Our family continues to be busy since the unexpected headaches I (Jordan) experienced last month! (You can click those links for a reminder of what happened). We continue to share with others how so many people in Mexico still live without access to the Gospel, and encourage them to partner with us so that those people can finally hear of Jesus! Along the way, we have had the privilege to work on several other projects as well. Take a look and see what God has been doing through and around us these past three weeks!
- One week ago, Peaceful Valley Church (our home church in Elk, WA) conducted its annual Missions Conference, with excellent keynote speaker Brad Buser. A Friday night themed buffet and an auction fundraiser on Saturday did much to draw people’s interest and raise funds for various missions projects (including our start-up costs in Mexico!), but the real success came in hearing Brad share his perspective on what Jesus truly said about missionary work. Speaking from his twenty years of experience planting a mature church among the Iteri people of Papua New Guinea, Brad challenged the church to not rest on the laurels of what our church as a whole does to reach those without the Gospel… but to take personal ownership of the command Jesus gave to make disciples of every nation.
You can hear about half of what Brad had to say on Peaceful Valley’s website – the Sunday School session was a general missions Q&A, while the Sunday morning message was quite possibly the highlight of the entire conference. Both are well worth your time. - For the next two months, Amy and I will be living in Seattle, WA – continuing to share our ministry there as we have in Spokane. Two of our partners have advocated heavily for us, and both have set up meetings for us with others who want to know about what we are doing. We will also spend some intentional time on a trip with my (Jordan’s) family, and reconnect with our partners here in the western half of Washington. Please pray that God will use this time to the increase of His glory!
- In the aftermath of my headaches, I am pleased to share that I continue to make good progress moving forward from that situation. Once we knew that an aneurysm had been ruled out, I completed a period of rest and then began to exercise again. With several precautions and modifications to my workout routine, I have now completed two weeks of physical training without further incident! Praise the Lord!
- Several other projects continue to demand attention as well! We are still working on our 2012 taxes, learning all kinds of things about how to file as self-employed clergy taxpayers. We did many things right in preparing, but only now with experience are we starting to really be able to refine the process of record-keeping, so that this will be easier in future years. Please pray for me as I work to finish this project as quickly as possible, yet without delaying other important tasks.
- As Amy and I tell others about the need for churches to be planted among the unreached in Mexico, God has faithfully increased our level of monthly financial support! This is the barrier that is keeping us from beginning ministry in Mexico right now – and we are now up to 16% of our budget. Beyond that, there are several new individuals, couples, and churches who have told us they also intend to partner with us in this way. Each step closer to ministry in Mexico is incredibly exciting, and we continue to thank the Lord for gathering this team together!
Steve Kettel says
Great update. Thanks. I like the way you handled the financial aspect of the report. Sounds like you are getting good advice on filing your tax return. If you have any questions that I may be able to help answer, please call. Steve