It's been a long while since we've updated you all on the ministry. We apologize for the unexpected delay. There has been a lot going on, and we didn't feel as if we had the capacity to share until we had prayed and somewhat worked things out first.NEvertheless, this update will include two months worth of happenings, so hold on tight!
Ministry
The month of April was full of surprises for us. On the 11th, we were blessed to be able to meet up with Pastor Kuehl from GR Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where we discussed the ministry over a Greek lunch and got a tour of the building. There is possibility that they will plan to have us back in November to share our ministry during their missions emphasis month, and we are super hopeful about possibly having them take us on as missionaries in the near future.
On the 17th, we traveled back down to the University of Michigan for Hanna's EOE appointment (more on that in the health section of this letter below) and enjoyed a great visit with some wonderful missionary friends from one of our supporting churches in Milan, Michigan. It was a wonderful time of long discussion, and we praise God every day for godly friends that we can both laugh and cry with on a daily basis.
Back at our home church, we've been blessed with seeing the ministry opportunities really take off. Hanna has been blessed with the opportunity to be director of this years VBS program scheduled for the end of June (for those of you in Australia, Holiday Club), and Trenton has had many opportunities to preach both to the congregation as well as to the youth group. Toward the end of the month, one teen received salvation and two got baptized, so praise God for that!
Our discipleship class was postponed a week due to our pastor being out of state, however, we are over half-way through the book and are looking forward to the next steps of the process there-following.
With the changes we've experienced this month, many of our ministry appointments were cancelled last minute, including a training we were supposed to attend at headquarters in Pennsylvania, but we are hoping to make both of them up this upcoming fall once things have settled down a bit.
Life/Health
As mentioned, there was a lot of unexpected difficulties that were thrown on our plate this past month. After almost half a year at our current residence, the Lord made it abundantly clear to us that it was time to move on. So, on May 7th, we moved into an rv on a church members property, closer to the church, until we can find our own place to either rent or buy at a very low cost. It has proved to be a long process due to the fact that someone had taken a loan out on Trenton's social security number, impacting our credit. But as of last week, that has finally cleared, and we are confidently moving forward in the process.
Trenton's grandfather has also taken a turn for the worse, having suffered with Parkinson's disease for years and now dementia as well. It is expected that he will pass soon, so please keep him in prayer as well as Trenton as we look to possibly go see him following VBS the end of June.
Health-wise, Trenton survived his procedure on the 10th of April, only a day after our pastor went in for emergency surgery on Easter Morning. While Trenton's results came back negative, he is still having issues, and hopes to get some answers via his CT scans coming up the beginning of June.
Hanna's visit to the University of Michigan hospital was very encouraging, however. With new insurance, she is finally able to finish up her treatment and move on. At the end of June, she has an appointment set up with a dietician to start the process of the elimination diet, and then in July, she will have her first of five different procedures. Once that is complete, there should be no more, which has been a huge relief.
Writing Update
Hanna's upcoming novel, "What I Call Home" was put on hold for quite a few weeks due to circumstances happening in the editors life. However, she is starting up again this week and is still hopeful to have it published by July. While waiting for the editor, she worked to update the final chapters of the book, which have been the hardest for her to write (If you know a writer, pray for them because they never think their writing is good enough! Haha).
On The Field
While we are still here in the states, it is always exciting to hear about what is happening on the field in Australia. It is a constantly-changing environment, but our teammates do a wonderful job of using that to their advantage. Emmanuel Baptist Church in Glenwood, New South Wales held their annual Bible Conference this past week, where over a hundred men received training in expository preaching, many of whom hope to plant more churches in Australia and send more missionaries out into the world via Declare International and other sources. You can watch the livestream of the conference here: https://www.youtube.com/@ebcglenwood
Or check out declare international here: https://www.declare.org.au/
In Catherine Hill Bay, the Mayhaks (Hanna's host family from her internship there in 2019) are preparing for a big push regarding the door-to-door religious survey we were able to be a part of while there in November. While there are no families currently helping with the program, there is a retiring pastor that has shown interest, and they are praying for ten families to help spread their impact across other areas.
There is, however, bad news in regards to the ever-changing immigration laws of the country, as if becomes increasingly harder as of July 1st to get into the country without any form of sponsorship. So, please pray for missionaries as the window of opportunity becomes harder and harder each and every day.
Prayer Requests
Pray for the ministry - for our preparation at our sending church, for our monthly support, and for the churches the Lord desires us to partner with (Our monthly support is currently at 20%)
Pray for a home base - we are looking for somewhere we can call home for the unforeseeable future, or at least until we gain the support we need to move overseas.
Pray for health - for our pastor as he recovers from his emergency surgery, for Trenton as he goes in for CT scans the beginning of the month, and for Hanna as she looks ahead to her lengthy treatment plan and multiple procedures.
Pray for Trenton's grandfather in Kentucky. He professes to be an atheist, so pray for his salvation during these last days.
For Australia, that the Lord would send missionaries while it is still relatively easy to get into the country. And pray for us, that we would get to field before things get too bad in regards to immigration laws.
Praises
Praise for the visits we had with Pastor Kuehl and our missionary friends. We felt so incredibly blessed meeting with both, and look forward to a continued relationship in the future.
Praise God for our sending church, for their direction and the opportunities they've given us to grow and serve in a capacity we feel will be vital on the field.
Praise that our pastor is recovering and Trenton's test results came back negative.
Praise for Hanna's ability to finally get the treatment she needs, before leaving for Australia no less!
Praise for our mission agency, who saw it fit to set up a system in Australia to make it possible for missionaries to still get in. We cannot explain how much of a relief it is to know that God has made a way, possibly before we were even born.
1. Picture 1: Outside the church building in Grand Rapids before we met with Pastor Keuhl. Highly recommend going to this church if you are ever in the area!
2. Picture 2: Trenton teaching the kids in youth group in April. They talked about self-image and how we should learn to see ourselves in the eyes of God.
3. Picture 3: The cats in the rv. They have been fairly good, so praise God for that!
4. Picture 4: Trenton after his procedure in April. No cancer!
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