here’s an overview:

 Preparation and teaching of the Word
 Wisdom in ministry
 Grace and energy serving Laurie’s parents
 Financial support

Gratefully,

Alvin & Laurie
alnlaurie@roadrunner.com

Christmas is coming. If you are buying online,
buy through our website.
It’s an easy way to help our support.
The price is the same for you. The store pays us.

Mission Address:
CAM International
8625 La Prada Dr.
Dallas, TX 75228
(214) 327-8206

Posted by Alvin at 03:04 PM | Permalink

Central American Theological Seminary – Distance Education

There’s nothing like a connecting with Christians from other countries who are passionate about making disciples, to raise the level of your own passion. In April, Alvin went to Costa Rica [thank you Chris for making it happen and others who offered airline miles] with the director of Post Graduate Studies of SETECA to meet with the administration of PROMETA, a group with the Evangelical Free Church in Costa Rica that is also developing an online Masters program. They shared ideas and in the end signed a letter of intent to collaborate. They will be sharing courses and students. Of course, there are still some details to work out, but this will give us both a broader range of classes that we can offer our students, without having to find more faculty. Ultimately, we will both benefit as well as the students and the Church at large. It was wonderful to see the enthusiasm and to feel the unity of purpose in the training of leaders for the Church that essentially is the Lord’s work. When he left Alvin was reminded that this is the kind cooperation that should define the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ. Doesn’t it remind you of the teamwork of the early Church that was so permeates the Book of Acts.

These past months have been so full of activity. The preparation for a meeting such as this is consuming. And the enthusiam afterwards drives the work. And in the midst of all this Alvin continues teaching. Currently, he is teaching the Gospel of Mark and is preparing to teach a new course, Old Testament Theology, in July. This will require a lot of extra work since he hasn’t taught this course.

Laurie continues teaching women’s Bible study, a Summer series, and is working with the Pastor’s wife to establish the Women’s Ministry for a new church. Our hope and the hope of the leadership is to grow a ministry and missions-minded fellowship that will serve not only this community but will cooperate with all of you to reach the world for Christ.

Pray for us.
 For the continued progress in the cooperative venture between PROMETA and SETECA
 For Alvin’s teaching and development of his new class
 For Laurie and the development of a new ministry to women
 For the birthing and growth of a new church
 For the mundane necessities for doing God’s work (living expenses)

Thanks for your collaboration with us.

Alvin & Laurie Thompson

*Don't forget to check out the rest of the pictures in the
photo section on our web site.

Mission Address:
CAM International
8625 La Prada Dr.
Dallas, TX 75228
(214) 327-8206

Posted by Alvin at 10:04 AM | Permalink

February, 2007

If the effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much, according to James 5:16, then we have some pretty righteous friends out there who are praying for us. Thanks, Friends. Last fall we asked you to pray for Alvin’s healing and he is doing wonderfully. His knee healed well and he is cane-free. He goes back to the dermatologist this month to be checked where they removed the malignant spot. We won’t worry about that. And through your gracious Christmas gifts all the medical bills are paid. And through all of these medical issues we were able to fulfill all our fall preaching and teaching assignments and they went very well.

This January began, not only the New Year, but a new school year also. Remember our school year in Guatemala runs from the middle of January to the middle of October. So, at the end of January Alvin went down to Guatemala to meet with the administration. It was an excellent trip, very encouraging. The time was full of meetings. (He barely had time to buy tee shirts for the grandkids as he was racing to get on the plane.) He met with about everyone at the Seminary that had anything to do with the online program, the Dean, the Academic Committee, the Director of Graduate Studies, professors, the Registrar and all the finance people. He even worked in a training session for the professors, to teach the new program they will be using for the virtual classroom. And of course meeting and chatting with some of the students on campus that are taking online courses was encouraging. The enthusiasm over the online program on campus was surprising and thrilling. We had no idea everyone was so excited about it. Part of that enthusiasm stems from the fact that as there are as many students in the online Masters program as there are in the on campus Masters program. Next year we may surpass it. In other words we are now serving twice as many students because of the online program. Oh my!

By the way, for the latest pictures of Guatemala and the Seminary go to our website www.alvinthompson.org and click on the Photos link.

Thank you again, righteous Friends, for your prayers. And here are the latest requests for the upcoming months.

* We need to develop more classes to fill out the requirements for the program
* We also need more teachers.
* Although we were able to pay all our medical bills, we are still low on our monthly support. Last November we lost one of our largest supporting churches ($500/month). They are moving in another direction in missions.
* Pray as the Women’s Bible Study continues to grow. Pray for spiritual growth as God’s Word goes out.
* Pray for health and safety as we travel about in the snowy weather.

May God richly bless you as you serve us through you prayers and financial gifts.

Gratefully,

Alvin & Laurie
alnlaurie@roadrunner.com

Posted by Alvin at 09:01 AM | Permalink

Waikiki from top of Diamondhead
Originally uploaded by alnlaurie.

Posted by Alvin at 05:10 PM | Permalink

November, 2006

As Autumn sets in, life seems to be accelerating for everyone around us. But for us, October normally means that things are winding down. Classes are ending, grades are in and graduation is upon us. We even start preparing for it in September. We look forward to a couple of weeks of break to catch up on life at home, maybe go for some extra long walks and cups of coffee downtown. Well, it looks like this year is going to be different. As Alvin was in the last month of his class, we discovered a cancerous spot on his back. The second biopsy was taken on the morning that he had a tooth removed in the afternoon. He’s fine, by the way. They got it all and left him with a two-inch scar. And after hobbling to all his appointments on a cane, he is scheduled for knee surgery (a torn meniscus) on November 3. Our brother-in-law said, “the warranty ran out.” COMING SOON! The NEW and IMPROVED ALVIN! He should be just fine, mending well in November as he has preaching assignments this month and will be attending a conference in Washington D.C.

Aside from all of the physical trauma, ministry has been pretty exciting. We had the privilege of sharing our ministry at the Crowfoot Baptist Church in Lebanon, Oregon with a most in-touch group of believers. Their enthusiasm for missions was wonderful. And on the way, we had the privilege of meeting with two students in the online Masters program, David in Portland and Boris in Salem, Oregon. It was so exciting to hear how they were using their education in ministry. David works for a mission agency that serves Latin America and Africa and Boris is a pastor of a growing Hispanic church. We were also impressed to hear from 8 students after class ended and grades were in that they appreciated and enjoyed the class on Deuteronomy. Three of them wanted even more input on their papers to better preach some of what they had studied.

God has been so good to us in the midst of all the sadness in the world. We are thankful and count it a privilege to serve Him. And it is greater privilege to train others so that they can serve Him too. We know that it would not be possible without you, our partners in the work. Thank you! And as you are supporting this partnership with prayer, here are some details you can take to the throne.

Thank you to those who have been shopping through our web site. We just received a check that allowed us to enjoy a nice dinner out.

Pray that –
- Alvin will heal completely.
- The medical bills will not be too overwhelming and that God will meet the need.
- God will bless and give wisdom as Alvin preaches in a number of churches this Fall and as Laurie teaches the Women’s Bible study at church.
- Students will communicate the lessons they have learned to their congregations and that God will bless them for their desire to be faithful to the Scriptures.
- Our continued monthly shortfall will be eliminated.

Happy Thanksgiving, Friends,

Alvin & Laurie

Posted by Alvin at 11:58 AM | Permalink

We’ve been thinking lately…

…about the current events on the international stage. The first event this summer that stood out to us, and not surprisingly since we spent so much time in Central America, was the World Cup, Copa Mundial in Spanish. We call it soccer here in the U.S. but everywhere else in the world it is simply football. It’s the most watched series of sporting events in the world, including the Olympics and Superbowl. We got excited about World Cup Football while we were in Guatemala seeing that it was the passion of students and professors from more than 20 countries. Then the wars in Iraq, Israel and Lebanon and, of course, the plot to bomb airplanes in London struck us that the effects on the international community were almost instantaneous. What a small world we live in!

…that as Christians, we are not only Americans but Internationals. That was God’s intention from the beginning. “For God so loved the WORLD that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him will not perish but will have eternal life.” We are to be God’s instruments to introduce all people, to Him. This world is in dire need of God’s touch of grace.

…that we are so thankful that God has involved us in His 2 Timothy 2:2 plan to reach the world, the things you have heard from me… entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. Training leaders for the international community who are already reaching and teaching the faithful, who will in turn teach others also. We know the ministry is the Lord’s and He will do it. We are tools in His hands. So, continue to pray for us and for the work. We’ve been thinking lately that we need a lot of prayer support for the work because things are going so well.

Pray –
• Alvin is in the middle of teaching Deuteronomy, a new class for him. Pray that he will balance his time well and communicate the material to his students, 17 students from 8 countries. Online teaching takes 125% of the time it takes to teach in the classroom.
• The students are all in the ministry, many as pastors, and balancing pressures of family and ministry along with their studies. They need prayer for finding resources, books and articles on the internet, focus on their studies as well as being able to incorporate them into their ministries, an open door for the Word of God, and that God will supply all their needs.
• Women’s Bible Study is starting up again for Laurie. There is always a lot of preparation, meetings with leaders and one on one connections.
• Please continue praying for our regular monthly support need, which is still too low.
Thank you for being on our team. We are counting on your prayers.

Blessings,

Alvin & Laurie

Posted by Alvin at 04:01 PM | Permalink