April, 2017

Dear Praying Friends,

In Ephesians 6:10, Paul reminds us to “Be strong in the Lord, and in His mighty power.” Paul then challenges us to put on God’s armor, standing against the Enemy in service to our Lord. We are feeling the importance of this admonition as never before! Within the last couple weeks we have begun taking significant steps toward our move to Knysna. There is much to do, things to remember, forms to complete and keep organized, and decisions to make. We have felt overwhelmed at times just getting the process started; but thankfully, we have a wonderful team of fellow-servants, already in Knysna, who are helping us at every step. What a blessing!

As we prepare to leave in August, please keep the following items in prayer: First, please pray that our remaining financial support comes to completion. We are currently at 80%, waiting to hear from a few prospective churches and a couple individuals. Once we hear from them, we’re hoping to be close to the 90% mark. Would you please pray with us for that last 10%? If you are an individual supporting us, THANK YOU! If you are a pastor/member of a church that’s supporting us, THANK YOU! If you are still considering supporting us, THANK YOU for being open to helping us in this way! It would be great if we could hear from you as soon as possible with your intended support so that we can include this in our budgeting.

Second, please pray for everything needed to get ready for our Knysna departure. The list of things to do is long, but very important. Here are a few of the more major items:

1. Charitable worker visas for George, Amy, and Ashley
2. Student visas for George David and Alyssa
3. Passport renewals for Amy, George David, and Ashley – all have been submitted we just need to get them back
4. Shipping container ordering, planning, etc.
5. Housing plans for short and long term residence in Knysna
6. Health insurance decisions and coverage options
7. Medical appointments/clearances necessary to be accepted into South Africa
8. Vehicle decisions that need to be made immediately upon arrival in Knysna
9. Flight plans for our departure
10. Packing our belongings (prior to the end of June!) to load the shipping container
11. School applications for Alyssa (Knysna High School) and George David (Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University) – enrollment applications have been sent just waiting to hear they are each accepted
12. School decisions/applications for Ashley (finishing high school online, then enrolling at Lancaster Bible College to begin some dual enrollment classes)

Please pray that all of these items are handled well and on time, and that God would go before us and prepare those we will deal with on these matters. Please pray as well that we can keep everything straight as there are several steps for many of these items.

Third, please pray for our family’s health and safety as we continue to travel to various churches, have meetings with individuals, and say our goodbyes to family and friends all over the country. These travels will be exciting, joyful, difficult, and painful – all at the same time. But we know God is with us at every moment, watching over us according to His will and plan.

As always, we remain eminently grateful for your prayers! Each of you are an indispensable, valued member of our team!

Last month we included a new section called “Getting to Know Us,” and we have heard from several of you that you enjoyed it and would like it to continue. This month you get to know more about Ashley.

Age: 17
Grade in school: junior
Favorite food: salmon
Favorite free time activity: playing volleyball
Favorite subject: history
Place she would love to visit someday: London
Favorite Bible story: Esther
How the family members describe her in one word: giggly, driven, dependable, mature
What she will miss most other than friends when we move to South Africa: her job working in childcare