Dear Pastor, Congregation and Friends,
This has been our first long furlough (11 months by the time we get back to Spain) since we arrived on the field in 2010. Now that we are a little past the halfway mark we can honestly say that this has been a wonderful furlough for us. What has encouraged us the most on our travels has been to visit churches that have been faithfully supporting us for 8-11 years and to see the joy in their eyes as we have rehearsed with them all that God has done through our ministry. The longer I am a missionary the more humbled I am by the sacrificial giving and love expressed by our partner churches. It’s been refreshing to hear individuals ask us specific questions about things that they’ve read in our prayer letters or to meet people that have been faithfully praying for us. Our batteries are recharged and we are ready to get back to Spain in December.
Furlough is also a great time to think, pray and plan about the future. As I share our vision for Spain from church to church I am more burdened than ever about the need for the gospel in Spain. I can’t believe that I get to serve the Lord in Spain! I can’t believe that I get to be involved in the work of planting and building healthy, gospel-centered churches! I feel like a new missionary about to arrive on the field. I can’t wait to see what the Lord is going to do. And I know it won’t be easy, but God is faithful and good. He is with us. What a blessed thought!
As we prepare for our return in 4 months I would like to inform you of some special needs that we have:
- We are currently at 80% of our needed support. Due to our growing family and ministry and to the fact that we have lost some support since our last furlough, we need to raise an additional 20% of support. We would love to return to the field at 100% or close to it. If you don’t presently support our ministry, would you consider partnering with us for the furtherance of the gospel in Spain?
- We need to purchase a family vehicle. We have had several churches and individuals ask us about special needs that we may have. My policy for the past eight years has been to limit all financial requests to ministry needs, but because some have asked I will make an exception and share one important personal financial need that we have right now. With our newest addition to the family, we no longer all fit in a 5-passenger car and therefore we need to buy a van. We have been diligently saving money every month for this need, but if you would like to help us we would greatly appreciate it. Based on our saving trajectory, we will still need about $5,000 in order to purchase a dependable family vehicle as soon as we arrive. If you are able, would you consider helping us with this need?
Please continue praying for the church in Colmenar Viejo. These believers have been carrying on the work without us and have been doing an excellent job, but they are still a fairly new church and being without us for such a long time has been difficult. This furlough has been a foretaste of what it will be like when we move on and plant another church. Pray that God would continue strengthening His church in Colmenar for when that day comes. God bless!
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