The PD Weekly: August 31

This past week has been a huge encouragement for Amy and I! Coming back into the ‘swing of things’ post-yardsale, we found we had some follow-up work to do: donating extra clothes to a local charity, running unsold goods to Goodwill (thanks, Dad!), going to the bank (thanks, Lord!), and listing a few remaining large items on Craigslist. Additionally, Amy worked a busy day at Camp Spaulding, and we got to write several thank-you notes to the new partners God has brought alongside us recently. Yet amongst all the craze, we scheduled and held four meetings this week, and are growing increasingly excited as Mexico looms closer and closer!

In addition to our direct preparations for Mexico, Amy and I had a few other things going on! Dentist and doctor appointments for the kids went… about as you’d expect (poor Titus and his shot!), Amy helped plan a baby shower for our sister (in-law, technically) Taylor, and a logistics error between our bank and cell phone company had us wondering whether we would lose our current phone number! Yet thankfully that got straightened out, and things are back to normal. We even had the privilege of attending a wedding this week, as our friends Colton and Kendra were married at Peaceful Valley!

Finally, we discovered a new witnessing opportunity this week: Craigslist scammers! Apparently, certain people try to trick personal information out of you when you post an ad there… but rather than getting overly frustrated, we decided to take the opportunity to let their sin illustrate their need for God! I don’t know if any of these people will ever respond to us, but we’ll trust the Lord to work on their hearts as we confront them lovingly but directly. If nothing else… I doubt many of them will bother us more than once!

During this past week, our received monthly support grew from 37% of our field budget to 38%. The level of total pledged support also grew, and is now between 47-50%. This means that… (see ‘Praising God’)

Praising God: …this means that we are officially halfway to the 100% pledged support we need on the field… and halfway to the 75% received support required of us before we are allowed to leave for Mexico! Thank you, Lord!

Prayer Request: for Godly patience and insight as we strive to teach our children about the Lord, and discipline them as they continually test the limits we give them. Pray that they will both grow in their understanding of their need for Jesus, and of God’s amazing love for them!