We are loving Spring in the Ozarks! Seeing new life all around us is a wonderful reminder of the new life in Christ that we have. After the incredible sacrifice of His life for us, our Savior overcame death, and has enabled us with that same power!
“That I may know him,
and the power of his resurrection,
and the fellowship of his sufferings,
being made conformable unto his death;”
– Philippians 3:10
Over the past months we’ve had opportunities for learning and growth in many areas of our lives. Two main ways this has happened have been:
- Auditing some classes here at the MTC (Missionary Training Center). This has been a great opportunity to learn about the current curriculum for the missionary candidates, pick up some new tools for partnership development, and also develop awareness in many different areas.
- Taking Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University course at our home church. This has helped us work on developing better skills for financial management.
We are very grateful for God’s perfect timing in our lives. Most of you know that John’s mom passed away on March 3rd. After declining health in recent months, we took her to the hospital on February 29th where she was diagnosed with probable pancreatic cancer (they had no “proof” from any exams, including biopsies). A few short days later on March 3rd the Lord freed her from her suffering and took her Home. We had a beautiful memorial service for her on March 5th; a celebration of her life and a time for many testimonies of how many lives she had touched. We see God’s timing in bringing us back from Brazil when He did so we were able to have some good months with her before she declined too much. We also were able to help both John’s dad, who had a knee replacement in November, and John’s mom, who was hospitalized in December right before his dad went home from rehab. We are very thankful we have been here through all this and are living close to John’s dad (about a ½ hour away) to be available during this time of adjustment for him. Thank you for all your prayers during this time!
Please praise the Lord with us for His provisions! He has provided many things for us like used furniture and basic essentials for setting up a home, as well as a gift from our church to buy a much needed, good quality mattress. We are also grateful for the medical care we have been receiving. In the past couple of months John has had various medical needs attended to and some of these require further follow up. Also, Melanie has some ongoing medical needs that we continue to look after. Please pray for God’s provision for these extra medical bills and wisdom for us and the doctors from whom we are getting help.
We would also ask for continued prayer for the sale of our house in Brazil. It seems like now would be a good time for it to sell as it is the harvest season and there is usually more interest in real estate. However, our ways are not His ways, and we are trusting the Lord and waiting on Him to bring along the right buyer at the right time.
Thank you for your partnership with us! We appreciate your prayers and interest in our lives and ministry as together we spread the hope of Christ’s death and resurrection to the nations!
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