Jul 6, 20236 min read

The Most Wonderful Time Of Year - May/June 2023 Ministry Update

I've loved summer from the time I was a little girl. There is nothing quite like the warm sun and long nights to satisfy a restless soul. More often than not, it seems that much of winter is spent in waiting for this wonderfully busy time of year - and something tells me it wouldn't mean so much if we had it in abundance like some parts of the world. It reminds me often of life, its long days, months, and years of waiting that seem to never end. And it's a good reminder to me now that even in the waiting, the Lord is doing His mighty work to pave the way for His perfect, timely plan.

Ministry

The month of June proved to be a very busy month for ministry, the majority of which took place at our home church in Hale, Michigan. On the 18th of June, we were blessed to have the opportunity to start teaching children's church, and are scheduled to do so once monthly for the foreseeable future. We were also blessed, as mentioned in our previous newsletter, to direct the VBS program, Keeper's Of the Kingdom, this year. Along with about a dozen helpers and teachers combined, we spent countless hours on decor and prep, and ended up having about forty kids in attendance which is much more than we were initially expecting. Our specific roles in the program, aside from director, included Trenton as one of the main characters in the skit, and Hanna as group leader for the blue team ages 8-12.

While there is much we hope to change in the future, we are looking forward to an upcoming meeting on the sixteenth to lay out some plans for an even better program for next year.

Aside from the opportunities to serve, we've also been running full-force into learning through our discipleship meetings on Thursday nights. We, along with a group from our congregation, are looking forward to completing our last meeting within the next few weeks and attending a sort of "graduation ceremony" within the month.

Though church contacts have been somewhat slim over the past month due to the circumstances, we were also able to book two meetings, one with a supporting church in Gaylord, Michigan for this upcoming October, and one with a church in Richwood, Ohio which we are looking forward to attending this upcoming November.

Life/Health

After expending our search for rental properties and/or apartments in the area, we have come to the conclusion that investing in a home is our only option. The Lord has opened doors, and we have stumbled upon a small, 600 sq. ft. home in Rose City, Michigan that we are able to buy at low cost for the duration of our pre-field journey. It has been very difficult to not have a home base over the past few months, and we are praying that this change will help us get back on track with things. We are set to close on it in the next few weeks, and we are extremely excited about the move.

As God's timing usually goes, it couldn't have come at a better time, as Hanna is set to start the six-food elimination diet on the 16th of this month. It will be a very strict diet she will need to adhere to for about eight weeks before adding one thing in each of the eight weeks following. Three of her procedures are currently scheduled, one for November, January, and March, and she is looking forward to getting the process up and moving.

A big undertaking for this month was our traveling down to Kentucky to visit Trenton's dying grandfather. We left the evening of the 30th right after VBS came to a close, and arrived in Munfordville, Kentucky on the 1st of July with Trenton's Mom and brother where we met up with his sister and her fiancé form Georgia. While there, we visited with his grandmother, before heading to the nursing home to say our goodbyes. It was a very difficult time for all of us, but we find assurance in the fact that, while once a professing atheist, Trenton's grandfather has professed to believe in God.

Writing Update

It has been a very productive month for writing, and while the book is more than likely not going to be complete in July as I had initially hoped, we are more than halfway through and moving quickly! Over the course of this month, I've been able to have many faith-filled conversations with my editor, and feel very uplifted by her story and how she found herself serving the Lord through book editing. This month, we have finished editing chapters six and seven, and hope to have two more done by the end of July.

On The Field

Praise the Lord for incredible accomplishments on the field this month! Declare International (declare.org.au), a mission organization started by our regional director along with Aussie pastors around the country, has seen its second missionary arrive to Papua New Guinea this past week.

The Australian Fellowship of Bible-believing Churches has also officially announced a new start-up church plant in Sutherland, or southeastern Sydney, which is a huge deal considering how long it often takes to accomplish this.

A few hours south in Woolongong, Matt and Barb Douglas, directors of the SEE Olympic Program, are also in prep for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. Every two years, the SEE program strives to send a group of voluntary individuals into the games as well as the World Cup to pass out Bible tracts and minister to its attendees and athletes alike. For more information on how to get involved with this short-term program, feel free to visit seeolympics.com.

But please continue in prayer for all ministry endeavors on the continent of Australia as the Lord does His work through our teammates and prepares the way for our future there.

Praises

1. Praise God for His provision in regards to a future home as well as for the resources to invest in it.

2. Praise God for a successful VBS, for the helpers, the kids, and all those who encouraged and/or believed in us along the way. Praise Him for the opportunities we have to serve in capacities such as this.

3. Praise God for safe travels to and from Kentucky to visit Trenton's grandfather. And praise Him for the reassurance we have been given knowing he believes in God.

4. Praise God for the opportunity and direction provided for Hanna's upcoming treatment plan for EOE.

5. Praise God for the fruit we are seeing on the field. Praise Him for the missionaries who sacrifice so much of their lives to the cause and praise Him for the opportunity we have to be a part of it.

Prayer

1. Pray for our upcoming move, and for things to get back on track once we have some sort of stability in our lives.

2. Pray for our final discipleship meetings, for our upcoming graduation, and for God to reveal to us whom we should seek to disciple in the future.

3. Pray for Hanna's upcoming treatment plan for EOE. The six-food elimination diet is very strict and is bound to be very trying, so please pray for patience and for a good attitude of thankfulness regardless of the outcome.

4. Pray for Trenton's family, for his grandmother, mom, sister, and brother, as they deal with the decreasing health of their husband, father, and grandfather. And pray for his grandfather, that he would not only believe that God exists, but that He would truly accept Him in his heart as Lord and Savior.

5. Pray for Australia! There is so much to do and so little people to do it. Pray for the Lord's provision that we may be able to be there soon.

Pictured above are photos from Hale Baptist Church VBS 2023. The first photo is of Hanna's group, ages 8-12, the second is of Trenton as Eldrick and Colton as Albert in the skit, and the third is of Jeff who taught both morning and afternoon sessions over the course of the week.