Lots of Changes

We feasted on some crawfish & shimp, Cajun style,

at the FIRE national conference in Shreveport.

We are been richly blessed by God, though we’ve been through a very trying & discouraging time. This past month we were able to attend FIRE’s National Conference in Shreveport, LA. The theme of the conference was Revival, and though pretty discouraged going in to it, I left refreshed & encouraged; the Word was particularly sweet!

We experienced another kind providence of God there in Shreveport. The last night of the conference, after most everyone had left, and we finally had our van packed—c. 11:00 pm—one brother pointed out that our tire was almost flat. Someone had a pump, so I pumped it up a little. Then we drove back to our hotel, and I parked it at Wal-mart next door, hoping they could help me in the morning if it was completely flat. I was disappointed to find out, in the morning, that they couldn’t fix my tire. I asked for a referral, and they mentioned a tire place about a mile or so away. My tire wasn’t too low, so I drove to the tire store. They did a very thorough patch, and then wouldn’t let me pay for it. God is so good to answer our prayers & help us in our need. We’ve seen many such gracious provisions & special guidance from God in our travels. Praise God!

We were praying that we might move to Suriname this September, but the Lord has delayed us a little. God has graciously provided much through his people, but we still have a long way to go. Thank you very much, for praying for us, and generously giving. The brother we will be joining in Suriname is home on furlough this August through April of next year. We can go when he returns. This is actually good because our new baby is due in August, whom we weren’t expecting when we originally set the September goal, and this way she’ll be a little older when we leave.

Another blessing is that World Team has changed our pre-field training program. The new trainingwill take half the time, and is only a fraction of the cost. We don’t have exact figures yet, but I expect our outgoing expenses to drop at least $10,000 (down from $63,600).

This has also been a challenging & discouraging time. My job hasn’t given me enough hours during the week, and, of course, I need my weekends off to visit churches. As you know, we don’t get any support until we move to Suriname; everything goes into an account for us until we leave. All giving now is held for our outgoing expenses. Therefore, I’m looking for a new job, and it has been difficult finding one which will allow me weekends off.

Also, we have to move. We’ve been renting from family, and don’t want to overstay our welcome. We’ll be here about a year longer, and so are looking for a new place. Please pray for God’s direction & provision in these things.  We are pressing forward, believing that God will provide all that we need to go to Suriname & serve him there. Please labor along with us, pray, give & tell others about this ministry. Thank you!