If you read our general family update you know our days have been full. It’s been hard to arrange one on one meetings with individuals, as schedules are all so varying in the summer months, but God has faithfully led us on. His Word says He will direct our steps and He will provide. He has.
We’ve been privileged to visit four new churches and share what God has done in our family over the last few years, and the the work He is doing through Sports Friends. It always encourages our hearts when we meet brothers and sisters who are so eager to introduce more young people to Jesus Christ. It remains amazing to us how interconnected the global church is; how we can each play critical roles in building God’s kingdom in some really dark places, just by doing our specific parts. Some work secular jobs but invest generously in what is eternal. Some spend hours of their time commodity in intercession, doing work that no dollar, program, or person can accomplish. Some are on the ground in Asia, Africa, North and South America, training coaches, running teams, and bringing the light of Christ to each of these 240,000 youth in Sports Friends. What a privilege to work right in the middle of it all, to be a connection point between them all as part of International Support Services. We get to see and serve both sides of the equation, stay abreast of events and needs in many fields, and watch new doors opening. Please continue to be in prayer for our growing work with refugees in Sacramento. The opportunities to reach out are huge, and effective logistics and manpower must be supplied by God.
Bob has begun to work part time from his office space kindly provided in our home church, and loves the feel of officially beginning. We still have some significant support raising to do, however, so our time remains divided until we reach our financial goals. We have been so eager to get to work within the Sports Friends ministry, and are so thankful for this step forward!
Mary’s work has been to develop the boys’ education system and establish a new rhythm according to God’s wisdom for this season. The ER always affords opportunity for good conversations, and settings to look for the move of God in. I’m ever intrigued by the ebbs and flows in types of emergencies as I am constantly learning about the triune us, as interconnected spirit-soul-body. The spiritual impact on physical (and obviously psychological) wellness is such a real but poorly discerned thing in western care. I’m beginning to look ahead, also, toward short medical-oriented trips perhaps for next year. I would so appreciate your prayer for the Father to direct this intricately. I have well learned better than to let my zeal or limited understanding lead the way to anywhere. He knows with precision, and as I take one step at a time I trust Him to unfold the path.
In the meantime, He gifts with all sorts of surprises that are perfectly constructed to bless in multiple dimensions. Just a few weeks ago I was introduced to a precious new sister: a Middle Eastern single mom, who was recently baptized as a follower of Jesus. This is a woman I had begun praying for specifically after God had led her into the path of other friends who serve among Mslm populations in the States. In the powerful goodness of Yahweh, she has secured a good job and moved in amidst the quiet cornfields, just a few miles from here. We have begun to meet weekly to read the Bible and pray, and she is beginning to teach me Arabic. How it blesses my heart for God to so gently but powerfully (if only you knew the story) place a sister like her right here, where I have longings to love and learn from Mslm women and discover Jesus with them… but there aren’t so many such women around here to befriend, and I am not in the setting to go hunting for them! Further, three years ago I felt prompted to learn Arabic, but had no idea when and how that was going to happen in real life. What freedom there is in believing Him when He says something, and waiting for the details to come forth.