Lasts & Firsts

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A lot has happened in the last month, and even more changes are coming over the upcoming two months, as they will (hopefully) culminate in us leaving for language school.

Westwood Baptist, Bethany’s sending church, hosted a spaghetti dinner and silent auction at the beginning of the month to help raise our outfit and passage fund. We were very blessed by all the hard work and generosity displayed by the church during that time.

A few days later we headed to the French Consulate in D.C. for our visa appointment! Thankfully everything went smoothly and we even had time to stop at a few museums before heading back home.

That same week we finished up our Story of Hope Bible study, clearing us to attend our last training seminar at ABWE. So beginning Monday, we will have two full weeks of training!

One thing we have enjoyed doing during our time in Roanoke is hosting game nights for friends in our apartment complex and nearby. As sad as we were to plan and have our final game night, we had a great time playing and eating good food with our friends, and we are thankful that each ending is a reminder that something new is about to begin!

We just returned just a few days ago from an eight-day church missions conference in New Jersey.

Three other ABWE missionary families were part of the conference, and we took turns sharing about our ministries. Despite never having heard of this church and not knowing a single church member beforehand, we left feeling like family! We are so thankful for the kind hospitality, encouragement, and prayers they lavished on us. 

During the week, we were given our first tour of Old City, Philadelphia and enjoyed a day of cobblestone streets, history-filled churches, Independence Hall, the famed Liberty Bell, and of course – genuine Philly cheesesteaks. We also had a chance later in the week to relax at the beach in Ocean City. 

This conference marked our last scheduled church presentations before we have our sending services. Another last that is bittersweet!

Thanks to the generosity of several individuals, we are now fully supported monthly! We have prayed, shared, and then watched as God did His great work of prompting hearts in order to overwhelm us by His provision of exactly what we need.

As training, packing, and goodbyes start to keep us very busy, we are praying even more fervently that God will provide the rest of our outfit and passage. One thing that we are learning lately is that God cares about even the tiniest details of our lives, and he doesn’t consider any request too trifling a matter for Him to be involved in. So we are encouraged by the fact that He knows where every cent of the remaining $43,053.12 in setup expenses will come from, and we are learning to be more specific in how we let Him know our needs and desires.

Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!” ~Matthew 7:7-11

Prayer praises & requests

• The protests in Togo have remained mostly peaceful after a series of back-and-forth escalations. Thank you for praying.  The next series of protests is scheduled for two weeks so please do not cease in your prayers.
• Praise God with us for supplying all of our monthly support!
• Please pray with us that God would continue to supply our one-time (outfit & passage) costs
• Pray also for us as we:
  • travel
  • attend training — that we would stay focused and retain important information
  • visit family over the holidays, saying our goodbyes
  • pack — particularly our shipping container for Togo

Thank you all for your continued prayers, encouragement, and partnership! We are very thankful to have such an encouraging group of believers behind us as we seek to follow God’s leading for our lives. Hardly a day goes by that we do not face some sort of spiritual battle. Sometimes it is harder to walk in the Spirit and we know Satan is constantly trying to prevent us from being effective and wholehearted — whether it is through a little thing such as struggling to keep a positive attitude during a mundane task or bigger issues like feelings of doubt, impatience, and discouragement. We know that it’s only by keeping God’s Word before us, leaning on Him, and having all you prayer warriors faithfully interceding for us that we can overcome these hurdles. So please know you are a vital part of our ministry, even now as we haven’t even gotten to the field yet!