GRACE

My blog usually consists of stories and messages about compassion, mercy and justice. But I want to start this year off with one about Grace—not the doctrine, not the title of one of my books, but the name of an Indonesian young lady.

Barbie and I began our new year with Grace. My oldest son, Patrick, lives in Indonesia. He came home for Christmas. On New Year’s Eve, he introduced us to Grace Go, who had also flown to the U.S. from Indonesia. That evening, he also introduced us to Grace’s parents who had flown to Austin to meet us. We all went out to eat together at the Hula Hut to see the old year out and the new year in. During the meal, Patrick excused himself and walked outside with Grace’s dad. This looked serious to me. When he came back into the restaurant, he pulled out a book with drawings and comments called “Why I Love Grace.” It was quite cute and romantic. But what came next was the big deal. Pat got on his knees, pulled out a ring, and asked Grace to marry him. And she said “YES!” Wow!

Patrick and Grace teach at a Christian school in Jakarta. Indonesia is the most Muslim country in the world, and because of the academic quality of this school, so many of the future leaders of Indonesia will be trained here. It is quite a mission. Jakarta has some of the worst poverty that you will ever see, and yet it is juxtaposed with incredible affluence in the same regions. Indonesia is the third most populous country in the world, and Jakarta has over 10 million people. So you can see the great potential for influence Pat and Grace have there. I am really proud of them.

Anyhow, I wanted to start the year off with a little personal news for all of you. Can you rejoice with the Jones family? I daily pray for God to give me more grace. I just didn’t know how it was going to be displayed this year. We are so blessed to have a beautiful, spiritual, and kind addition to our family—Grace.