Home Assignment Update

Thank you so much for praying for us! The beginning of our Home Assignment has gone very well, and we are thankful for the many ways God has blessed and encouraged us along the way.

We landed in Portland, Oregon, where we had a wonderful time with Juliana and her family. Her husband, Devin, purchased a Ford Escape for us, and it has been running well and getting great gas mileage. We have already put almost 7,000 miles on it! Please continue to pray for safety as we travel from place to place.

Our family get-together in Florida went very well. Our adult children did all the planning for our week together, and we managed to fit 23 people into one Airbnb! We made so many wonderful memories together. We also invited Walter’s mother, several of his siblings, and nieces and nephews to join us for the weekend. Thank you for praying for this special time. It was the first time we had all been together since Abby’s wedding.

From Florida, we traveled to Texas to speak at one of our supporting churches. We were encouraged to see many family members and friends, as well as some new faces. We were especially encouraged by their response and engagement with our ministry update.

Please continue to pray for us as we share at churches throughout our Home Assignment—that God will use us to challenge and encourage others to consider how they can be involved in His work. We are reminded of Jesus’ words:

“Then He said to them, ‘The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.’”
—Luke 10:2 (NKJV)

Next, we traveled to Dallas for Cheryl’s Faith Academy class reunion. During the first day, I was able to visit with a high school friend from North Dakota, while Cheryl had a great time reminiscing with her old friends. We were also able to give them some Faith Academy merchandise, which they really enjoyed!

We are now in Kansas, where it has been a joy to spend time with Cheryl’s dad. The basement of his home has a little apartment that we have made into our home and base for our Home Assignment. We enjoy having our own space downstairs, but we especially enjoy going upstairs to eat meals, talk, and spend time with Cheryl’s dad.

At the end of August, we shared at another one of our supporting churches in Augusta, Kansas. They have been celebrating their Missions Month and honored us during the final week by giving us an opportunity to share an update about our ministry.

Next week, we will share at our home church here in Rose Hill, Kansas. This is the church where we were married, so we know many of the families well. We are also looking forward to getting to know some of the newer families better.

In October, we will be back on the road, traveling to the East Coast and Florida. We look forward to visiting many of our supporters, friends, and family along the way.

Please Pray for Faith Academy

Please continue to pray for Faith Academy (FA), as their prediction for a particularly rainy year has certainly proven true! Classes have already had to be canceled several times because of flooding. Although it is rainy season, the volume of rain this year has been unusually high.

Faith Academy is safely nestled on top of a hill, but our community, extended families, and the poor have been impacted by the flooding. Please pray for their safety, needs, and opportunities to help others during this challenging season.

We are very thankful for all those who are “wearing our hats” at FA while we are in the United States carrying out our Home Assignment ministry. The transition has gone very well. We try to keep up with our FA emails, but thankfully, there have been relatively few, and most have not been pressing.

Thank you again for your prayers, encouragement, and continued support. We are grateful that you are partnering with us in what God is doing through Faith Academy and our ministry in the Philippines.

With grateful hearts,

Walter & Cheryl