Praise

We are officially over the 50% support mark today. We are grateful for the Lord's help and will continue on. Thank you for praying.

Pressing forward

We have a missions conference starting tomorrow in Dowagiac, Michigan. The conference will go through Wednesday. Following the conference we will head down to Bob and Janelle's for Olivia's 1st birthday next weekend. We then travel to Maryland for a meeting over Mother's Day weekend. After that meeting we will go to Chesapeake to meet our new grandson, Andrew, who is scheduled to be born on Friday, May 2nd.

Please pray for Sara and the baby for a safe delivery. Please pray for our support levels to rise. We are making steady progress. With another church voting this week, we should tip over the 50% mark!

We always need your prayers and thank you for helping us.

"Blessed be the LORD,
Because He has heard the voice of my supplication.
The LORD is my strength and my shield;
My heart trusts in Him, and I am helped" Psalm 28:6-7

Fun times

I spent two weeks in Virginia helping Dan, Sara, and Peter. Janelle and Olivia arrived a couple of days before I left, so we enjoyed some playground time with both Peter and Olivia.

We are looking forward with great joy to the birth of Andrew on May 2.

Thanks for your continuing prayers for us.

"Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray and cry aloud: and He shall hear my voice." Psalm 55:17

Praise

I know spring flowers are on the way...!

Thanks for remembering us in your prayers. I had a blood draw on Friday and nearly all my blood counts are back in normal ranges. The iron infusions helped a lot. I already knew I was feeling better even without the blood draw to confirm it.

We have had very good meetings in Michigan and Indiana. We are prayerful that the Lord will move churches to help in our support.

Our daughter-in-law needs some help during her last 5 weeks of this pregnancy and I am planning of traveling to Virginia for two weeks to help her and our grandson with whatever they need.

Jim will be going to a missions conference in the Saginaw, MI area next week. It is the first time I will not go with him to a meeting to present our Brazil work.

Thanks for praying for us.

"Green" spirits

Sometimes the regular news of each day can be a drag on my spirit. I hear about recession, look at the struggle of the U.S. dollar against the ever-strengthening Brazilian Real, watch the political fighting in presidential races, and try to keep a right focus on the sovereignty of God.

I am reminded of Jeremiah 17:5-8.


Thus says the LORD,
“Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind
And makes flesh his strength,
And whose heart turns away from the LORD.
“For he will be like a bush in the desert
And will not see when prosperity comes,
But will live in stony wastes in the wilderness,
A land of salt without inhabitant.
“Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD
And whose trust is the LORD."


I need to trust in the Lord to continue to yield good fruit and not be caught up in anxiety during heat and drought times. We need to be green in the leaves of our spirits.


“For he will be like a tree planted by the water,
That extends its roots by a stream
And will not fear when the heat comes;
But its leaves will be green,
And it will not be anxious in a year of drought
Nor cease to yield fruit."


We drive up to Houghton Lake, MI on Saturday. The church will allow us to present the ministry on Sunday, and we will drive home Monday morning.

Please pray for us as the Lord lays our particular needs on your heart. Thanks.

The next three weeks

We will be traveling to northern Michigan each of the next two Sundays. On March 2nd we will be in Kalkaska, and on the 9th we will be in Houghton Lake. Both areas are beautiful and potentially snowy this time of year!

On the 16th of March we will be in Lapaz, Indiana for a missions conference, and the following week we will be in our home church for Easter.

Bob, Janelle, and Olivia are moving to Ohio to begin a new ministry. They will have their first Sunday in the new church on Easter.

As always we do not take your prayers for granted. Thanks for praying for us.

"Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God."

Hanging in there

Just a quick note...
We will be making a trip to Alger, Michigan tomorrow to present the work tomorrow evening. Alger is about an hour north of Saginaw, Michigan. Pray for support and more good contacts. We plan on returning Thursday.

We have had a couple of large expenses come up this week. Please pray for provisions.

We would also appreciate your prayers for staying healthy as we travel and shake lots of hands!