But now I am airborne with our largest ministry team to date and heading back to Guatemala. So when I found out Delta was offering free in-flight internet for the holidays I realized my next three hours of captivity could be partially filled by addressing my severely neglected blog.
So, let me begin by saying that I am, indeed, alive. As I write this, our family is 30 days away from our move to Guatemala. Preparations are in full swing and we are excited to finally have our new ministry in our sights. When I return on January 2nd, we will have 11 days of packing and selling left before leaving to visit family in NC and PA. There is still so much that remains to be done that our to-do list seems rather daunting. But our excitement and adrenaline is keeping us going through the fatigue.
In the midst of all the work, our family was able to enjoy one of our best Christmases ever. We were able to spend Christmas Day serving the Lord and others in a ministry that was very near and dear to our family. In addition, on Saturday, December 18 our family went down to Kids Against Hunger to help pack food for malnourished children. I can’t recommend this organization enough. For a quarter a day you can provide a meal a day for a child. Combined that with a trip down to Cincinnati to work with them for two hours, you can provide and pack enough food to feed a child for a year. And families are welcome to work together, with children as young as age three helping.
Kids Against Hunger is providing the food for our Wheels of Hope program (our rural village ministry). I would encourage your family and church to get involved by supporting them with both your money and time. You can find out more at www.kidsagainsthunger.org.
This whole Christmas season was made more significant in that we spent last Christmas and New Year in the hospital with Joshua. As a result, we have treasured every minute of our freedom and health this year. Plus, we really enjoyed God’s gift of a white Christmas!
As we move into a new year, I greatly appreciate your prayers on behalf of our team as we serve for the next eight days. This week promises to be challenging as my daughter, Brittney, and I will be sharing leadership of our team of 20. In the midst of the week, I will also be meeting with lawyers, real estate agents, banking officials, and ministry representatives. Please pray that these meetings go smoothly and quickly and that I am able to complete the tasks that are crucial for our move. Also pray that God moves in mighty ways in and through our team.
Please pray for our family as well as we complete the final preparations for our move. We need God’s guidance and strength in the coming month.
I promise it will not be another 6 weeks until another update. In fact, I will likely post several this week.
Happy New Year to all of you!
