Grace to you, and peace from (still) warm Florida. We hope this newsletter find you all relatively well (we know that there are lots of sicknesses going around right now!) and absolutely grateful (because our joy is based on the truth of His mercy and not on our circumstances).
And where has the time gone! We are nearing a year since we committed to joining ITEC. First, we apologize for forgetting to send out an update for so long. It’s easy sometimes to forget in the mundane of the day-to-day that you all want to hear from us.
It has been encouraging to read back over journal entries from a year ago, remembering our confusion of what we should be doing and where. All the waiting and ups and downs brought us to what God had been preparing us for all along. We are thankful for His faithful provision and guidance and are joyful in seeing the fruition of the plans of “Him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us. (Eph)”
In our last update we said we had likely found a church home. But, after several months it became clear that was not where God wanted us. After more consideration and plenty of visiting we are now members at College Road Baptist in Ocala, We are thankful for a church home that is faithfully growing in teaching and living out God’s Word together – something that is rare in this area of Florida. We’re looking into starting a small home-group and hope, as God wills, that it can also be an outreach to our neighbors as well.
So what has been keeping us occupied these last months?
Bethany is enjoying having days with some of the other mamas from ITEC and their children. Their most recent adventure involved all of the children making Christmas cookies (and messes) and creating God-focused memories and friends for the children and other mothers. She also enjoys fellowshiping at MOPS (Mothers of PreSchoolers) meetings and get-togethers, getting to know our neighbors and other friends better.
The kids have found their “ministry” in being spoiled by our older neighbors who have made them as grandchildren. Caleb is learning how to ride a “big boy” bike and Selah enjoys cruising with him on the balance bike. They both love to play outside barefoot in the grass (You can do that during the winter months in Florida!) and especially love playing in the dirt. The moles in our neighborhood kindly provide fresh dirt mounds for them to topple almost every day so there is never any lack of fun.
Jonathan enjoys working at ITEC, with their amazing crew, and knowing that it is more than just a job – it’s a calling and helps to fulfill the great commission with training (and technology work) aimed at making disciple-making disciples by equipping the saints with the tools they need to reach to every nation. He has ups and downs as with any work; the monotony of repetitive everyday tasks and failures of plans, projects, and relationships, and the constant fatigue can veil the beauty of the successes and the grander plans that are being worked out. If you want to find out more about what goes on specifically at ITEC every month, we highly recommend subscribing to that newsletter as we won’t often repeat those events in ours.
Our family enjoyed ITEC’s recent family day – Caleb was thrilled to finally get to fish for real with his Papa even if he didn’t enjoy sitting and waiting for the fish to bite or touching it once it was out of the water. He wrinkled his nose and asked Papa to get it. Selah enjoyed being around all of the people and being “the baby” for the other girls. The rest of the family fellowshipped with the team members and showed off our Bocci Ball skills.
On special weekends we might hike nearby or Kayak or take a boat out on the Rainbow or Withlacoochee Rivers. Both are relaxing ways to enjoy the unique creation around here. Surprisingly (or not so much so if you know us well) we don’t get to the beach all that often. But there is no lack of activities to do here.
Soon, (as the Lord wills) we will be visiting our family and friends in North Carolina for Christmas before, again Lord willing, making a return trip to Togo in January to say official goodbyes and wrap up details our belongings that are left. When we packed up to come back to the US, we believed our medical furlough would be, at the most, 3 months. And now, exactly two months shy of three years later, we hope to finally be back, if only for a short bitter-sweet few weeks. We left with a 9 month old baby and will be returning with a 3.5 year old and a 21-month old.
- Pray for safe travels over Christmas and New Year’s as we visit family and friends in North Carolina.
- Please pray that all the details of our trip to Mango will work out – visa, COVID tests, etc. We will be gone for three weeks. Pray for health both Stateside and in Togo. If you recall our planned trip last year was cancelled because one of us had COVID. But also, we don’t want to get Malaria (or anything else) while we’re there.
- Pray for moment-by-moment wisdom as we seek to train our children well – pray especially that God would draw Caleb and Selah’s hearts to His, that we can help them to carry out Kingdom work and seek His glory.
- Pray for the salvation of our neighbors as well as friends we’ve met at MOPS and parks, etc. – we have found there is so much opportunity for ministry here, but we need wisdom to know where/who to focus on and how to not take on too much at once.
For those wanting to send holiday or birthday cards or gifts, the address is 13535 SW 113TH LN Dunnellon FL 34432
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