Some Urgent Prayer Requests - Part 3

And finally, the last urgent prayer request...

Urgent Prayer Request # 3 - Troy's dad

Some of you may already know this, but about a month ago Troy's dad (John) was diagnosed with state 4 prostrate cancer that has already spread. He was hospitalized recently for 12 days of chemotherapy and hormone treatments with the goal of killing off the cancer cells. The doctors have warned that there is no cure at this point for the cancer, but they are hoping that with the chemo and hormone treatments every 3 months, they can keep the cancer cells from growing and spreading further. They are, at this point, unsure about longevity.

John has been in some pretty intense pain as a result of the cancer having spread to the bones, and he is incredibly weak from his treatments. His doctor is confident, however, that he'll be able to recuperate enough to be able to do some work, provided he is very careful.

Please pray that God eases the pain for him and that he is able to regain enough strength to do some work. Please pray for Troy's mother, Paula, as she helps him through this time. Please also pray for Troy and his brother, John. I know from experience that it is very difficult to watch a parent suffer through cancer. It's very scary for all involved. The greatest blessing in all of this is that, from the first day of his diagnosis, John has felt a very real peace from God that everything would be all right. Sure, there are times of uncertainty and fear. But this peace--the peace that passes all understanding--is stronger still. Praise God for that!

There is another urgent prayer request that goes with this one, but it's not for us. Troy's parents do not have health insurance, and so the medical bills have really created a huge burden on them, especially with John unable to work. Please pray with us that God will provide all of their needs financially, and will provide above and beyond so that they are able to cover these medical bills.


These three requests lay heavy on our hearts. Please join with us in lifting them before the Lord. We greatly appreciate your willingness to carry these burdens with us. Thank you!

Some Urgent Prayer Requests - Part 2

Continuing the list of urgent prayer requests...

Urgent Request # 2 - The kids' Spanish

When we went to Costa Rica to learn Spanish, it was with the belief that we would all learn Spanish together. That was not quite the case. While we appreciated the kids' school in helping them make the transition from home-schooling to classroom learning, we were disappointed that they did not learn very much Spanish. We had also expected that they would possibly pick up some of the language by making Costa Rican friends. This also was not the case. The neighborhood we lived in was mainly American missionary families. On our street, there were no other kids our kids' ages besides Americans. And the Costa Rican kids in school all spoke to our kids in English. They did hear some Spanish each week in church, but clearly you don't learn a language only hearing/speaking it two hours a day once a week.

When we came here, we knew that their school would be in English. But we also prayed to live on a street with lots of Mexican kids our kids' ages. Unfortunately, this is not the case. We've heard that one of our neighbors have two girls our oldest kids' ages, but we've never seen them, as they are rarely home. They would be getting Spanish at church, but right now we are visiting a different church each Sunday with the goal of visiting all of the denominational churches before we are assigned one to work with. This will happen after the first of the year. The only other option we have is to seek out after-school activities for them to participate in. We're very happy to do that. The only problem is that every night, the two oldest kids come home with hours and hours of homework. There is no time to participate in after school activities and get their homework done. Which leaves us with weekend activities.

Please pray with us that God will help us figure out a way for our kids to learn Spanish and have an opportunity to practice what they've learned. Pray with us that God will show us just what to do and where to go to best help them. We want our kids to be able to speak and understand Spanish so that they can make friends and feel like they have a ministry of their own here in Mexico as well.

Thank you!

Some Urgent Prayer Requests - Part 1

There are three main areas where we need some urgent, concentrated prayer.

Number One - Our Missionary Account

As many of you know, we were in the funding process for a long time before receiving the green light to go. The green light came because our four-year term was reduced in length to two. Even then, we were warned that things would be very close. There was supposed to be just enough money in our account to get through the two years. However, language school was quite a bit more expensive than we anticipated, and so our account is running low faster than expected. We had originally wanted to stay through July, 2014. At this point, though, we're praying for enough to stay through the end of the kids' school year in May, but it doesn't appear that we'll make it.

Please pray with us that God will raise up supporters for us so that we can remain in Mexico through May. We have tried to be good stewards with what He has provided through our supporters, doing all we can to keep money in the account. Now, we need Him to provide the needed funds quickly.

Thank you for praying for this need with us. And if the Lord lays it on your heart to help with this need financially, we greatly appreciate your support.

My New Best Friend

This past Thursday a few of us missionaries and some national leaders had the chance take food, clothes, and basic supplies to the two churches OMS has in Acapulco. Due to the hurricane that passed through there a couple of weeks ago, they were in great need of some relief. I will share a bit more of that trip later. However, I first want to tell you about a little boy I met named Marvin. Marin was there with his two year old sister, his mom, his aunt & uncle, and his cousin. I know this because he was a very out going little boy and told me all of this without my asking. One thing I did ask however, was how old he was. He replied that he was nine and then proceeded to ask me how old I was. When I told him I was thirty-six his eyes got really big and he recoiled backward in shock. I chuckled and said, "I know, I'm old". Yet, without missing a beat, he got a very serious look on his face, leaned back forward and said, "But you have a young looking face". Well, played Marvin. Well, played. You are my new best friend.