It's funny how perspective changes as you walk through difficult things - it can often change you for the better , but it can also change you for the worst. As we have stumbled through this most difficult season of our lives together as missionaries on pre-field, we have seen and experienced both and have learned how important it really is to rely on God in all circumstances.
Life/Health
July was a month of many ups and downs - of saying goodbye to a difficult season of ministry and hello to a brand new one. After five months living in a camper, sweltering with no air through the hot summer months and making oatmeal in a Keurig, we finally moved into a home in Rose City, Michigan on July 28, 2023. Since then, we have been abundantly blessed with the amount of people who have stepped up to offer items we so desperately needed. As most of you know, we sold most of our household items when we moved from our first home in East Tawas last fall, so moving in to this home, we had almost nothing to live off of. So, to those of you who contributed to helping us out over this past month, we want to offer our deepest gratitude! You all have truly been a blessing! Health-wise, there has also been a lot of progress and setback over this past month as well. Due to the accident we were involved in this past May, Hanna has had to start attending physical therapy for problems with her neck. She has also been scheduled for four endoscopies between the months of November 2023 and March 2024 and is set to start the elimination diet September 10th of this year in response to her recurring autoimmune disease. All things considering, she is in high spirits and is looking forward to getting back on the road to healing.
Ministry
Despite all the setbacks, we have not seen any real lulls in ministry. On July 20th, we attended our very last discipleship meeting where we learned about spiritual gifts, and on August 20th, we will be involved in the graduation ceremony at our church along with 10 others who have completed the program alongside us. This serves as a pre-requisite to acceptance into Living Faith Bible Institute which we both are looking forward to taking classes through starting August 19th. Trenton also had many opportunities to preach this past month, filling in for our pastor on July 9th and teaching the teens about temptation every two weeks on a Wednesday evening. We had our first meeting with the volunteers for our upcoming vbs program in 2024, and Hanna was voted onto both the missions and outreach committees. We also had the blessing of attending our annual church picnic (for the first time) where we were able to talk with ABWE missionaries Cassie and Denny Nuwagaba serving in Uganda, and after a difficult season of ministry, it was extremely encouraging to individuals who have been through similar circumstances on pre-field.
Writing Update
With everything going on, there wasn't much progress with Hanna's upcoming Christian Fiction Novel this month. She is two chapters away from being finished with the first run-through of edits, but was slowed down by a plot hole she had to fix before they could move on. That issue has been addressed as of this week, and she is looking forward to hopefully getting the last two chapters done by the end of August.
On The Field
Over in Australia, Matt and Barb Douglas are working hard in the lead-up to the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, France. Their sports event evangelism ministry ( or SEE for short) seeks to target sporting events such as the Olympic Games and the World Cup, preparing a devotional booklet and recruiting a team to help bring the Gospel to the people in attendance and athletes alike. They are still currently in need of a large number of volunteers for the program, so if you or anyone you know are interested in serving the Lord in this way, feel free to contact them via their website at https://seeolympics.com/or contact us directly.
Praises
1. Praise God for our new home base - it goes without saying that it is hard to function when you do not have one, and we are abundantly thankful for a place to call our own once again.
2. Praise God for the opportunity we have to attend Living Faith Bible Institute! We are super excited and can't wait to move forward with learning and growing throughout our time on pre-field.
3. Praise God for health. While Hanna has a lot going on health-wise right now, things could be a lot worse than they are, and Trenton's health issues have seemed to mellow out.
4. Praise God for the opportunities we have to serve at our local sending church, and praise Him for the way we are able to prepare to serve better on the field.
Prayers
1. Pray for our upcoming church visits in Ohio and Michigan this upcoming October and November.
2. Pray for our training at Living Faith Bible Institute - for us and those attending with us.
3. Pray for Hanna as she begins to serve on the missions and outreach committees at our church.
4. Pray for her health as she looks forward to continuing physical therapy and starting the elimination diet.
5. Pray for Trenton as he preaches again on the 13th and as we graduate from discipleship the week following.
1. Us on closing day with our wonderful realtor Joy. Not pictured is her daughter Lindsey. Both fought for us every step of the way.
2. Trenton teaching the teens on Wednesday night about Temptation
3. A sneak peak at a quote from Hanna's upcoming book. If you'd like us to add one quote a month, let us know!Picnic at the Parker's with the Nuwagaba's. We got rained on quite a bit but it was still a great time!
Us on closing day with our wonderful realtor Joy. Not pictured is her daughter Lindsey. Both fought for us every step of the way.
Denton teaching the teens on Wednesday night about temptation.
A sneak peak at a quote from Hanna's upcoming book. If you'd like us to add one quote a month, let us know!
Picnic at the Parker's with the Nuwagaba's of Uganda. We got rained on quite a bit, but still had a great time!
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