We are now settled into our apartment in our home state. A big 'ole THANKS to so many of you who donated home furnishings. A special thanks to Greg and Josh who spent time helping with repairs.
Anna graduates from high school this month. For the past 2 years, she has lived with some friends who have been surrogate parents more than merely hosts to Anna. We are very grateful for the time and energy that they have invested in loving our daughter. Anna will attend the local university in the fall to study equine business and join the rowing team.
I will visit leaders and friends in Lebanon, Egypt, Jordan, and Israel this month. A special thanks to Alex for allowing me to use one of his Delta buddy passes to fly stand-by. Please ask God to use me to both challenge and encourage these men as we discuss training parents and reproducible church planting. Please also pray for my wife and the kids as I will be away for almost one month.
One of my favorite things to do is take our younger kids to visit those of you who have supported us financially over the years. Let me tell you about 3 visits this past week...
1) Last weekend we watched a parade with a retired teacher who served with FCA and his wife. How did he know each of the younger kids' names (as well as the older kids)? Because he prays for our family and many others at 5 am!
2) Last weekend we also visited a young couple with young kids who have supported us for several years. During these years, they themselves have been trying to live and serve among the unreached but it has just not yet worked out. Until God opens that door, he works hard and applies for overseas jobs, she raises young kids, they serve in their local church, and they engage internationals & refugees in gospel conversation.
3) Without the kids, I visited a farmer who works 16-hour days during some months of the year. He wants to cut back on production so that he can spend more time with his family. I also visited a carpenter but only for a few minutes because he and his co-workers were under a deadline. Men like these challenge me to work hard in ministry since they give their hard-earned money to support us.
In preparation for my next trip to the Middle East in May, please tell me if you know anyone who works for an airline and might be willing to donate one of their standby buddy passes. Expenses here.
Please pray for my wife and me as we work through some challenges such as how best to train and educate our 4 youngest children. Reasons why we are stateside indefinitely here.
