Merry Christmas! We close 2018 in just a few days, and marvel at what God has done this past year in our family and ministry. We traveled widely throughout the United States, holding meetings in Alabama, North Carolina, Louisiana, Michigan, New York, New Mexico, West Virginia, Ohio, South Dakota, Wyoming, Indiana, South Carolina, Texas, and Colorado. We praise the Lord for salvation decisions made in those meetings, as well as other important decisions. We also praise the Lord for His protection over the thousands of miles that we traveled.
A highlight of our year was our family mission trip to the Philippines during the month of May. We spent a month ministering in different churches and teaching music in two camps while there. Sarah and the girls stayed busy making a lot of handmade items to sell to help support our mission trip expenses. A lot of yarn went into that trip! We are not sure where our next mission trip will take us, but we are exploring our options for 2019.
This has been a bittersweet year in that it is the last that we will all travel together as a family. Josiah is a senior in high school this year, and will graduate next spring. His plan is to attend Ambassador Baptist College where he will study for the ministry. We are so excited, and yet, it means a lot of changes for our family. He is an integral part of our music ministry as well as the first to leave the nest. We know the Lord has great things in store for him, but we are going to have to adjust when he is away at college.
Our trailer has been in what seems a constant state of repair this fall. We traveled without it for our last two meetings of the year, due to breaking a leaf spring while driving on Thanksgiving Day, which was a real adventure. We rigged it with a block of wood and a few bungee cords and drove it another 500 miles to Mississippi where we left it. Since we had to get to our next meetings, we only had a day to gather all our necessary belongings, pack them into suitcases, throw them in the bed of the truck, and get to our next meeting, which happened to be in Texas. It was a little more excitement than we had anticipated, but the Lord saw us through. The trailer is currently in the repair shop awaiting parts. Please pray that the issues we are having would be corrected for good. It is very difficult to maintain an itinerant ministry schedule when your “ox is in the ditch” more often than not. We are praying for direction and provision for the trailer issues, since it is a big part of keeping our family together on the road.
We are so grateful for what God has done in our lives this year, as well as what He has allowed us to be a part of in our ministry. We could not accomplish this without the prayers and support of God’s people. Your prayers on our behalf are important, and we thank God for the churches and individuals He has placed along our way. Please continue to pray that God would open doors of ministry for us, guide us in our daily decisions, provide for our needs, and protect us as we travel.
Prayer requests:
Meetings for 2019
Souls saved
Lives surrendered to God
Trailer repairs (that the current ones would be fixed, and that there wouldn’t be any more problems for a looooong time!)
College preparation for Josiah
Summer job for Josiah (due to our constantly being on the road, he has not been able to have a job, and he will need to earn money for college)
Continued health for our family
Esther is scheduled to have a peanut challenge allergy test on January 7, 2019, to conclusively determine whether or not she is allergic to peanuts
Direction and provision for our 2019 family mission trip
May the Lord give you all a fruitful and prosperous new year.
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