Deputation Notes
January
– March 2004
Dear
Family and Friends,
As I sit
here looking out the window, the snow is sifting down outside. In the fall, many look forward to the snow. It
is a chance to see things anew as it changes the scenery with its white
covering. Now many are tired of winter
and are looking forward to the coming of spring. Are we being faithful messengers for God or are we in the cold
winter of our Christian life? At
salvation a change came that was refreshing.
You had much fervor and shared the gospel with everyone you met. But now do you find you have lost that
enthusiasm? In fact you cannot even
remember the last time you witnessed to someone. God has placed us in the world so that we can give out the
message of the Gospel (Mark 16:15). Let
us leave the winter behind and start planting those springtime seeds being a
faithful messenger to those who still need to hear of our Savior.
At the
time of our last prayer letter, we were busy packing all our belongings and
preparing for full-time deputation. On
Jan. 9, we set off from Greenville, SC amidst an ice storm to move to
Ohio. We are currently stationed out of
Sophie’s parent’s home in Litchfield, OH.
The Lord has blessed us with many meetings (almost each Sunday so far
this year) in Ohio, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania. In mid-February we were able to join our home church’s annual
family camp at the WILDS in North Carolina, but we came back to Ohio in the
middle of another winter storm. We
joked about how ironic it would be to have traveled across the many miles of
wintry roads here up north only to get snowbound in South Carolina.
While we enjoy serving in many different churches on
deputation, we seem to bring home tiny “souvenirs” almost every Sunday. The boys have an uncanny knack for finding
all the germs in each place we visit, getting sick, and then sharing their
illness with others in the family.
Through these trying times, we see the abundance and sufficiency of
God’s grace. We also know and are
thankful that the Lord is in control and watching over us.
The Lord
continues His blessing with support.
While several of the churches we have been in have not been able to
provide financial support they have promised to pray (our main goal on
deputation is to raise prayer support). We say thank you to the many of you who
pray for us on a regular basis. When
Becky was born, our level of monetary support dropped to almost 36%, as she
added to the support level we need. But
the Lord has allowed that to rise back to nearly 38%. We are trusting in Him to supply all our needs – and He is! It is so wonderful to serve such a great and
faithful God.
Prayer Requests:
1. Pray that we would faithfully
messengers of the gospel.
2. Pray for that next church that
would financially support us.
3. Pray that the Lord would open
doors for more meetings.
4. Pray for our teammates – the
Haflers and the Knipes.
5. Pray for our health and safety.
Your missionaries to Kenya,