So much has happened, where do I begin? I guess the high light for us, in June, was our 33rd anniversary. “If I had to do it all over again, I would choose YOU!” Dwight and I have the same thought on that one. We are so thankful that the 14th of June we were able to celebrate once again. We bought a huge pizza and took it to our friend’s house and they made donuts and a special cake for dessert.
End of June I turned over the office work to my friend who had come back from furlough. Pray for Karla, as she is functioning all on her own.
Also during June I was sorting through closets and drawers, putting some stuff in storage as I prepared our apartment for our home assignment time. God provided another missionary couple to rent our place while we are gone, so we didn’t have to lose it or pack everything away. They wanted to use our stuff as they aren’t fully set up with furniture and such.
The first weekend in July was our church’s 16th anniversary and Dwight and I helped the couple’s Bible study sing two songs for the celebration. This was something Dwight had never done before and was quite nervous, but he did just fine.
On Monday morning, the 8th of July, Dwight was on his way to work, but on the way he was in a car accident. This was not just a fender bender. There were two men in a SUV that were drunk and driving way too fast and hit our car on the left front fender. The front bumper was ripped off the car but still in one piece. The left front tire and rim were damaged. Dwight was not injured or even in any pain, but the two men needed to be taken by ambulance to the hospital. After hitting our car, they hit a tree which saved them from going into a canal which would have been even worse. Dwight is still working through the paper work getting everything to our insurance company so our car can be released to them for the needed repairs.
I felt bad leaving Dwight behind after all that, but we had already bought my ticket for returning to the US for the 17th of July. I have been able to look around for an apt to rent for the time we will be on furlough, and also have started cooking a special diet for our son in hopes that we can help him with some health issues. His energy level is quite low. Please pray that we will have wisdom in knowing how to best help him out.
Update on Dwight’s pilot’s license: The man that sat beside Dwight on the flight to Miami in April (when Dwight went to AZ for the program managers’ meetings) has been working within the upper levels of the authorities about Dwight’s pilot’s license. He just recently let Dwight know it has been approved and asked him to submit all his paper work over again to obtain his indefinite Bolivian commercial pilot’s license. We will let you know when he does have the license in hand. I am sure Cochabamba will hear the roar of the airplane overhead!
The paper work Dwight submitted in May for his Bolivian citizenship has been passed on from immigration to another office where they approve the citizenship. We have been praying that this will proceed without any delays so his passport can be returned, and then Dwight can get his Bolivian Identification card and will be able to travel. As you can see, he has a lot of paperwork to wade through. Please pray that things will progress quickly.
During our home assignment time, we plan on being with Dwight, Landon and Darlena enjoying some of the holidays that we have missed being in Bolivia these past six years. When we were back two years ago for three months, we were able to visit with some of you and would like to do so again, but also are planning on visiting many of you that we were not able to visit.
While we are back this time we would like to share with you what God has been doing in our lives and to have you pray with us about what the Lord has for us in the future. It has been decided that the flight program in Bolivia should be closed down. So we are planning on just taking about nine months of furlough, and then returning to do what is necessary to follow through with those plans.
We will be meeting with the NTMA leadership in McNeal, AZ while on furlough to discuss our options of ministry either in Bolivia or somewhere else. We are confident that the Lord knows our steps and we want to walk in obedience to Him in continuing with the great task of reaching the unreached with the good news of the Gospel. Please pray that we will clearly see God’s leading for our future.
We enjoy being part of our Bolivian brothers’ and sisters’ lives within the IBM church. It is really neat to see their heart for the lost as they reach out to become a part of this great task the Lord has commanded of us. We thank you all for your involvement with us as we seek to be a blessing.