Busy April

Well, the pace has certainly picked up in the last week or so, and no sign of slowing in the near future. On Saturday (April 12th), my home church hosted an area-wide youth rally with around 65 people attending. Of course, the days ahead were busy with preparation. On Sunday evening (the 13th), I had the opportunity to speak at a small church in Famersburg, Indiana. They support the Smiths, the missionaries with whom I will be working. Also this week, my church has been having evangelistic meetings with Mark Kittrell.

Friday, Belinda Richter, a fellow PNG missionary, will be flying into Bloomington, IL. She will spend the night with me, then on Saturday we will head to Cedar Rapids, Iowa for a Sunday - Wednesday missions conference. We'll come back on Thursday, then I'll leave Saturday for Wisconsin. And so it continues:-)

Being busy is a good thing though, as it means many opportunities to present the ministry in New Guinea and also opportunities to impact people as I share with them what the Lord has done in my life.

Please continue to pray for safety and increased support in the Lord's time.

Answered Prayer

Thanks so much for your prayers for the airstrip inspection. It basically went well, and the inspector gave conditional approval for a shorter airstrip. We will still need the approval of his superior but at least the first obstacle was crossed.

This past weekend, I had a deputation meeting in Aurora, IL. The pastor of the church is someone I had known as a child, so it was fun to renew old acquaintances and catch up.

This coming weekend, one of my supporting churches is hosting the statewide Illinois ladies retreat. I am going along with several ladies from my church. I am looking forward to the rest and fellowship, as my schedule will get very busy after that.

Thanks again for your continued prayers and encouragement.

Please Pray

I just returned from a three day missions conference in Woodville, WI. It was an enjoyable time. There were three other missionary couples that I had not met before, and it is always good to fellowship with other missionaries. The church was rather small but very friendly and took excellent care of us. Now I'm for the next week or so and involved with Easter activities at my home church.

I received a prayer request from my future coworkers that I wanted to pass on. I have mentioned before about the difficulties of our transportation situation. Our road has been completely closed for a few months now, and the nearest airstrip is about an 8 hour hike. On Thursday morning (Wednesday evening US time), some inspectors from the government will be coming out to look at our proposed airstrip. We need them to approve a shorter than usual airstrip in order to use the site we have available.

Please pray for safety for those traveling, good weather to allow the travel to occur, and favor in the eyes of the inspectors. While this is only a preliminary approval, it is very necessary in order to have an airstrip in our village. Praise the Lord that we have a prayer hearing and prayer answering God!

A Quick Note

I thought I'd better take some time to post a quick update. Since my last entry, I spoke in western Indiana and then went from there to Milwaukee, WI to attend a week long conference at Falls Baptist Church. The Lord really worked during the week and opened my eyes to truths from His Word, turning head knowledge into heart reality.

On Friday, I received a call from a church that I visited last February. They voted last Wednesday to take me on for support. That increase brings me to 61%. It is a blessing to see the Lord at work in this area.

I am now safely home again and trying to get caught up on housework and paperwork. I also am trying to put some time in at the hospital again after a 3 1/2 week absence. I don't hit the road again until mid-March, and I am enjoying the brief break.

Frigid Wisconsin

While I'm home again after another foray into a very cold and snowy Wisconsin. The snow sure does make for pretty scenery though. I was at Holmen, Wisconsin on Sunday, February 17th. I was slated to speak in the Sunday evening service, but the area received around 9 inches of snow throughout the morning and early afternoon. That made for a rather small crowd on Sunday evening.

On Monday, I drove about 30 minutes east to Sparta, Wisconsin where I stayed through Thursday. I enjoyed getting to know my hostess, a single lady with two cats. She collects flamingoes. I never dreamed that flamingoes came in so many shapes, sizes, and uses! I spoke in a church there on Wednesday evening.

I had planned to leave first thing Thursday morning, but the cold overnight (around 15 below zero), apparently did a number on my car. But the pastor very generously spent his time and energy getting it running again. I left Sparta around 2pm and arrived safely in Springfield to greet another snow storm. This has been quite a winter:-)

Overall, the trip had some unexpected turns, but, as always, the Lord was faithful. It never ceases to comfort me that He not only knows the future but controls it as well.

As an additional encouragement, I got a call Wednesday night from a pastor in Georgetown, IL. That church voted Wednesday evening to take me on for support. That increase brings my support level to 59%.

South Carolina

As expected, February is developing into a very busy month. My few days away at the beginning though were both enjoyable and profitable and helped to provide spiritual strength for my schedule. Last week, I enjoyed being in my home church for the services on both Sunday and Wednesday. I had planned to speak in Schaumburg, IL on Wednesday (February 6th), but that meeting was cancelled due to a forecasted 10 inches of snow. Thursday morning, I started for South Carolina. I stopped overnight in the Cincinnati, Ohio area to go to the Creation Museum. That was very impressive and informative. I would highly recommend a visit.

This week I have had the privilege of being part of a mission conference at Heritage Bible Church. I and the other missionary wives spoke to the ladies on Saturday morning, then I presented my ministry in the Sunday evening service. It has been enjoyable, although a bit daunting as Heritage is a very large church, at least 5 times larger than any of my previous churches. But the Lord gives grace whether I am speaking to many or to few.

On Friday, I will head back to Illinois, then leave Saturday for Wisconsin. A case of extremes, as I go from warm South Carolina to frigid Wisconsin:-) But I'm excited to see the Lord at work there as well.

Home Again

It's good to be home again for a few days. I have been gone the past two weekends, first to Wisconsin, and most recently in eastern Illinois. I spoke in three churches and met many kind people. It is a blessing to see the Lord at work in ministries in so many places. I've been doing quite a bit of driving beside the flat, empty fields of Illinois. It's amazing how even their barrenness has its own sort of beauty.

I'm taking a couple of days later this week just to get away. It's easy in my busyness to forget the reason behind it, and I wanted to just spend some time with the Lord and catch up on things. February is shaping up to be a very busy month, but I'm excited to see what the Lord will do.

Keep praying that the Lord will accomplish His perfect work in me and get me to New Guinea in His time.