Dear praying friends,
The last few months have been turbulent for our family to
say the least, as we have navigated a major life and ministry change. Thank you
to all who have been praying for us! It has been so encouraging to have so many
people reach out and remind us that they’re praying. We want to give you an
update and ask for your continued prayers.
My parents flew down to Puebla in early April to help us
with our move back to the States. They were such a blessing to us as we worked
through all the details of leaving Mexico, including packing our suitcases,
holding a sale, and getting rid of all of our things there. We came back with
just our suitcases full of mostly books and clothes, and we’ve been living out
of suitcases for the last two and a half months. We were so encouraged and
blessed by a generous offering from one of our supporting churches, Suber Road
Baptist Church, which will help us a good bit with getting furniture and other
necessities when we get our own place.
Many of you know that one of our reasons for moving back was
the well-being of our older son, Mikey. We’re happy to report that since we’ve
been back, he has made significant progress in his language and social
development. We thank God for this, and it confirms to us that we made the
right decision.
On the ministry side of things, I finished teaching my
Hebrew class online for Puebla Bible Seminary at the end of May. Thankfully all
of my students did well and passed the class! It was also a special joy to watch
the Seminary’s graduation ceremony online, as I saw several of my former
students receive their degrees. I’m so thankful that I was able to have an
impact on their lives, and it’s exciting to see how God is already using them
in their respective ministries.
Meanwhile, we have also continued our search for a ministry Stateside. I have sensed God’s leading toward pastoral ministry, and I’m especially burdened for smaller churches. The first church I candidated at did not end up working out. Since we received a “no” from that church, I began pursuing Antioch Bible Church of Mesick, MI, where I have now preached multiple times. It is a little bit smaller church, and they’re currently unable to support me full-time, but we believe this is where God is leading us. They should be voting on me within a couple of weeks, and we expect an affirmative answer here.
The director of our mission agency, Mission Quest, advised
me to consider remaining with Mission Quest to receive partial support until
the church can fully support our family. This would allow us to dedicate
ourselves full-time to this small church ministry and also continue some ministry
online to Mexico, which we would like to be able to do. There are many details
to work through, but we believe this would be the best thing for us to do, so
that we can continue to serve full-time in ministry.
To all of our financial supporters, we want to say a special
thank you for the blessing that you have been to us until now. Many of you have
been supporting our family and ministry now for several years, and we’re so
thankful for you. If you would like to continue supporting us as we begin a new
ministry in the States, you are welcome to continue sending your support
through Mission Quest. We know that God will continue to faithfully provide for
our family as we continue to serve His Church in a different location now.
To so many others who have been faithfully praying for us,
thank you! Through all the challenges we have faced in the last few months, it
has encouraged our hearts to know we have so many praying for us. Please
continue to pray for us as we await the final decision from Antioch Bible
Church and as we work through so many other details. We can’t wait to see what
God is going to do!
Your fellow servants,
Chris, Sarah, Mikey, and Sammy (& baby #3 due in January
2023!)
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