Family, Birthday, Mothers Day

 May has already been busy. My sister's family with seven kids came to visit for a week. We had a good time showing them some of  Maine's beauty. We spent a few hours at tide pools, flew kites on the beach, and then went to watch seals for awhile a little further north of our house. We were also able to show them the naval ships being built in Bath.

We had a ladies' tea on Mother's Day weekend, and my sister shared her journey with her son Joel who was born with a heart condition and several other crazy medical conditions. The ladies enjoyed getting to know the family they have been praying for for the last two years.

Sunday was Mother's Day. My brother-in-law spoke in the Sunday morning service, and the kids sang. Unfortunately, I somehow did not get the camera to record the sermon. We had a good crowd in church. I cooked Mother's Day dinner which included a lamb roast which everyone said tasted like roast beef. The kids were not impressed with trying it when they knew it was lamb. We had two ladies from church come for dinner as well.

My birthday was the 10th. After a crazy morning, we went out to dinner at a cajun boil restaurant. Afterwards, we had cake which my niece decorated to look like an ocean. My sister and brother-in-law decorated the room with a travel theme. It was a fun time.

Over the last few weeks, I've been collecting stuffed animals for Guyana.I have quite a few already, and several more people plan to bring more. These animals will be given to the VBS kids as prizes.

Please continue to pray for the upcoming trip to Guyana. There is still a lot of prep work to complete. The girls have both raised a good chunk of money, and I am happy to see them see how God can provide when you step out on faith.

My mom got some different news regarding her hip muscle tears. After two years, we she was finally seen by someone who seems to know the exact reason she is continuing to have so many problems, constant pain... She does have tears in the muscle, but this new doctor also believes she has an issue with the hamstring which is the constant pain issue. Surgery is not recommended. Therapy is the best option, and now knowing all the problems, hopefully they will get the right kind of therapy.

I haven't mentioned it in awhile, but there is still an unspoken situation which needs lots of prayer. God can do miracles, but people have to be willing to let Him.

April showers bring may flowers.

 This month has been very busy. I finally got the last ticket purchased for the missions trip to Guyana and Chile. The girls were able to raise some funds on their own which is exciting because they have seen God provide for them. Please pray that God will use this trip to encourage them to continue in helping missionary families until God shows them a different direction.

I helped a young lady move to Iowa to get a new start in life. Please pray as she is already facing some new difficulties while trying to do what God wants her to do right now. Please pray that God will reveal His will to her and that she will respond with a yes. There are new opportunities available to her that were not available before, and I look forward to seeing how God can use her and her testimony for His glory. Please pray for her family as they deal with some very hard things over the next few months.

I am excited that my sisters family is coming to visit in a few days. This will be their first trip to Maine and the ocean. We are look forward to showing them all the places we enjoy going to watch seals, pick up shells, and just enjoy God's beauty in nature.

Please pray as God may be opening some new doors for me to be able to influence more young people into doing short term missions. I truly believe that relieving the missionary wives is one of the greatest tools which can help missionaries stay on the field, but along with that, young men can preach, teach, go soulwinning, swing a hammer to build, and a lot of other things that can be a relief to the missionary husbands as well. It really doesn't matter how old or young someone is; God just wants to use people to help missionaries.

Please continue to pray for my mom. She has had a new MRI on her torn hip muscles, and she has some new orthopedic doctors she is supposed to see. Please pray they can o something that will allow the hip to heal.

March Madness

 No not basketball madness, just a crazy busy different kind of month. I thought I had posted an update earlier this month, but I must have sent out an email update instead.

I cannot explain all that my family has been dealing with this month, but my dad began preaching on spiritual warfare, and things began coming out of the woodwork so to speak. Please pray for our church and my parents.

I will be travelling with one of our young ladies as she moves out of state. Please pray for her as she begins a whole new life. God is working to show her the potential she has to do great things for Him.

All of the tickets but one have been purchased for the missions trip to Chile and Guyana. Our group is down to three, but I believe God will use us to be a blessing and help to the missionaries. One request the missionary in Guyana has made us that we try to bring stuffed animals down for the children. Size doesn't matter, and they can be used but in good condition. If you would like to help with this, you can send them to  me at 178 Graham St. Biddeford, ME 04005 I would need them to be in by the second week of June to prepare them for travel.

I would appreciate prayers as I am trying to find either very cheap land or a cheap house on land in Mississippi. I need a place to set up a homebase from which I can travel.

The Month of Love

 February is the month of love. This month has brought som struggling people into my life who are greatly in need of love. Please pray that God will work in their lives through some very difficult circumstances.

I have booked the first set of tickets for the missions trip to Guyana and Chile. Please pray that the prices of the tickets to Chile will drop a lot. Please pray for the young ladies who are going as they continue to raise support and complete the college studies. I will be selling some craft items at another preachers meeting in a couple of weeks, so please pray I can raise a good amount of funds for the trip.

There is still a major unspoken request that needs God's help to remedy. Please pray that truth and righteousness will prevail in this situation.

My mom's health has been good overall the last couple of months. She is still dealing with torn hip muscles, and is now dealing with an issue with insurance. Please pray that all this works out.

Travel, Surprises, Speaking

 I apologize for not posting for a whole month. I was keeping my plans for January a secret due to some surprise trips I planned to make. I flew from Boston to Chicago on January 19 in order to speak with several young ladies who plan to go on the trips with me this summer to Chile and Guyana. I found out that there would be a missions conference at the same time as my travels. Due to being close to my sisters in southern Indiana and Iowa, I also planned to surprise them.

I stayed with my great Aunt Anna, and we had a blast visiting with each other and her kids for the first two days I was here in Indiana. I was also able to attend my alma mater Friday chapel service. On Sunday, I attended the Chinese Sunday school class where I worked when I was in college. it was fun to be able to sing in Chinese again and see my teachers and friends. I was able to see some friends who were serving in China and had to leave and move to Taiwan. They hope to return to China on a special passport, so pleae pray God opens this door.

On Monday, my aunt I drove an hour and half to my sister's house in southern Indiana. It was so fun to knock on the door and surprise her and her kids. We played some games and just enjoyed some good conversation. I wished I could have stayed longer, but we had a hectic schedule for that week.

On Tuesday, my aunt and I attended the missions conference to hear Dr. Sisk speak. He led my grandparents to the Lord many years ago, and I would not be in missions today were it not for him. My aunt had never met him, and my grandfather was her brother, so it was a special night for her. The service was amazing. They had 194 countries represented by various flags and costumes. The church here has taken on 21 new missionaries in the last year, and some of those are in middle eastern nations.The harvest is getting greater while they laborers are getting fewer.

On Wednesday, my aunt and I drove to Iowa to surprise my sister. She and all her kids couldn't believe it was me because she thought I was too busy to be able to come. we stayed overnight until about 11 am the next morning. We played games, hide and seek, and just talked for a long time.

For the last few days of the week, my aunt and I went shopping and spent time with family. On Saturday night, my aunts two daughters and their husbands came over. Through various avenues of conversation, I was able to give a clear Gospel presentation. On Monday night, I went to my cousin's house, and her husband was again talking about religions. Please pray that the seeds planted will cause all of these to trust in Christ. They are all Catholic.

On Sunday, I was invited to the pastor's house for lunch with several other people. It was n enjoyable time talking with others who have a heart for reaching people in various ways. The pastor's wife asked me if I would speak to 90 young ladies at college, and I did that today. What a blessing and privilege to be asked to speak at my alma mater. The ladies listened, and many came to thank me and ask me questions about my ministry. Please pray God will use some of them to do the same thing I do in helping missionary wives.

Many of the young ladies are children of missionaries, children of friends of mine from college, or children of my former teachers... What a blessing to see the next generation following in their parents footsteps.  One girl was just a baby when I first came to college, and now she is in her third year. 

My meeting with the girls who plan to travel to Guyana and Chile went very well. Their main concern is for their first months college bill when they return as they will be losing 6 weeks of work to make this trip. They are stepping out on faith, and so am I to make this trip happen. 

If you would like to give towards this trip, please message me, and I will tell you how to send your gifts. I have a bank account set up specifically for this trip, and all the funds will be used to help these girls go, and any leftovers I will use to help with their college bills. The ticket cost right now is between $2000-2500. I am hoping it will go down, but I need to begin purchasing the tickets very soon. 

Please pray that God will call many young people into his service to reach people around the world and be help to those who are already serving there.

Please pray God will provide all the funds for this trip to Guyana and Chile.

Please pray for my mom's health to continue to improve.

Please pray as I begin planning the series of trip to England and Europe which were cancelled in 2020 due to covid.

Christmas

 Our Christmas play went very well, and my neighbor came to see it. I have been trying for a year to get her to come to church. Please pray that God will continue to soften her heart. We had many visitors including families of some of our kids. Please pray these parents will understand their need for a Saviour and church.

We had a good crowd on Christmas day with over 50 in attendance. After church, my parents and I headed to Corning, NY to visit with dad's family. We were able to see many of his siblings and some other relatives. We spent the day playing games, eating, and catching up with everyone.

On the 26th, we headed to Seneca Falls. On the way we stopped by our old neighbors, the Nolts. They were Mennonite farmers who had a little store. We kids would walk over and pick up necessities and candy bars. It was a sweet few moments of reminiscing with them.

Seneca Falls is the town which Frank Capra replicated Bedford Falls after in It's a Wonderful Life. The town has a museum with many letters, pictures, and memorabilia pieces from the movie. We missed seeing the actors, and reenactments that they have the second weekend of December, but we hope to go another year for that. They are working on a museum with scene replications from the movie.

From Seneca Falls, we headed to Fort Drum to see my cousin. Her husband is in the military. We had fun playing games, and she stayed at the hotel with us, so we were able to chat a bit. Please pray for her family as they had a death of a close friend and relative. Pray that God will use this time to see people trust Him as Saviour.

On the 27th, we headed to Johnstown, NY. On the way we visited the Oriskany Battlefield, the Herkimer House, and Johnson Hall. The battles in the Mohawk Valley were turning points in the War for Independence. It was interesting to learn some things you don't find in history books.

We are back home, and we are preparing for a New Year's party on Sunday with our church family. Please pray that our church will get a vision for reaching the lost, building our kids program, and reaching the parents of these kids.

Please continue to pray for my mom's health. Please continue to pray for the unspoken situation I hve asked pray for many times. Please pray for the upcoming missions trip. Pray that the girls who are supposed to go will have the faith to believe God will provide.

Another Late Update

 Somehow, an update didn't get posted here. November was a busy month with continuing to care for mom. Her cancer surgery went well, and all the biopsies came back negative for cancer. She will have a checkup in 6 months. We are so relieved to know that now her body can heal her torn hips without having to fight cancer too. Please pray as she has been having issues with her insurance being changed. She is trying to go see doctors in Boston but keeps getting a runaround.

Thanksgiving was a nice day. We invited a neighbor whose husband passed away last year and two of our older ladies from church. We enjoyed a delicious turkey dinner. I don't remember why, but I was in and out a lot the day before, and mom ended up doing a lot of the prepping. She was definitely tired when it was all over. It was a nice day all around.

I can't believe we are already into December. Time rushed by this year even with all the ups and downs. Tomorrow is our last Christmas play practice, followed by caroling and passing out gingerbreads with tracts. Please pray that people will be saved because of this endeavor. After caroling, we will have a Christmas party. Please pray that all our kids show up, and pray especially for one family who is really struggling. Pray also that we will have visitors on Sunday and see people saved.

I am continuing to work on the missions trip with the young ladies. I sold about $100 in shell crafts at a preacher's meeting last week. I met another young lady who is interested in the trip. Please pray that she will contact me soon. Please pray that God will help the girls to have faith that He will provide for the trip and their school bills. Some are struggling with this. The trip cost is $2000-$2500 depending on ticket costs. The girls school bills are about $1000/month. If you would like to give towards this trip, please contact me and I will tell you how to send the money. I have set up a bank account specifically for the trip.