We've been traveling recently. After three and a half weeks and 2700 miles in our van, we are praising God for a good trip!
We spoke with churches, groups of people and individuals in South Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia. Our Father opened eyes and softened hearts, and some people are praying about serving in full-time missions. What a blessing for us to be used in such a way, drawing more workers for the harvest!
One of our favorite parts of the trip was watching God open His children's eyes about how many people He uses to get and keep a tribal missionary in a tribe. Accountants, builders, teachers, pilots, writers, radio operators, supply buyers -- all these and more are a vital part of His Body doing His work in remote tribes. What a blessing to challenge people to consider using the skills they already have in full-time missions!
Our first Sunday at our sending church in Radford, a lady named Sharon came forward at the end of the service to accept Christ. Our pastor, Pastor Morgan, asked me (Jennifer) to come forward and pray with her. Sharon's prayer of faith and surrender was absolutely beautiful. I am so thankful Pastor Morgan gave me the privilege of praying with Sharon and leading her to Christ. The Holy Spirit knew I needed that gift to encourage me and bless me. Will you please pray for Sharon as she grows in her new relationship with Jesus? I don't think she's missed a church service since that Sunday morning, so she's off on the right track!
We also had plenty of time to visit with friends and family. During our visit, we enjoyed a family reunion, a horseshoe tournament, a cook-out, a trip to a wildlife center, some days splashing in wading pools, a couple days of fishing, an international-themed dinner with friends, many games of Settlers of Catan, an afternoon of geo-caching, and several bowls of fajita soup. Our children enjoyed playing with old friends and cousins. We spent hours chatting and catching up with dear friends, and our children were loved on by grandparents and aunts and uncles.
The Lord blessed our trip greatly. It's not easy to travel for that long with six children, packing and unpacking and staying up too late and driving so much; but it was definitely worth it!
Thank you so much for your prayers. It also appears that God has used our travels to increase our financial support, which is a real blessing. The Lord has been providing everything we need, and -what's better- He's given us a real peace about trusting Him to supply. It is nice, though, to have some more monthly support on paper as we plan and budget. Right now, we're at about 21% of New Tribe's recommended support level, which is what we affectionately call our "beans and rice budget." We are asking God to increase that support so we can have some more wiggle room and put money away for retirement and emergencies and college. But, if God chooses to continue to provide for us moment-by-moment rather than giving us money to plan ahead, we're satisfied. He never fails us and He will provide for our needs. We are confident in that because of His past faithfulness.
Now, we are back home in Florida. The children have already begun school, and Patrick dove head-first back into work at the Communications Department. I am still trying to unpack everything and get our suitcases stashed back in storage.
Today, we are bracing for Tropical Storm Fay. We're prepared, and the children are hoping to miss at least one day of school. I think they're even hoping for a few hours of power failure so they can use their new flashlights. Yesterday, Rachel asked, "If the power doesn't go out, can we at least turn all the lights off for a couple hours?"
Again, thank you for your prayers. We certainly could not do our part in tribal missions if it weren't for you all!
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