We have completed our training at WGM headquarters and are now back home in Goshen. We have started to say our goodbyes, we fly to Kenya now in less than three weeks. We have all the emotions covered. From total elation of being ready to go and serve through God's amazing provision, to deep sorrow of missing family and very dear friends. Please pray for us as we say goodbye to our parents, Harry and Nancy, Bev and Les, our children Nathan, Andrea and Talia, our best friends Carrie and Jamie, our home church the entire NMC family, our family pet Dakota. Material things don't matter, people do. We have counted this great cost of leaving all these and following Christ to Kenya, and we chose to follow Christ, knowing fully that He will provide all that we need to sustain us and those we leave behind. This sacrifice is not possible outside the amazing power of our Lord and Savior. He loved each of us so very much that He gave up absolutely everything to save us and have a relationship with us.
Our schedule is filling up quickly for the last three weeks. We will have our commissioning service at NMC on August the 12th. After that day we will be alone with our families until we get on the plane on August 19th. We started saying our goodbyes yesterday as we were with the Acts 29 small church class. We were invited to their carry-in lunch, and were asked to share about any last minute prayer requests or needs. As I scanned the crowd of around 80 or so, I realized that I new more than half of them as friends that had been to the Baby Centre, or friends that were our ministry partners. They knew of the need for a new camera and blessed us with the go-ahead yesterday to purchase that camera. What a wonderful blessing it is to be able to have this new camera to better communicate back here what is going on in our ministry. God has blessed us abundantly.
We were also able to share some of the safety concerns at the BC. They prayed for the babies, staff, Staci and her family, and for us as we prepare to go. What a wonderful time of fellowship it was.
Blessings,
D & D
Monday, July 30, 2012
Sunday, July 22, 2012
At Headquarters
Well, we are at WGM headquarters in Marion IN. We start our final round of training tomorrow with Orientation Camp. It is good to see some familiar faces and get to know some new ones. We will have a week of training and then head back Friday evening to Goshen. Once home we will begin final preparations for leaving for Kenya. For those that do not know we were officially released to go to the field this past Friday. We have tickets purchased for a flight on August the 19th. We are very excited, but also know this is the start of saying goodbye to family and friends. We are looking forward to saying goodbye well. What I mean by that is we have been taught that saying goodbye and having it hurt means that you have loved well and have been loved well. It is only through the grace of our Lord that we can meet these challenges.
Last evening we were treated to a wonderful goodbye party by our small church class, Running the Race. We were overwhelmed with the support and pouring out of love on us. We will dearly miss our class, but we know that they will be with us in spirit as we go. The party was up at Life Action Ministries in Buchanan, MI. Carrie and Dennis Gaul our good friends are missionaries at Life Action and were able to allow us to use the facility. What a wonderful facility and a wonderful ministry. Our class collected two suitcases full of "comfort foods" for us as we go. Items that we will not be able to get in Kenya. Another special gift was a small box that Margie carried back from Kenya. It was keys to the Baby Centre sent from Staci welcoming us to our new home. It was very special and we are very eager to thank Staci in person.
Continue to pray for the Baby Centre, Staci and her family and the Ngata area that has seen some trouble over the last several months. Things are better now and we pray that they continue to improve.
We are still amazed with the outpouring of support last Sunday and continue to thank God for His provision.
Blessings
D & D
Last evening we were treated to a wonderful goodbye party by our small church class, Running the Race. We were overwhelmed with the support and pouring out of love on us. We will dearly miss our class, but we know that they will be with us in spirit as we go. The party was up at Life Action Ministries in Buchanan, MI. Carrie and Dennis Gaul our good friends are missionaries at Life Action and were able to allow us to use the facility. What a wonderful facility and a wonderful ministry. Our class collected two suitcases full of "comfort foods" for us as we go. Items that we will not be able to get in Kenya. Another special gift was a small box that Margie carried back from Kenya. It was keys to the Baby Centre sent from Staci welcoming us to our new home. It was very special and we are very eager to thank Staci in person.
Continue to pray for the Baby Centre, Staci and her family and the Ngata area that has seen some trouble over the last several months. Things are better now and we pray that they continue to improve.
We are still amazed with the outpouring of support last Sunday and continue to thank God for His provision.
Blessings
D & D
Monday, July 16, 2012
Awesome God
What an awesome God we serve!!!! We had a wonderful experience Sunday being able to be back at our home church - Nappanee Missionary Church. Pastor Dave interviewed us in the three services in the main sanctuary and also introduced us in the two services in the Connection gym. We also had the opportunity to share in three small church classrooms. We were overwhelmed with the response to us and our ministry. The message was on paths, plans and ways. Pastor Dave asked us to share a little about the path God has called us to, and guided us down. It is always amazing to look back and be able to see God's guiding hand in our lives. Pastor Dave then asked for those who felt God leading them, to partner with us financially. He also explained that we had bought tickets to leave on August 19th in faith that God would provide all that we needed. The need was great by human standards, $80,000.00. But, our God is a God of abundance. Through the grace of God, and the obedience of His people to share their resources, we are so elated to say that we are 100% funded. Pastor Dave called us late this afternoon to let us know. There are no words that can truly convey our feelings right now. We have abundant joy and peace that God has provided in such a tangible way.
Thank you to all of our new ministry partners, and those who have been and continue to be our ministry partners, we are truly blessed. Please continue to lift us up in prayer as a ministry team, Satan does not like it when God's people move together like this.
We leave this Sunday at noon to go to Marion, WGM Headquarters for our final training in preparation to go. We will be there for one week and then be back home to start saying our goodbyes and packing.
We have also in the last days had to say goodbye to some wonderful new friends at MTI. We continue as best we can to stay in touch, many have already left for their fields and it makes it difficult to stay in contact. Our hearts and prayers will be with each of them as they follow God's calling in their lives. We look forward to the day when we will all be together again.
Thank you Father, God for your provision!
Blessings and many, many THANKS!!!
D & D
Thank you to all of our new ministry partners, and those who have been and continue to be our ministry partners, we are truly blessed. Please continue to lift us up in prayer as a ministry team, Satan does not like it when God's people move together like this.
We leave this Sunday at noon to go to Marion, WGM Headquarters for our final training in preparation to go. We will be there for one week and then be back home to start saying our goodbyes and packing.
We have also in the last days had to say goodbye to some wonderful new friends at MTI. We continue as best we can to stay in touch, many have already left for their fields and it makes it difficult to stay in contact. Our hearts and prayers will be with each of them as they follow God's calling in their lives. We look forward to the day when we will all be together again.
Thank you Father, God for your provision!
Blessings and many, many THANKS!!!
D & D
Saturday, July 14, 2012
Heading Home
We are currently in Iowa heading home from our 5 weeks of training in Colorado. We are excited to get back to Indiana to our families and our home church. It was very sad to leave our new SPLICE family, many of whom over this next week will deploy to their new home in a different country. Our prayers are with each and every one, and part of our hearts, as they find themselves in a new culture.
We are looking forward to utilizing our training when we get on the field in Kenya. Many thanks to all of our trainers at MTI. They did such a wonderful job of helping us look within ourselves and identifying areas where we were trying to maintain control and not let Christ be in charge of all things.
We look forward to moving forward with our mission with an emboldened effort to put Christ in total control and to follow His lead as we do His work in Kenya.
This Sunday, at our own church, we'll have the opportunity to share part of the story of the path that God has laid before us. We look forward to that time and to reconnecting with our church family who we know has lifted us up and supported us in prayer, especially over these last 5 weeks.
The last 5 weeks have been emotionally draining but spiritually invigorating. It will probably take a couple days for us to get back on our feet fully. We have training that begins next week at WGM headquarters in Marion, IN. This is our final training in preparation for leaving for the field.
On the way through Iowa we had the opportunity to stop in Grinnell to pick up baby quilts that were made by the Omega Church Quilters for Christ. They made 21 more quilts for us to take to the Baby Centre with us. What an awesome testimony these women share by going the extra mile to make these quilts especially for the babies. Thank you to all the ladies that participated in the making, and delivering, of all the beautiful quilts.
We are still a considerable amount away from our support needed to leave. We are hoping to make up ground on the amount that we need over the next 2 weeks in order to leave in the middle of August. We are currently in need of close to $2,400.00 a month pledged to go. Please pray for God's timing in the provision of financial partners for our ministry.
If you are in the Nappanee area come out and see us on Sunday morning at Nappanee Missionary Church.
Blessings,
D&D
We are looking forward to utilizing our training when we get on the field in Kenya. Many thanks to all of our trainers at MTI. They did such a wonderful job of helping us look within ourselves and identifying areas where we were trying to maintain control and not let Christ be in charge of all things.
We look forward to moving forward with our mission with an emboldened effort to put Christ in total control and to follow His lead as we do His work in Kenya.
This Sunday, at our own church, we'll have the opportunity to share part of the story of the path that God has laid before us. We look forward to that time and to reconnecting with our church family who we know has lifted us up and supported us in prayer, especially over these last 5 weeks.
The last 5 weeks have been emotionally draining but spiritually invigorating. It will probably take a couple days for us to get back on our feet fully. We have training that begins next week at WGM headquarters in Marion, IN. This is our final training in preparation for leaving for the field.
On the way through Iowa we had the opportunity to stop in Grinnell to pick up baby quilts that were made by the Omega Church Quilters for Christ. They made 21 more quilts for us to take to the Baby Centre with us. What an awesome testimony these women share by going the extra mile to make these quilts especially for the babies. Thank you to all the ladies that participated in the making, and delivering, of all the beautiful quilts.
We are still a considerable amount away from our support needed to leave. We are hoping to make up ground on the amount that we need over the next 2 weeks in order to leave in the middle of August. We are currently in need of close to $2,400.00 a month pledged to go. Please pray for God's timing in the provision of financial partners for our ministry.
If you are in the Nappanee area come out and see us on Sunday morning at Nappanee Missionary Church.
Blessings,
D&D
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
SPLICE coming to an end
This has been a couple of wonderful weeks of training here at MTI. We have been working through how to properly function in your target culture. This involves many different aspects of life in a different culture. The staff has been excellent. We have made friends here for eternity. We have grown very close to our classmates and Friday will be a difficult day of goodbyes. Our group of 64 people are going to some 20 different countries on 4 different continents. Most of our classmates will deploy in the next 4 to 6 weeks.
We are looking forward to getting back to Indiana and to family and friends. This Sunday we will be at our home church and will be speaking in several of the small church classes. We are looking forward to sharing with many of you our experiences here in Colorado.
Our funding continues to increase, however it is behind where we need to be. We are very hopeful to close that gap in the next two weeks so we can stay on target for the middle of August to fly out to the field.
We thank God today for the opportunity to be at such a wonderful training facility with excellent staff. They have many years of field experience and are great at giving us practical tools to use on the field.
Please keep the Baby Centre and the Ngata area in your prayers as they have been experiencing some thefts in the area. We look forward to getting there on the ground and joining the team.
Also please pray for our trip home that it will be without incident.
Blessings,
We will be seeing alot of you on Sunday!!
D & D
We are looking forward to getting back to Indiana and to family and friends. This Sunday we will be at our home church and will be speaking in several of the small church classes. We are looking forward to sharing with many of you our experiences here in Colorado.
Our funding continues to increase, however it is behind where we need to be. We are very hopeful to close that gap in the next two weeks so we can stay on target for the middle of August to fly out to the field.
We thank God today for the opportunity to be at such a wonderful training facility with excellent staff. They have many years of field experience and are great at giving us practical tools to use on the field.
Please keep the Baby Centre and the Ngata area in your prayers as they have been experiencing some thefts in the area. We look forward to getting there on the ground and joining the team.
Also please pray for our trip home that it will be without incident.
Blessings,
We will be seeing alot of you on Sunday!!
D & D
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)