Kenya For Christmas?
They are already beginning to play Christmas music at our local Caribou Coffee shop. I love Christmas music, but anytime before Thanksgiving is a bit early for me. However, hearing that this morning also brought to mind the reality that we are listening to Christmas music at a Caribou in Minnesota, rather than at a school in Kenya. And that’s…hard. We will treasure the opportunity to spend the holidays with family here, but we are also longing to be living in our new home at Rift Valley Academy and begin serving there!
We currently have 70% of our monthly amount pledged, which means we need just a little over $2,000 more per month before we can be cleared to go. To put that into perspective, that’s twenty people giving a little over $3/day to support, not just us, but to make it possible for missionary families in Africa to continue preaching the gospel to those who have never heard. We are praying that the Lord would raise up these individuals and churches by the end of November so we can begin serving at RVA by the start of second term (January 2017).
In October we had the privilege of traveling to Florida to visit friends, family, and to drop by the African Inland Mission retirement community. What a joy that was!! We want to include a couple of pictures of dear people that were long-term missionaries at RVA. The first picture is of Lilli with Elaine Barnett, and Jack and Bunny Wilson. Elaine (Mrs. B) was Lilli’s field hockey coach in her senior year at RVA. She proved to be an enthusiastic, fun-loving coach… leading her team to “play skillfully with a shout of joy”! Lilli remembers Jack Wilson to be her math teacher that helped ingrain the “times tables” back in 7th grade. They have not been forgotten!
The second picture is of Lilli with Mark and Pam Hodel who were dorm parents at RVA when we were – back in the late 90’s. Pam was a source of great encouragement to Lilli in her new role as a wife, mom, and dorm mom. Thank you, Pam. Check out her new book on Amazon called Simply My Window by P.K. Hodel. You will travel the world through its pages as she beautifully and honestly shares the journey that God has brought them through so far. Pam speaks of the abundant life consisting of loving God supremely and loving our neighbor as ourselves.
Our sixteen-year-old, Tiana, had surgery on both eardrums on October 26. We praise God for the skill of the surgeon and for Tiana’s fast recovery. Time will tell if the surgery was successful as it will take 2 months for her ears to completely heal.
This Friday, November 11, we will be traveling to Richfield Springs, NY to meet and present our ministry at a church there over the weekend. Then on November 20, we have the privilege of being part of a missions Sunday at a church in Woodbury, MN. Please pray for these opportunities and that our gospel partnerships and friendships would continue to grow. Thanks to you all for your continued support!
