Jack and Alice Corbett Stay Connected with the Corbetts! Dear Praying Partners,
In April, Alice’s parents, John and Mary Jane Ames moved into an assisted living apartment at Ledgeview Living Center in West Paris, Maine. It has been difficult, as they had to leave their home of almost 40 years. The blessings are that they are close to Mary Jane’s family, they have a safer living environment, and they can attend the church where they were married and still have many friends.
On May 14th, Alice left Florida for Gorham, NH to work on cleaning out her parents’ house and preparing it for sale. On May 13th, Jack’s parents arrived in Florida to help Jack with the children, so he can continue to serve in his ministry with NTM.
Alice has been sorting through "stuff" that accumulated over the years trying to determine what has enough sentimental value to keep, what has yard sale value, and what may have value to collectors or antique dealers. We are thankful for help from friends and family!!
Jack and the children will also be heading up to Gorham, on June 9th. We are hoping the house will be cleaned out by June 23. Jack would like to return to our ministry in Florida then, and hopes to have the whole family with him when he returns.
Several people have expressed interest in buying the house, which is a blessing as we hope that it sells before winter.
Back in Florida, Jack and his partner Rodd are still developing Gravity, the new NTM personnel system. We plan to release an early beta version of the main part of the system to the U.S. Personnel department here in Sanford on June 12th! Summer is a slower time here in Florida, as our Northerners visit supporters, but some testing will still get done. You never can tell if your software will meet the needs of the business until people start using it! We are asking the Personnel department to provide us with one person to do dual entry, to let us know what works and what doesn’t. This will be an exciting time.
When school starts in the fall, Jack will be taking on a new ministry as the Physical Education teacher for grades K-4 at Lake Monroe Christian Academy. Jack is not exactly excited, but is willing to do this as his degree is in Physical Education and God has provided him with the ability, so he will be filling the need. Pray that he will be able to come up with a curriculum that will educate and entertain children from 5-10 years old.
Alice will continue as one of the Art teachers at LMCA next year as well.
Danielle (10) graduated from YM Junior Leadership School with a promotion to Lance Corporal. She gave a speech on "endurance" and was then asked to give her speech again for a veteran’s organization’s Memorial Day ceremony. She did an excellent job! She looked like she spoke in front of crowds on a regular basis.
Evan and Regan played six weeks of Upward Basketball and had a great time, even with Dad as their coach. Now all the children are enjoying summer vacation and looking forward to seeing their friends in New England in June.
In late April one of the brake lines let go in our 1999 Chevy Venture, so we took that as a sign that it was time to buy a new van. We had asked for wisdom in doing this in our last prayer letter, but anytime Jack has to spend a lot of money he procrastinates. We were able to find a 2006 Toyota Sienna CE with about 65,000 miles for $2000 under book value, so we bought it after having the mission mechanic look at it. It is a nice van and is getting about 30-40% better gas mileage than our Venture, so eventually (about 343,000 miles at $2.40/gallon) it will pay for itself. You can do the math to figure out how much we paid for it ; ). We were able to pay for it from the money we have left from the sale of home, but that, of course, reduces our emergency/buffer fund.
We have continued to be involved in ministry at Palmetto Avenue Baptist church. Alice and Jack are on the worship team, Alice as Sparks leader in Awana, Jack as a trustee, Bible study leader, and Upward basketball coach and referee. At the Upward Awards ceremony several children accepted the Lord, which is the reason we do the program. We saw at least one family begin attending church because of the Upward outreach.
Prayer Requests
- Opportunities to continue to minster to others
- For God to minister to Alice’s parents physically and emotionally.
- For strength and wisdom as we clean out Mom and Dad Ames’ house, and that it would sell before winter.
- Wisdom in rearing our children.
- Wisdom in recommending areas where process changes could help the mission and ministry.
- Finances. Buying the van took a big bite, as has the poor economy, with some supporters having to reduce their support.
- Jack would like to go to the PASS Summit (a professional conference) but it will cost close to $3000. Pray that if God wants him to go the funds will be available or he will be selected to speak or volunteer at the event and have the conference fee waived.
Praises
- For God’ working in John and Mary Jane’s lives where they saw the need to move.
- For God providing is with a new to us van (2006 Toyota Sienna) at $2000 below book value.
- For God’s continued provision physically, spiritually, and financially.
- For opportunities to be a blessing to others.
Your support and prayers are such an encouragement to us! We thank God for you, and pray for Him to bless you, and fill you all with His power to live out His love every day.
Tags: Ministry, Prayer Letter, Prayer Request
