April Update

But he who boasts is to boast in the Lord. For it is not he who commends himself that is approved, but he whom the Lord commends.

- 2 Corinthians 10:17-18

The last few months have been kind of a whirlwind tour for Amy and me. Shortly after writing the last update, we made a trip to St. Louis to visit with some of Amy’s friends. We came home from St. Louis and were back for a few days, and then left for a trip to Warren, Arkansas where we visited some churches from the Bartholomew BaptistAssociation.

The people in Warren, AR were so hospitable and open to our ministry. We were extremely blessed to meet the brothers and sisters at Saline, Macedonia, Ebenezer, Immanuel and New Light Baptist Churches, and are looking forward to our relationships with them.

We got home from Arkansas and a few days later received news that Amy’s grandmother, Elsie Carlson, was in poor health and might not make it through the weekend. We left the next day and drove to Columbus, GA where we spent a few days visiting with grandma and Amy’s parents. We are extremely blessed with loving families, and it’s always hard to leave them behind. Elsie passed away on April 6^th at about 12:30am.

Throughout these busy weeks we had a chance to see God’s hand in providing for us in some major ways. Our car had a major coolant leak from a bad timing gasket, a job we couldn’t afford to have done right away, so I was a little worried about making so many trips. We prayed that God would sustain the car for us, and although the mechanic told me I would need to stop every hour or two and check the coolant level, we literally lost no coolant for most of the trips. I went from adding a gallon of antifreeze to the car every 3 or 4 days to adding exactly half a gallon over 4,700 miles of driving in three weeks. God is good.

The car was not the only way that God provided for us. At the end of the whirlwind of trips I sat down and wrote in my journal about every time we prayed for something and had an immediate answer. It took three pages to write them all down. Amy and I have been studying 2 Corinthians lately, and Paul repeatedly says that the only way he is going to boast is in his weakness because it is through our weakness that God is powerful. It’s awesome and humbling to be so completely dependent on God and his providence to make it through each day, and to watch him actually provide when we ask him!

Amy is coming up on her thirteenth week of pregnancy. We had our first ultrasound a few weeks ago and saw our little 36.2mm baby moving around. The road trips have been difficult for Amy with the usual nausea and discomfort of being pregnant, but she has been quite the trooper!

Please pray for us as we keep going through the support raising process. We are now at 58% of our total goal. Also pray for Amy and the baby as she goes through this new world of being pregnant and all of the changes that come with it. Pray for our families, this was my grandpa’s first Easter without grandma around, and Ray and Karen as they adjust to not having grandma around after years of working very hard to take care of her.

Thanks!