Which Animals are These?

Below you will see some pancakes that we made while Gramma and Grampa Ward were in town several weeks back. Can you guess what animals they are? This top one is somewhat easy (I hope). The bottom two might be a little tougher.

Just thought it'd be fun and different to post this than the usual comments. Enjoy.

Which Animals are These?

Thanksgiving....Long Drives....and Chicago

Okay, I don't have much in me to write right now, but....

Thanksgiving was great. We drove 12 hours to get to western Maryland to be with my (Jim's) parents. We enjoyed ourselves, though were very tired on Sunday in light of the trip.

We got home Sunday evening around 5:00pm. Then, we woke up (sara and I) at 4:30am to get me to the airport by 5:30am to fly to Chicago to get to the Peruvian Consulate for visa stuff.

Then< I flew back to St. Louis by 2:30...okay, so can I just say I'm tired. :)

On to the Next Trip...

So, Sara and I arrived back in St. Louis Sunday afternoon. We then proceeded to pack and get ready for our Thanksgiving trip to western Maryland.

Today, the kids went to school for a half day and did their Thanksgiving Day program and we ate lunch with them. It was a blast!

Then, we left immediately after to go as far as our bodies would let us (which turns out to be Richmond, IN in a Motel 6).

HAppy Thanksgiving!

Mission to the World Conference - We're Back

We just got in town a few hours ago....collected our dear little ones...and are now trying to settle back in - FOR TWO DAYS and then traveling to my (Jim's) parents in western Maryland for Thanksgiving. Whew hew!

The weekend in Atlanta was fantastic simply because the Lord Jesus was so kind to bless us all with His Word and presence and rebuke and love!

Sara and I are highly challenged and encouraged at the same time! :)

Atlanta Bound...MTW Missions Conference

Hey All,

Sara and I are flying to Atlanta tomorrow (Fri) to partipate in the Mission to the World missions conference for the weekend. We're looking forward to meeting lots of new faces and maybe reconnecting with some others.

Por favor...continue to pray for God to bring in the support that He wants us to have so that we are able to leave for Peru and begin working there.

The Ups and Downs of Our Hearts

Yesterday, I had the chance to speak at two churches here in the Saint Louis area. It was very encouraging (as it always is) to share what God is doing in Lima and what He's called me and Sara and the kids to.

On top of that, we received a $500 check from someone, out of the blue, that we didn't expect in the least! It was a blessing and surprise and made us spontaneously thank our Father for His obvious control of life and it's details and our needs.

Yet, today, as I woke up and began to get into things, already I have a heavy heart and my doubts seem so real about will we raise the 100% of our support and when will we ever get to Peru. My heart is such a sad, dysfunctional, messed-up, broken place. How quickly I can go from such a "high" to such a "low."

I am SO thankful that God's love for me, His ability to use me and His call for us to go to Peru doesn't rely on my ups and downs!

Abuelo y Abuela en Saint Louis

My (Jim's) Dad and Mom are in town so it's hard to keep up with blogging at the moment. But, I thought at least I'd tell you that much!

:)

Talking, Talking

So, last night Sara and I were able to visit a small group here at our church (New City) in St. Louis and talk more about Lima and our calling. As always it tends to be a blessing to us to be able to share our true hearts and passions for this work that God is doing.

I so appreciate folks who willingly listen and respond to God's movement. I hope that I can be that way more and more.

Owensville, MO

So, Chloe and I decided to take a road trip to Owensville, Missouri. We've been wanting to visit there for a while and Chloe finally said to me the other day, "Dad. We really need to go this weekend to Owensville!" So, I said, "Let's do it!"

:)

Okay, so that's not exactly how it went down.

Nevertheless, Chloe and I found ourselves worshipping with dear brothers and sisters in Christ in Owensville, Missouri at a church called Redeeming Grace Fellowship. It was a sweet time to hear about how God CLEARLY moved to bring this church plant about. And so, for me, it was fun to talk about how CLEARLY God moved to bring about the church plant in the Salamanca neighborhood in Lima, too! :)

Pray for those dear folks in Owensville whom God has called to be "oaks of righteousness" (Is. 61:3) in that area and agents of grace.

This Sunday coming up I'm going to be preaching at a church in Washington, Missouri Sunday morning and then going to present the work that God is doing in Lima Sunday night at a church in "West County", Saint Louis.

Pray for me and for the Family in Christ who is listening to what God has me saying. Pray that He will call the willing hearts to give and support generously His work and our calling.

Enero (January)

Our heart's desire is to leave for Lima in January.

Will that happen? We don't know. But, we are asking the Lord to allow this to be so and working to make this happen. In the end, our priority is to wait on the Lord and go when He says so.

Pray with us.

Pray for January to be our departure date.
But, also, for us to wait on Him and not be impatient.