Thursday, October 8, 2009

October Newsletter

In September we were blessed to be able to take some time out to visit with Annette’s Mom, cousins, aunts, and uncles in El Dorado, Arkansas and Lewisville, Texas. On Tuesday we spent the afternoon with her cousin Terry, Uncle Charles, and Aunt Sis. It was especially sweet to spend time with these relatives, as we don’t get to see them very often. My aunt Sis is someone who’s love for the Lord has always been the grounding point for her life. God has blessed me in a thousand ways through her. Not only did we enjoy our time spent with them, but we also were able to enjoy some of the cultural activities of El Dorado, eating a fresh hot Spudnut (a potato-dough doughnut that puts all others in the shade), and going out to Abe’s Feed House for all you can eat fried catfish. We also helped Mom, doing a few odd jobs, and further complicating her life by bringing her a computer, connecting her to the internet, and helping her to sign up for Facebook. Our hope is for her be more connected to us once we leave.


We are continually amazed by the doors the Lord opens to us. I think that God is always doing more than we can see and occasionally He allows us a tiny glimpse into His work. We know that this will sound somewhat strange, but in some sense we’re glad that we don’t have all our support in hand yet. Our tendency would be to stop going, talking, and pursuing this part of our journey. With the task complete why continue to speak? But, we have come to believe it is not just about raising support. This journey is also about what God wants to do in our hearts and the hearts of those to whom we speak. We do not know if He will use us to encourage someone else to answer a call to go on a short term mission trip, sign up to go with us, birth a heart of prayer for missions and God’s kingdom work, or one of a thousand other possibilities that we have yet to consider. But this we do know: God is always about more, usually much more than we can think or imagine. So, we continue this process and continue to rejoice in all the God is doing in the hearts of His people.

After our time in El Dorado, we went to Lewisville, Texas – a suburb of Dallas - to visit with several other relatives. We are not able to be with Edie and Don very often, but it is always a joy to visit them. We never expected all that they would do encourage and help us by introducing us to their friends, their Sunday School class, and their pastor. We were so warmly welcomed by all of these believers. Don arranged a meeting with their pastor on Sunday afternoon - the one day when pastors have so little time and so much time pressure. What a gift!  Pastor Wells was so gracious and open to all we shared, and we were so blessed by his church.


Sunday evening we were able to visit with Jamie Peterson and the new church plant he is leading in Frisco, Texas. Our visit fell on the second Sunday that Christ Community Church met for worship. Jamie very graciously allowed us time in the service to share our calling and our work. Interestingly there was one young woman in his congregation that has been to the CR, to Brno - a city very near Zlin! It is so amazing to see the way God knits and weaves together His people. We seem to be running into people all the time who have been to the Czech Republic or have some connection there. So, we are continuing to follow as God leads in our contacts. We never quite know what to expect, only who to expect: God. He is continuing to do great things for the glory of His Name. Thank you, dear friends, for allowing us the joy of seeing Him at work in you. All to the praise of His glorious grace; grace, grace, amazing grace!