Dear Friends,It has been several months since our last update around Thanksgiving. I apologize for our sporadic communication. Life and[...]

Dear Friends,These words from the author of Hebrews were a great encouragement as I read them recently. They provide such[...]

Dear Friends,These words from the author of Hebrews were a great encouragement as I read them recently. They provide such[...]

Dear Friends, Our updates have been a casualty of a very full past three months. This one is long overdue![...]

Dear Friends,Our updates have been a casualty of a very full past three months. This one is long overdue! We[...]

Dear Friends, As 2021 comes to a close, we would like to praise the Lord for His goodness to us[...]

Dear Friends, As 2021 comes to a close, we would like to praise the Lord for His goodness to us[...]

Dear Friends,As 2021 comes to a close, we would like to praise the Lord for His goodness to us and[...]

Dear Friends, Hello from South Africa! We pray you all are doing well. We know this has been a difficult[...]

Dear Friends, Hello from South Africa! We pray you all are doing well. We know this has been a difficult[...]

Dear Friends, Hello from South Africa! We pray you all are doing well. We know this has been a difficult[...]

Dear Friends, Hello from South Africa! We pray you all are doing well. We know this has been a difficult[...]

Dear Friends, Hello from South Africa! We pray you all are doing well. We know this has been a difficult[...]

We have several items of good news to share with you from the past month! We have much to give thanks for during this season of Thanksgiving.

Greetings from George, South Africa! To my shame, it’s been a couple months since I last sent an update. A lot has happened—here are the cliff notes (with a few pictures) . . .

A verse in Acts 17 left a lasting impression on my heart and mind several years ago as I was reading through Paul’s visit to Athens. As a result of seeing the idolatry in Athens, Luke records this response of Paul:

Though the nations rage, kingdoms rise and fall, there is still one King reigning over all. So I will not fear for this truth remains: that my God is the Ancient of Days. Though the dread of night overwhelms my soul, He is here with me, I am not alone. O, His love is sure, and He knows my name, for my God is the Ancient of Days. Though I may not see what the future brings, I will watch and wait for the Savior King. Then my joy complete standing face to face, in the presence of the Ancient of Days. None above Him, none before Him, all of time in His hands; for His throne it shall remain and ever stand. All the power, all the glory, I will trust in His name, for my God is the Ancient of Days. For my God is the Ancient of Days.

With the modern-day reality of endless news programming, we are certainly not at a loss for constant information about the current global crisis. Most of us like to know the latest news and numbers. I would guess the majority of us have read quite a bit about the coronavirus and watched numerous reports and briefings.

The city of George was in a frenzy this past Thursday. The roads were crowded with cars. The sidewalks were packed with people. The lines at the stores were inordinately long. There was a sense of urgency mixed with uncertainty in the air. The government-imposed COVID-19 lockdown was scheduled to begin at midnight, so people were scrambling in panicked preparation. It was the storm before the calm.

It’s hard to believe, but we’ve recently gone beyond the one year mark of ministry in South Africa. The Lord has been faithful just as He promised, and you have been a great encouragement to us along this journey.

The work on the buildings and property begins! We just wanted to provide a quick update to let you know that payment was made by December 1 for the purchase of the first property and the down payment for the second property. We officially take possession of the properties January 6, 2020, but we have permission from the owner to begin some basic renovation work in one of the buildings immediately.

Our study in Acts this past Sunday had me thinking about divine appointments. We were looking at the story of Philip’s encounter with the Ethiopian eunuch. God’s fingerprints are all over the story. How a Gentile eunuch and a Hellenistic Jew wind up meeting on a road south of Jerusalem in the middle of a desert can only be explained as an act of God.

As I was preparing for a Bible study this past week on James 1:1-11, a phrase in verse four impacted me in a significant way. So, I thought I would write a short reflection on it, trusting that it will challenge and encourage you.

As promised, here is the news about an exciting opportunity regarding the purchase of property to support our three primary ministry initiatives of church planting, theological training, and gospel outreach!

A lot has changed since the last time I wrote at the end of April. We traveled back home to the States April 29—8,000 miles in about 34 hours. The primary purpose of our visit was a wedding. The Lord gave us a wonderful day for Carissa and Dustin’s special day on May 19! While giving Carissa away is a big change, we are certainly happy to welcome Dustin into our family.

A lot has changed since the last time I wrote at the end of April. We traveled back home to the States April 29—8,000 miles in about 34 hours. The primary purpose of our visit was a wedding. The Lord gave us a wonderful day for Carissa and Dustin’s special day on May 19! While giving Carissa away is a big change, we are certainly happy to welcome Dustin into our family.

I’ve been reading Job recently as I work my way through the Old Testament. It may be one of the most difficult books in the entire Bible to process. So much of Job’s story seems completely incomprehensible and unbearably extreme. Yet, it speaks to one of the deepest questions of our human existence: WHY is this happening? (chapters 1-37). It also speaks to the greatest need of our faithless hearts: submitting to the One WHO is in control of all things (chapters 38-42). When why is the question, Who is the answer.

We are approaching the three-month mark since our move to South Africa—hard to believe! And, we’re a month away from returning to the States for an occasion we are very much looking forward to—our daughter’s wedding!

Just wanted to provide a quick update on my surgery. I had the surgery Monday afternoon was able to come home early afternoon today (Tuesday). My first experience in a South African hospital was largely positive except for a bad night’s sleep, but that’s not unique to South African hospitals!

Here is a quick update on the goings on and how you can pray for us .

Our silence over the past two weeks has largely been due to unpacking our container and settling into our house. We received our container on January 16—two weeks after we arrived in South Africa. Needless to say it was an encouraging day to get our stuff from home!

Thank you for your prayers on our behalf over the past several days. We arrived safely on Wednesday without any significant travel glitches. Saying goodbye to our church family, our family, and especially Derek and Carissa, was harder than we could have imagined. Please keep praying for grace for this ongoing heartache.

After months of talking about and planning for our move, our departure date for South Africa is now just two days away. We are in the process of saying “goodbye” or preferably, “see you later” to people that we love—our family, our church family, and many friends.

Our container is packed and on its way to South Africa! We are so thankful for many friends who helped us with this challenging task. Now we are praying that it arrives by the end of December as scheduled.

The next step on our journey is the packing of our container. Originally we were told it would take two months to get our stuff from the US to South Africa.

Today’s mail brought us the envelope we’ve been waiting for and praying about. Enclosed in the USPS mailer were four passports with visas for South Africa attached to a page of our passports. God has provided what we need to go to South Africa!

We plan to drive to Chicago Wednesday to apply at the Chicago consulate for our volunteer visa on Thursday...Read more here.

We plan to drive to Chicago Wednesday to apply at the Chicago consulate for our volunteer visa on Thursday...Read more here.

Tuesday, we went to the consulate in New York to get our visa situation reviewed. The lady there told use they are not allowed...Read more here.

We made it to L.A. and visited the consulate. Here is the result. Read more here.

We never thought the journey to South Africa would go through Los Angeles, but that is the way it's going to be. Read more here.

Here is a quick update on our progress to make it to South Africa. We have a visa situation that we would ask for your prayers. Read more here.