Hello everyone! It has been a couple of months since our last update, so we thought it would be prudent to get one out (of course, that was about 2 weeks ago). At first glance, it seems as though there isn’t much to update. The house is still not sold, we are still quite a ways from our goal for support, and Africa feels just as far away as ever. However, looking with eyes of faith reveals a much brighter picture. It hasn’t all been so bleak as all that. We’ve had the opportunity to visit a few churches and to get our faces seen amongst some familiar old faces. The Lord has also blessed us with a couple of chances to share our vision for His work in Congo with some local congregations, eliminating the need for a long trip in the car. 

In February, we were invited to share with the students at the Genesee Country Christian School during their chapel time. That was quite an enjoyable time. The Harvey family has been their “missionary family”, which the children pray for and raise some gifts in the form of offerings for. They have been praing for the past few years that God would raise up people/families that would go and assist the Pioneer Christian Hospital’s ministry to the people of Congo. Our being there to share what we are preparing to do, Lord willing, was seen by the students as an answer to their prayers. It’s amazing to see how He uses even the small children to be involved in such an important way in the work that He is doing. It was very exciting for us to see others invested in the very same adventure that we hope to become a direct part of. That same weekend, the Lord opened up another awesome door for us. A short term work team that was headed to the hospital, from Albany, NY agreed to make room to take along 2 fifty-pound pieces of luggage for us. We also had another package of supplies for the hospital and the Harvey family, so we loaded it all up in the car and made a day trip to Albany. This provision allowed us to get some of our necessities to Congo ahead of us. This way, we have things like our water purifier already there and waiting for our arrival. It’s less for us to carry, and less to have to prepare for and to keep track of. It’s also cool to see that a little piece of our world has relocated to where we are longing to be.  

Early in March, we were given an entire Sunday morning service to share, at the church where we served as youth leaders back when Michael was just a baby. It was wonderful to see people that we hadn’t been in touch with for years, and to be there with our teens who are now married and serving in the church in various ministries. The rest of this month has been relatively quiet, but we have been encouraged by small things here and there that give us visual markers of how God is paving the way ahead of us, in his time, for our departure to Congo. In our waiting on the Lord, I am reminded of how Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego walked by faith. Do you think they marched boldly to the fiery furnace? I don’t; I can picture them proclaiming their faith to the king, and then watching anxiously for whatever God had up His sleeve to save them. Never the less, they were being carried away to the furnace. The clouds didn’t part, and no angel stepped in to stop the soldiers holding them. They knew that they were doing what God would have them do, but where was His salvation? It wasn’t until they were in the fire that God could really perform a miracle in their lives.  

I feel like that’s kind of where we are now, walking towards the furnace. We are trying to sell a house at the totally wrong time. We are trying to raise financial support, as well as prayer support. Prayer is pretty easy to get, but money is a little harder to come by. We know that we are relying on Him to supply our every need, but one look at the economy would make any reasonably intelligent person think that this is all nuts. We’ve done what God has called us to do, but where’s the provision? Where’s the miraculous deliverance? So each day we must continue on, walking in faith in the one who is faithful, and knowing that when it is His time, He will complete what He has begun in our lives. In the meantime, we covet your prayers and your support. We also lift all of you up in prayer, as our nation is facing a bumpy road ahead. Though the world may crumble around us, He will never leave or forsake us; and that’s not even making mention of the eternal hope that we have in Him.God bless each of you, and we look forward to the new things that we’ll be able to report to you next time!