Sorry we’re running a bit late, folks – our blog system has been dealing with technical issues, which has kept us from sharing until now! This update is being posted just over a week late and minus several pictures (look for them on Facebook!), and we’re hoping its successor follows more quickly. The blog system is still struggling, but we have hope it will return to normal soon. Also, we’re moving our scheduled weekly update from Saturdays to Sundays, because it makes more sense for how our ministry time is organized. Okay, enough of the parenthetical prologue… back to your regularly scheduled missions update!
Some weeks in partnership development are… a little different than the others. A few have more meetings, others focus more on legal work and planning. Occasional weeks are ‘thrown off’ by sickness, car problems, or unexpected events. Many others are dominated by travel. Yet I think it’s safe to say that this past week was relatively unique: one with a bit of an Italian theme!
During this past week, Amy and I hit several personal bests in life. We had never before prepared 56.5 pounds of pizza dough in a single day. Never before had we measured pizza sauce by the gallon, or taken an entire day simply to shape pizza crusts. And never before had my arms ached at night for no other reason than working with pizza dough. “What,” you may be asking, “could cause you guys to invest so much into making stinkin’ pizza?! I thought you guys were going into missions, not opening a pizzeria!” I am so glad you asked!
Amy and I are blessed with an amazing home in Peaceful Valley Church – an amazing body of believers we view as both friends and family. They have encouraged, equipped, invested in, prayed for and partnered with our family since we first set out to follow God’s leading into the mission field… and as we now prepare to head to Mexico, they continue to faithfully stand with us. What a blessing! So for Amy and I, the best way to express our gratitude was obvious: twenty-five homemade pizzas, served with love and appreciation for those who have shown us such amazing love and faithfulness. And that’s exactly what happened this past Sunday… we love you, PVC, and hope you never forget it!
In addition to the pizza lunch at Peaceful Valley, we continued to meet with several people to share about church planting – discussing the dozens upon dozens of languages in Mexico that, to this day, have no access to knowledge of Jesus Christ. Our four meetings this week were accompanied by the completion (at last!) of a major project: sorting through, prioritizing, and accounting for every item on our transition-to-Mexico to do list! Both US and Mexico leadership had lists (sometimes multiple lists!) of important things that need to be done as we go, and – Lord willing! – we believe we have everything sorted out onto a timeline, and are preparing to faithfully meet those requirements! Finally, we were blessed with the opportunity to be introduced to a large number of churches in the Spokane area, and are excited to see how God will use those contacts. Thank you, Lord!!!
Praising God: We received some (additional) awesome news regarding our support level this past week, the specifics of which we look forward to sharing with you in less than a month’s time. God is growing our partnership team, and recently it seems like He does it by leaps and bounds! Although we still do not know when we will be allowed to leave for Mexico, our eventual departure is clearly approaching more and more rapidly!
Prayer Request: This week, our family suffered the unexpected loss of Remington – the Greenslade family dog, who has been a faithful friend for the better part of a decade. Please pray for each of us (Amy’s folks included!) as we adjust, and work through the sadness of his absence.
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