We've bought our tickets! Most of our bags are packed! We are leaving on Aug. 28th!
These are all such EXCITING sentences! But they don't come out of the blue. The past two months, God has been blazing a trail for us, and we're really looking forward to sharing some of these moments with you. Here is what we've been up to the past few weeks:
1. Texas Trip
We spent a little over 3 weeks in the Houston, Texas area in the month of July. We were so thankful to stay with Abigail's family friends, the Dunns. They were so generous to have us stay with them, and it was so nice for us to have a quiet place to regroup. It was great catching up, and reminiscing about childhood memories.
Randy and Esther Dunn were also kind enough to host a missions dinner for us, where they invited their friends, and we were able to share our hearts for Slovenia in a very close and intimate setting. There was a sweet presence of the Holy Spirit that night, and we were greatly blessed by all those who were there. Thank you!
We enjoyed catching up with some long-time friends; like Abigail's parents' former Chi Alpha students, Ted and Nancy Menard. We are so excited that they've joined the Hope4Slovenia team! Thank you for your love and support!
We also made new friends; like Pastor James, who is a pastor at a Vineyard church in Houston. He is actually the missions pastor at our friends, the Dunns' church! We are so thankful for friends who introduce us to their friends! Thank you for joining the Hope4Slovenia team!
These dear friends are Pastor Raul and Cecilia Garza. Many of you may remember, a few months back, we shared that we were contacted by Pastor Garza, as the Lord had laid Slovenia on his wife's heart, and they were looking for missionaries to support in Slovenia. Since we are the only Assemblies of God missionaries to Slovenia, we were ECSTATIC to make their acquaintance! When we met Pastor and sister Garza, it was like meeting old friends! We immediately felt our hearts knitted together! Not only did Pastor Garza allow us to come and share in their church, but he actually booked us 3 more services! Wow! That is every missionary's dream, right there! We cannot explain how thankful we are for his, and sister Cecilia's love and support personally, as well as from their church. They have been a huge blessing to our family, and we thank God for friends and ministry partners like them every day!
We loved connecting with some of the churches who have loved and supported Abigail's family throughout the years - some since before she was even born! One of those churches was Galena Park Assembly of God. We were so thankful to be able to see Pastor Glenda, and we so appreciate her partnership with us!
It was also super fun to reconnect with her granddaughter, Taylor, and her beautiful family! It's always encouraging to see generations serving the Lord!
We met with, and saw so many more people, there isn't enough room to name them all, but here are a few more pictures:
2. When the Student Becomes the Master
One of the sweetest meetings was on our way home from Texas. We loved getting to see Bradley and Ariel - they were students in our youth group, who then became leaders, then got married, and NOW they are youth pastors themselves! God is so good, and we are so thankful for his faithfulness. We are so proud of Bradley and Ariel, our hearts could burst! On a "missions" note, Bradley also took our information to his senior pastor, a man we've never met, and he and his church pledged support to us that day! This past month has simply been filled with God-ordained moments like that one.
In our talking and praying, we knew that to meet our monthly goal we would need to have a certain number of partners at a certain amount. God met that VERY specific need, and we are just blown away by his provision.
3. God-Ordained Moments
A few weeks ago we were ministering in a church in Venice, FL. We had a blessed time, and also found out that the missions pastor we had been in contact with, and his wife were having their last Sunday with this church, as they were about to begin a church plant. As we were leaving, he came to us and told us that they wanted to partner with us, and wanted us to be their first missionaries! Talk about stepping out in faith! We were so blown away by their gesture! Please be praying for them with us, and their new church plant, WellSpring!
4. So, Where Does That Leave Us?
We have bought our plane tickets, and are waiting for final clearance from Assemblies of God World Missions. We are mostly packed, and are having a garage sale soon to sell the remainder of our belongings. We are so excited and anticipatory of what is ahead!
Beloved prayer partners, please be praying for these specific needs:
1. Traveling mercies as we make our way to Slovenia. We will be flying to Hungary, and storing our belongs there while we search for a home. Please pray that we would make all of our connections, and that all of our bags would make it.
2. Our new home. Please be praying that we are able to find a home quickly, and with no hiccups.
3. Our Speed the Light vehicle. The youth in our district, PenFlorida have already raised the funds necessary for us to purchase a vehicle once we're in Slovenia. Praise Jesus, what a huge blessing! Please pray with us that we are able to find the perfect, reliable vehicle quickly.
4. Our visas. Because of our status as religious workers, we are able to apply for our visas once we land. Please be praying that everything goes smoothly, all of our documentation will be in order, and that we have our visas in hand soon.
5. Language learning. We will begin language studies as soon as we get there. This will be new for all of us. Please pray that we are able to pick up the Slovene language quickly, so that we may best reach the Slovenian people.
6. Building relationships with the Slovene Pentecostal movement. We are so excited to meet and partner with the Slovene Pentecostal churches and church leaders. We are eager to hear their hearts and desires for reaching their people, and coming alongside them and supporting them in any way that we can.
7. For our son, Aidan. Pray that he would make friends, adjust to his new home, pick up Slovene quickly, and not only survive, but thrive in and love his new home!
It's been a long road, but we have seen God's hand every step of the way. We are thankful for the lessons we've learned, the people we've met, those who faithfully pray for us, those who sacrifice and have partnered with us monthly, those who have generously opened their homes to us and everyone who has encouraged us along the way.
We genuinely couldn't have done any of this without you!
We promise to keep you updated, as we are about to leave, once we're there, and as our ministry in Slovenia blossoms. We love and appreciate each one of you!
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We loved connecting with some of the churches who have loved and supported Abigail's family throughout the years - some since before she was even born! One of those churches was Galena Park Assembly of God. We were so thankful to be able to see Pastor Glenda, and we so appreciate her partnership with us!
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