July 2022 Prayer Letter

As our furlough comes to an end, we can look back at what God has done and know for sure that He was in control of every detail.  The past year has not unfolded entirely as we would have planned, but we can definitely see His hand throughout. What began as an unexpected medical leave led into our scheduled furlough time which we are ending sooner than expected due to God already providing most of what we were hoping to accomplish while here.

We had 3 main goals in mind when coming stateside in 2021.  We needed to raise new ministry support due to rising ministry costs.  We wanted to raise the finances needed for the new church property. We also had some personal items that needed attending.  Since November, we have traveled several thousand miles and presented the ministry in more states than we visited in our year and a half of deputation!  Thankfully, we have gained some new supporters and others have said they are considering partnering with us through their missions program.  This is a huge blessing for the ministry!  We were also able to raise what we believe will be needed for the church property.   To God be the glory! Thank you to all the churches that allowed us to come through and for your confidence in the ministry in which God has allowed us to be a part. 

This furlough has been very fruitful, and we are ready to go home. It seems like daily we mention something we miss in Bolivia. We always miss our family here when we leave, but God has placed our hearts in Bolivia. Our flights are scheduled for August 3rd, and we are ready to return to where He has called us. 

Please pray with us over our new church property and the paperwork involved to be finished soon.  It seems the process could take another 3 to 6 months which is longer than I expected.  I was hoping to start building as soon as I arrived back but that does not seem as if it will be the case.  We will go ahead with the building plans and have everything in order for when the paperwork is completed and, Lord willing, we can begin to build.

We also ask that you continue to help us pray over the ongoing Anchor Baptist Mission-Bolivia project. We realize our return to the field will cause progress on this project to slow down until our next furlough when we will again be able to present it to more churches. However, the need is still very great. We are currently planning to host 6 different groups, individuals or families who want to come to Bolivia before Christmas.  Many of these visitors could stay in the mission house portion if it were already in place. We knew this project was too large to finish in our short furlough, but there has been much interest. We are farther along than we expected to be at about 1/3rd of our goal. This type of progress is very encouraging, and we are beyond grateful to God for this. Please help us pray about how we can continue moving forward even while we are on the field.  

This should be our last correspondence from stateside for a while.   Thank you to everyone that has been a help and encouragement to us during this furlough.  We appreciate your encouragement and prayers