Newsletter   I   APRIL 2005

THERE'S FORGIVENESS Don't struggle alone, in fear and distress As if there's no hope, just your ugliness. Our Lord offers grace, not judgment deserving, He longs for your love and your soon returning. THERE'S FORGIVENESS. It's tough cutting through the darkness of sin Striving for answers, His favor to win. He stands with His arms outstretched and extended To hold and restore you, just mercy extended. THERE'S FORGIVENESS. Why search other places your answers to find To fill the vast void and touch the divine. Lay down your excuses and learn to confess Your sins and your shame to His Holiness. THERE'S FORGIVENESS. To humble yourself, before Him in prayer, Is your first step, in unloading your care. There look Him squarely, straight in the face And tell Him all of the ways you disgrace THERE'S FORGIVENESS. Refreshment and fullness He will restore The moment you sincerely open the door. He is the life you thought you could win, By going your way and living in sin. THERE'S FORGIVENESS.                              -- A Treasury of Bible Illustrations

LETTER FROM THE ISF ASSISTANTS Dear International Friend, Greetings to you from International Student Fellowship! What a delightful time of the year this is! Everything about us will soon be beautiful with trees blooming and flowers blossoming. Recently, my wife purchased some red tulips to display in our home. When she brought them home they were just starting to open up. As time went on the color seemed to intensify and they slowly opened up a little more each day. Finally, they were fully opened and she commented how beautiful they were and how soft and silky the petals felt. What a wonderful display of not only God's creative ability but the work of a master artist. Have you ever thought that you are an amazing creation of God? If He can display His creative ability in the natural world around us with so much detail how much more evident is it in our own human bodies? We are complex creatures. In contrast, our life is like the blooming of a flower. The purpose of the flower is to grow to its full potential and display the handiwork of God. We can let God fulfill his purpose in our life by letting Him have control of it for the true purpose we were created and that is to be like Jesus. Our first gathering of spring will be on Friday, April 8th at 7:30 PM in the beautiful Ballroom of the William Pitt Union. The William Pitt Union is located in Oakland on the corner of Bigelow and Fifth Avenue. To get to the Ballroom, use the entrance on Fifth Avenue and then follow the signs. At this gathering we will have William Cope from Salem, Ohio speak to us. He is a very good friend of ours and also the president of the Wesleyan Methodist Connection of churches, which we are a member of. I'm sure you will find his lecture to be excellent and challenging. Yes, there will also be the special music ISF is known for and wonderful fellowship. And the children will be having special activities in the Kurtzman room. It's all free! We look forward to seeing you on Friday, April 8th !                                                                                                   --Terry & Pam Tiberio, ISF Assistants THE BERRY SPOON “I'll never forgive him. I told him I would never forgive him.” The attractive elderly lady spoke softly, but with resolve, to the night nurse. Her expression was troubled as she turned away, focusing her eyes on the draped closing in her nursing home bed. The conversation had traveled from the temporal to the eternal and now a deep hurt had surfaced. She told of how her brother had approached her hospital bed, accusing her of taking more than her share of family heirlooms following their mother's death. He spoke of various items, ending with “the berry spoon.” He said, “I want the berry spoon.” For the 40 years since the parent's death he had hidden his feelings, and now they erupted. She was both hurt and angered by his accusation and vowed never to forgive him. “It's my spoon. It was given to me,” she defended herself. “He's wrong and I won't forgive him.” A berry spoon. In the bed lay a woman given two months to live-60 days- and she would face eternity and never see her brother again in this life. Her mind and spirit were in anguish, and her only remaining family tie was broken over a spoon. How many berry spoons are there in our lives? How many things, as insignificant as a spoon, in light of eternity, separate us from full communion with God? How much lack of forgiveness keeps us from fellowship with others?                                                    -- A Treasury of Bible Illustrations

MARCH ISF GATHERING (March 18, 2005)