Tag Archives: prayer letter

February 2022 Update

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Each year I appreciate God’s immutability more and more.  Though life’s changes continue to roll out at an ever increasing pace, God, His promises, and His purposes remain rock-solid.  Here are some changes we have recently been facing and will face in the near future.

We are currently in the middle of two “State of Emergencies.”  The first is in regards to the energy crisis caused by natural gas issues with Russia.  The second is in response to the drastic rise in COVID-19 cases.  Currently, without a COVID pass, we cannot go to most “non-essential” businesses.  Thankfully, we are able to still continue on with our ministries.  At the end of January, some illness went through our family, possibly the omicron variant.  We thank the Lord that most of us are well again with just a lingering cough and fatigue.  Please pray for Stephanie, though.  She may have some sinus infection.

A couple weeks ago, I showed up to lead the evangelistic Bible study with a older man, Vladimir.  Sadly, I found out that he moved to Chisinau.  Jacob and I had been witnessing to him for many months.  There seems to be evidence that his interest and understanding of things has been weak.  Please pray that I will find another open person to take his place.

Most of you probably are aware of the warnings the West and America has made of a possible Russian invasion into Ukraine.  We thank the Lord that thus far, there has been no actions from Russia to validate those claims.  Since Moldova is stuck between Ukraine and Romania (NATO’s eastern border), there has been concern over what would happen to Moldova, were Russia to invade Ukraine.  In response, we have been in contact with our pastor and field director and have an evacuation plan in place were the need to arise.  Please pray for the world leaders and for us to lead a quiet and peaceable life (1 Timothy 2:2).

We have turned in the needed documents to our lawyer in order to renew our residency permits.  Though we do not know of any reason they should be denied, please pray for us to find grace in the eyes of Immigration and be granted another three-year permit.  On February 4th, we celebrated our 12 years anniversary of service here in Moldova.  We pray the Lord blesses us with many more years of service for Him here.

The Hughes are scheduled to return to Moldova from furlough later on in March.  Upon

Family News: Abby got her braces off!

their return, we will have about three weeks together before we head out for our four-month furlough on April 12th.  We are focusing on visiting the churches we were not able to visit last furlough in 2018.  I thank the Lord that the meetings are all booked now.  To those of you that were able to schedule us in, thank you very much.  To those churches we were not able to visit this furlough, we will do our best to schedule you in on our next furlough.  As I did for our last furlough in 2018, I will mail prayer cards to all of our supporting churches and make our furlough video available for you to view and show.  Please pray for us as we continue to prepare for furlough (as it is no small task preparing to leave your home and ministry for months).  Pray that furlough will be a time of refreshment for our family and an opportunity for the Lord to use us in the lives of other believers.  Please also pray for the Hughes as they continue on with the ministries here in our absence.

Thank you again for your prayers and financial support.  We are looking forward to seeing many of you this summer.

December 2021 Prayer Letter

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Dear Praying Friends, thank you for all your prayers. We had the prayer letter typed up a month ago, but David’s hard drive died and took several weeks for him to resolve that problem. But in that time God brought several more interesting events into our lives.

We have often mentioned Tamara in our prayer letters, whose life of suffering has only continued.  On October 7th, her husband, Alec, passed away.  In addition to this heartache, her cancer is now attacking her only remaining kidney, requiring her to have further radiation treatments in January.  Please pray for the emotional, spiritual, and financial needs of this lady.

In November, we found out that our village’s mayor and his wife passed away from COVID.  David and I thought we were going to calling hours on the evening before the funeral, but when we arrived, we found out that there would be none.  We were invited in and were able to spend some time with the family and leave them with a Gospel tract.  Please pray for God to use our visit and the tract in their lives.

Over the past several months, David has been trying to witness to the husband of a lady in our Soroca church-plant.  The first discussion with him ended with him saying, “I don’t want to hear any more about sin.  I’m not a sinner.”  After his wife left to spend some time with her daughter in Russia, the Lord opened up other visits with her husband before he left for Russia.  In the end, her husband ended up coming to both the midweek service and the Sunday morning service before David drove him to the airport the following Tuesday.  He heard the Gospel both times.  Please pray for the Lord to work in Vania’s heart and for him to come with his wife to services upon their return in the Spring.

In the beginning of December, a lady called David and explained that her mother was dying and insisted on having a Baptist funeral, even though all of the rest of the family is Orthodox.  Though David had been a part of a couple funerals in different aspects, he had not led one himself.  David and I went and visited the dying lady that day, and she passed away a couple days later.  When David called some Moldovan pastor friends of his for input regarding doing the funeral, one of them offered to come and assist him, which was a huge blessing.  The Gospel was given multiple times during the funeral.  Please pray for the Lord to draw this dear family to salvation.

Caleb, our oldest son, has been taking advantage of his free time in the afternoon to go out and meet people of all ages and hand out Gospel tracts in our neighborhood. An elderly man he has talked to several times is interested in coming to our services. One fifteen year old boy said he was interested in Bible study. We haven’t seen any fruit from these claims, but the gospel is going out through him, too, and we are excited about that.

David continues to pass out tracts in town, looking for opportunities to witness. He continues to do Bible study in town with a couple “V and L” as well as a Bible study out in a village where he led two ladies to the Lord last year. They have gotten a real zeal to share Christ with others but have met discouragement because the gospel has not been received very well. Pray for these ladies that they will continue to share Christ with others and make a difference in their village. Pray the Lord will open more doors for Bible studies, especially with men.

Several weeks ago I (Stephanie) was able to give the gospel to a lady at the outdoor market. More recently another door opened for me to go through the gospel again. With this lady in particular, there is a language barrier. She doesn’t understand Romanian and I speak very little Russian. She speaks some English, and she can understand when I speak about things that are familiar. The gospel and God are not familiar, so David plans to go talk to her because his Russian is better, though he, too, is limited. Pray for “A” to get saved.

Several weeks ago I also got to speak to the lady who works right across from the lady I just mentioned. I asked her if she reads the Bible. She reads Psalms and the Prayer book, but she did not have a Bible. I said I would get her one. The next week I went to take her the Bible that I had promised, only to find she had already bought herself a New Testament. I was shocked and so excited. David was with me that day and gave her some questions to answer as she reads through John. She is Orthodox but very friendly. I am hoping I can continue to point her to the truth of Jesus Christ. Pray for “E” to trust Christ.

Please pray for us to have boldness and Spirit-filled ministry as we go into a new year of serving Christ.

June 2021 Prayer Letter

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Life is like a box of diapers…. it’s always full of changes. Sometimes we fear changes, but change can be a good thing.

CHANGES IN SOROCA

Over the past few months, we have had several visitors join us for services. One lady, “O,” has come a couple times. She had passed our building many times with an interest to visit and finally gained the courage to come. Another lady, “L,” came from a village about 45 minutes away from Soroca, having made a profession of faith in a Baptist church year ago, and wants to be baptized. Another lady, Tatiana, has been coming to our services when in town visiting her parents who live up the road from our house. She is working to transfer from another city and move here to help take care of her aging parents. Two deaf women also visited our service once. Stephanie has been doing Bible studies with a young woman named “O,” too, who has been coming to services. Please pray for us as we do follow-up and seek to minister to these new folks.

A fellow believer in town, Irina, who was not a member of our church plant but often came to special events, went home to be with the Lord in the middle of May. A year ago, she was fearful and troubled as she saw the cancer progress and confine her to her bed. The last six months, though, we saw major changes in her life for the better. She sought to focus on glorifying God even with her bedridden state. She wrote poetry to God, gave Bibles to her caretakers, and had a much sweeter spirit. Stephanie and I visited her a week before she passed away. When she prayed, her words were filled with thanksgiving to God and praising Him for His mercy and goodness to her.

Since December of 2019, a young man, “V,” has been coming to the Thursday midweek Bible studies on evenings he does not work. We have given him the Gospel multiple times and had gone through Jacob’s Thursday series on Romans. Recently I had lunch with him and went through the Gospel again, answering questions that he had. He seemed to understand it. I helped him pick up some large items from the capital city the next day, which gave us all day to talk. He then asked if baptism is the point when a person officially crosses the line from lost to saved. When I told him that comes AFTER the new birth and reviewed repentance and faith for salvation again, he looked at me and said, “Well, I made that decision last year.” He then explained how he had been meditating on what Jacob had been teaching on Thursdays and came to believe in Christ! Please pray for “V” as we follow-up and help him take the next steps for Christ.

COVID CHANGES

Most of these changes have been positive changes over the past couple months. We are no longer under a state of emergency and the number of new COVID cases per day has been under 100 in the whole country. Due to this, we have been able to resume the Bible Club in the village of Cosăuți. Sadly, though, the teen boys I started mentoring before things shut down again have been moved to another facility.

Last year, we were unable to run Vacation Bible School due to the pandemic. With there being fewer cases and regulations, we were hoping to have it in July. Unfortunately, we are at a standstill waiting on the government to decide on whether summer camps can run and what regulations will be imposed. I have talked with our lawyer in the capital and also been in contact with the mayor’s office here in Soroca. I was told that one reason nothing has been decided on yet may be due to the impending threat of the Delta version of COVID-19. Please pray for us to hear soon on something definite regarding VBS in the near future, even if the answer is a no, so that we can make plans moving forward and get out of this limbo.

CHANGES WITH OUR OLDEST

     Thank you to all who have been praying for our oldest and the emotional/mental battles. Though struggles still exist, we are continuing to see improvement and greater stability and consistency. We are thankful for the Christian counselor that the Lord has provided. Please continue to keep this in your prayers.

CHANGE IN PLACES

     If you remember Tamara, the lady battling cancer and a host of other health problems, who trusted Christ a couple years ago, she is actually doing better physically than she has in a long time, though far from being healthy. Her husband, Alec, who walks with two brace crutches all the time, fell while working in the field alone. He injured his neck and was completely paralyzed for several days. He now has regained movement in his arms but still cannot use his legs yet. I have never met a family that has gone through so many trials, one after another. Please pray for their spiritual encouragement and many financial needs to be met.

CHANGE OF PACE

      For the last two weeks of June, Stephanie’s parents finally had an open window to come visit us. What a joy it was to be with family again. We spent the last week with them on vacation for a much needed break from the usual demands of life here. I am so blessed to have not only Christian parents but also in-laws. Their visit was truly a fulfillment of Proverbs 25:25: “As cold waters to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country.”

POLITICAL CHANGES

     On July 11th, Moldova will hold Parliamentary elections. Since the newly elected president, Maia Sandu, is limited by the balance of power in Parliament, the possible positive future changes for Moldova hang in the balance. Please pray for a fair and peaceful election and for God’s will to be done.

Thank you very much for your continued prayers and financial support.

April 2021 Prayer letter

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I read last night that Russia stationed around 80,000 troops at the Ukrainian border and Crimea. The eastern part of Moldova, Transnistria, which declares itself independent of Moldova and has over 1,000 Russian troops stationed there, has had increased Russian military activity, too. Soroca is only about 15 miles from the northern border of Transnistria. Ever wonder if those in power think, “People are tired of the pandemic. Let’s make things more interesting!” But we need not fear what circumstances or man may do unto us. We have the promise of God’s sufficient grace, His mercies that are new every morning, and His great faithfulness.

As we rest in His promises, we continue on in the ministries God has for us. At times they have been cancelled due to not knowing how the government expected churches to comply with new restrictions. Thankfully, we are able to meet for church at present, but our weekly children’s ministry and my teen mentoring are still on pause.

There have been some unexpected opportunities and open doors recently. In shopping for a need at the outdoor market, I talked to the vendor, trying to steer the conversation to spiritual things. He did a lot of talking so I thought it was going to be another dead end conversation. I was able to ask questions, though, and the man became sober as I talked about the coming judgment and our sinful state. I was able to encourage him to read his Bible, and gave him three questions to answer in the book of John. With his promise to read, he invited me back to talk again about these things. I plan to continue to visit him and hope to start a Bible study with him. Pray for M to see His need for Christ and become one of His disciples.

In December a lady O called me and told me she had a need. This phone call has resulted in her coming to church with her three small children and starting a Bible study with my wife. She has been saved for several years but has been taught little from the Bible. She has a great desire to know more. Pray for O to continue to grow in Christ, and pray for her husband V to have the same insatiable desire.

I have mentioned Tamara in my prayer letters many times over the last few years. After leading her to Christ I have kept in contact with her, though she lives an hour away. She is still suffering with cancer and diabetes as well as financial difficulty. In the last few months she has been able to get the surgeries and radiation treatments that she needs and she is feeling so much better. The terrible sores on her back are mostly healed. However, she is still having sores surface on other parts of her skin, which is baffling the doctors, who have not seen this sort of thing in their thirty years of work. Pray for the doctors to have wisdom to treat her successfully, and pray that Tamara will continue to be a light to her husband A, and her two grown children.

Our whole family has been delighted to step out of the gray of winter into the green and loveliness of spring. The children are excited to play outdoors more regularly and ride bicycles again. With Spring always comes planting for us. We enjoy supplementing our food budget with fresh, homegrown fruits and vegetables. We usually try something different in the garden each year, so this year we are trying raised beds. we am still in the midst of assembling them and filling them, hurrying to get the Spring seeds planted.

Back in November our oldest had voiced concerns about feeling different emotionally. We thought at first that it was just hormonal changes. But when it didn’t go away and became worse, we sought outside help. Now she meets with a Christian counselor each week online, and we praise the Lord for the improvement we have seen. Please pray for her success and growth in facing these challenges and for us to have wisdom in helping her.

Other children have been battling their wills. Pray for us as we endeavor to point them to Christ in all things, that they may conquer and stand strong as good soldiers and delight to do God’s will. It is not enough to produce good children; our desire is that they will love God with all their heart, soul, and strength.

Over the past many weeks the Lord has given me an opportunity to meet with a young man C, who lives nearby, to teach him English twice a week. I have also been able to test his interest in spiritual things, and he seems to be open. Several years ago, he had comet the VBS at our home and showed much interest. Last night, after our lesson, he told me that he would like for us to start studying the Bible together! He is almost done with school and seems very teachable. Pray the Lord will use the study to make another disciple for Christ.

For over a year now I have been doing a Bible study with V and L. Due to V’s trips out of the country each month in the past and due to the pandemic, there have been many weeks when we could not have the study. In spite of the intervals, they have continued to show their interest in the studies. Since we arrived at the Ten Commandments L has seemed more detached from the study. Perhaps the Lord is convicting her. But V has been right with me understanding and agreeing. They seem close to salvation in some ways, but we know Satan does not want to see this through. He wants to hinder. Please pray the Lord will conquer in their hearts and that they will repent and be made new creatures. We would love to see them become disciples of Christ, baptized, and added to the church.

Thank you for your continued prayers and financial support. We could not do the work over here without you holding the ropes.

January 2021 Update

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As with each new day, a new year comes with the promise of God’s mercy, grace, and faithfulness.  I sometimes feel like pinching myself and hoping that some of the current events over the past year are just some bad dream…. but it isn’t.  We live in the current reality.  But this current reality has a biblical context, one that gives us hope, strength, and peace.

GOD’S FAITHFULNESS IN 2020

    At the end of the year, I enjoy looking back over the past year and counting our blessings and accomplishments through God’s grace.  The spiritual blessings included a one-day winter VBS, evanghelistic women’s meeting, finishing a one-year evangelistic Bible study in Bulboci resulting in two women trusting Christ as Savior, our daughter Ana trusting Christ, getting away for my first spiritual retreat alone with God for a couple days, creating a five video Gospel series on YouTube in Romanian during the lockdown, and making inroads with the Gospel into the lives of several others.
Other blessings included growing a fruitful garden, stable financial support from churches and individuals even during the pandemic, some extra gifts sent to us that allowed us to meet our needs and be a blessing to several other families in need, having the means to replace Stephanie’s tablet when hers suddenly died, seeing our oldest children develop lifeskills (Abby wrote several books and Caleb is learning robotics and programming), we had only a mild form of COVID-19, and those we minister to saw God’s provision and help through the quarantine.  Though last year was far from how we had envisioned or planned, God was faithful.

GOD’S MERCY IN MOLDOVAN ELECTIONS

    In our last prayer letter (November), I explained the political situation here in Moldova with the presidential election.  The second round of elections were held and on December 24th, Maia Sandu was inaugurated as the new president of Moldova, winning over the socialist who had held office the past four years.  She is pro-American/Europe with a desire to hopefully take Moldova in a better direction with less corruption.  She has a long road ahead of her, especially since she would need the agreement of parliament to make necessary changes.  Please pray for Moldova under the new leadership.

TWO NEW BIBLE STUDIES

    A man I met through the Christian medical mission team outreach several years ago contacted me again, requesting a new pair of reading glasses.  After visiting him and talking, he was interested in me leading a Bible study at his house.  We have now had four weeks of lessons with him, his wife, and some others using the same Firm Foundations: Creation to Christ study I have been using with others.  They live in Bulbocii Noi, the village next to where we have been working the last several years.
In Bulboci, I continue to meet with the two new believers and a couple others each Wednesday for discipleship.  Praise the Lord, there are some others who are interested in going through the same FFCC chronological Bible study that they went through, opening the door for a new study group in the village.  Lord willing, Jacob will begin meeting with them later this month.  Please pray for the Lord to bless these new evangelistic Bible studies in the villages.  Please also pray for me with a couple other meetings with people that may lead to regular meetings.

UPCOMING KIDS’ CLUB

    Since the pandemic hit in March, we have not been allowed to hold our weekly children’s Bible club at the children’s home in the village of Cosăuți.  We were about to start two new things there, going through the FFCC children’s version and a new boys’ mentoring group afterwards.  We finally have the open door again to return later this month, Lord willing, on the 19th of January, as long as no one there tests positive again with COVID-19.  Please pray for a good reunion and for the Lord to bless our Gospel influence there once again.

EVANGELISTIC SERVICE

    On January 3rd, the Sunday before “Old Christmas,” we invited people we know to a special Christmas service where we focused on why Christ came.  We praise the Lord that one teenager came.  He had come to our VBS in the past when he was younger and had also come to the kids’ English lessons.  He followed along very well during the service, even answering questions that I had asked.  Please pray for the spread of the Gospel here in the city of Soroca.  Thanks again for your prayers and support!

September Update

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It flies. It helps to heal hurts. We race against it. We often wish we had more of it. Time. My mind has recently been pondering how short life is and how the time we have is so precious yet fleeting.

TEAM RETREAT
The first week in August, we had our annual team retreat. Looking back over the past year, it was amazing how much time was taken by lockdown and quarantine. Though not as planned, we thanked the Lord for many things accomplished and look forward to what He is going to do in the following 12 months.

2016

2020

SARAH BODALY
It is hard to believe that Sarah worked alongside of us for over four years and has already left. Thank you for praying for her return back to the States. She, her cat, and all her luggage made it safely to America. Please pray for her as she transitions to the next stage of ministry and life.

MILESTONES
So does the rest of the world call them kilometer-stones? Just kidding. In July, our little bundle of laughter and joy turned 6 years old! Hard to believe. Ana loves putting smiles on other people’s faces and brightening things up with her presence. She loves to help others, do her school work, and learn more about her Savior. In August, Stephanie and I celebrated 16 years of marriage, and in September, I turned 39. God has blessed me with a beautiful, content, hardworking wife who loves the Lord. She has sacrificed so much and continues to do so to follow me and the course set before us. Pray that our marriage will stay strong and be an example to others of Christ and the church.

TWO NEW BELIEVERS
When our mentor first introduced us to the “Firm Foundations: Creation to Christ” evangelistic Bible study, I cringed at the thought of the study taking a year to complete. He reassured me that he has seen the most lasting fruit from those who come to Christ through the chronological Bible study. The time paid off and ended up being a worthy investment. The two lost women who have faithfully come to the study trusted in Christ as their Lord and Savior! Not only do they believe the Gospel of Christ, but they also understand the main message of the Bible and how it threads through Genesis to the New Testament.
I am now discipling them as we study through the Gospel of John together. They long for others in their families to hear and believe the Gospel. Please pray for these two women, Iulia and Ioana, to grow in Christ and learn to make other disciples for Christ in their village.

EXPIRED TIME
Last week, while talking with another neighbor, he asked if I had heard that Victor died a month ago. My heart sank as I realized which Victor he was referring to. The Victor who used to prune our vineyard. The Victor who surprised me by going sober for over half a year last year before falling victim again to the cold clasp of alcoholism. The Victor with whom I pleaded once again this past winter to repent and trust in Christ. The time for him to do so expired. After hearing about his death, I really struggled the rest of the week. I was thankful that I had preached the Gospel to him on multiple occasions, but I still wondered if I could have done more. Please ask the Lord to give us boldness to continue preaching the Gospel.

EXTENDED TIME
Several months back, I met my friend’s neighbor, a young man, who usually works in France. Since he also knows a good bit of English, we were able to strike up a conversation. In the end, I asked if he was interested in us getting together. We began meeting at a cafe in town once a week to study English and the Bible. What I thought would only be a couple weeks before he would return to France has now stretched on to a couple months with no set date on him leaving. Not only has he been doing his Bible reading homework, he has been asking wonderful questions like, “What did Jesus mean in John 3 that we must be born again?” Unexpectedly, the barista has joined in our discussions on the Gospel of John. Please pray for “M” to continue learning more of the Gospel and trust Christ and for the barista, “V” to start reading through John on her own.

God continues to meet our needs through your prayers and faithful support. Thank you and God bless you.

July 2020 Prayer Letter

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We know the Bible tells us to be thankful. Sometimes, humanly speaking, it is easier to do so than at other times. In spite of the current circumstances, we have much for which to thank God.

CORONAVIRUS UPDATE
Since our last prayer letter, much has changed. Though the numbers here continue to rise and put Moldova as one of the highest European countries with cases per capita, we are thankful that things have “opened up” over the past month. We thank the Lord that no one in our family, team, or church has fallen ill from this.

CHURCH SERVICES
After the lock down quarantine was lifted, services were only allowed outdoors, but due to several issues, we were unable to do this. We made plans to go and visit the believers individually on Sundays. We sang, prayed, and gave a short challenge from the Bible. The widows especially rejoiced to have visitors and to spend some time together.
A couple of weeks later, the Moldovan government allowed churches to meet indoors as long as specific guidelines were met. With each family group being 2 meters apart, having body temperature checked upon arrival, and all wearing masks, we were able to start having services together again after three months of quarantine.

REMODEL PROJECT
Since we were not using the rental for services, we had decided to give a much needed new coat of paint to the rooms. Ironically, after we decided to start this project, the government declared we could start meeting indoors in a week. Not wanting to miss out on the first possibly Sunday together again, we worked all week and were able to meet again on Sunday, June 7th. We thank the Lord that we have such good landlords for our church rental. Not only did they not charge us for an entire month during the quarantine in Soroca, they also offered to reimburse us for the money spent on the remodeling project.

NEW DOORS OPENING
We thank the Lord for the opportunities God is opening up for sharing the Gospel to the lost and discipling believers. Sometimes the doors do not remain open very long, but as long as the door is open, we desire to walk through it.
I have several right now that I am meeting or soon to be meeting with. Stephanie also has a couple women she is working on. A 15 year old boy who used to come to our VBS and ESL classes has recently been coming over to our house to spend time with Caleb. This past weekend, I began witnessing to this boy’s father. Please pray for us to have boldness, compassion, and wisdom as we seek to lead others to Christ and make disciples for Him.

FAITHFUL SUPPORTERS
We thank the Lord for you and our other faithful supporters. We have been humbled and encouraged by the emails you have sent us, letting us know you are praying for us. Some have asked how we are doing and if we have any needs. We thank the Lord also for the financial support that we currently have. While it may change down the road if things grow more difficult, we are thankful for the Lord’s provisions right now.

GARDEN
This year, though not without big problems with insects and diseases, has been one of the best garden years for us thus far. The children have been a big help in keeping the weeds at bay and helping to harvest the fruits and vegetables. I love seeing them in the cherry trees having a good time picking (and eating) the harvest.

SARAH BODALY
Though this is sad news for us as a team, we are thankful for all Sarah Bodaly has done for the ministry here the past 4 years. Lord willing (this is really important to say these days!), she will be transitioning to a new phase of life and ministry in the States this August. Her love for ministering to children and those hurting has been so evident and will be a great asset for what God has in store for her. Please pray for us as we adjust to ministry without her this fall and for her as she prepares for the big move.
Thank you for your prayers and support, even through these difficult times.