Hardships Amidst Exciting Times


The Lord is at work in South Madagascar!  Here are a few things going on this month:

11 students are attending THEOLOGICAL EDUCATION BY EXTENSION courses here in Fort Dauphin

4 students are attending SEMINARY in other parts of the island and will be returning soon

3 Malagasy students are attending SOUTHWESTERN Seminary and will return to lead their fellow countrymen

80 Malagasy partners will be TRAINED by Southwestern Seminary this month

8 were BAPTIZED in Tsihombe

16 are awaiting TRAINING ON BAPTISM around Tranoroa

2 groups are ready to BECOME CHURCH PLANTS around Tranoroa

3 NEW MISSIONARIES are headed to serve alongside us from USA and Ecuador
When we sit back and look at all the Lord is doing we are amazed! 
We have been in Fort Dauphin for 3 years now and it blows our minds how much the Spirit has moved, how many have been saved and how many are serving the Lord whole-heartedly now.  Lives have been changed, churches have been planted and the Word of God is spreading!  This doesn't come without hardships and struggles.  We returned in early April from medical appointments and a meeting.  We had a few ailments that we needed to get checked out and then were refreshed at our cluster meeting.  Some health issues returned a good report, while others brought more concern.  The biggest news is that Adam will need to have back surgery.  He will have a disc replaced and another fused.  The doctor is amazed at all Adam has been able to continue to do despite the degenerated and prolapsed discs, but gave him the go-ahead to wait on surgery until October.  Suzie will also have a less serious procedure as her great sephanous vein is no longer working.  She will get radio ablation frequency to collapse the vein and hopefully prevent further varicose veins in her left calf.  Fortunately, Suzie's procedure is also non-urgent and will be done in October.  Both surgeries will be in South Africa.  We'll keep you posted on the outcomes! Other hardships are in the hands of our nationals.  With the drought, lack of financial support and spiritual warfare, some of our partners struggle daily to stay the course.  Pray alongside us that they would "press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called them heavenward in Christ Jesus." (Phil. 3:14)
Praises:
*God is moving!
*Phoebe and Emma had a good break and are working hard to complete their third and final term of this school year. (Finish in July)
*Baylee will finish 5th grade this month
*There has been some rain in Androy!  Some crops were replanted and should yield a small harvest.  Pray for at least one or two more good rains to ensure a plentiful harvest!
Prayer Requests:
*Health concerns
*Perseverance for us and our national partners
*Plans for new missionaries to fall into place
*Details of volunteer teams to work out
*Southwestern trip and training to go well
*Travel mercies for volunteer teams and national partners coming into Fort Dauphin for the training
 Baptism in ocean
 Celebrating with those who were baptized
 (Above and below) Family Vacation

 (Above and below) Pastor's and Wives' Prayer Retreat

Childcare for the Pastor's and Wives' Prayer Retreat

Comments

  1. UnknownMay 3, 2016 at 12:54 PM

    So encouraged to hear about all God is doing! Thanks for updating all of us and allowing us to be a part of the journey!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

It's Time to Come Home

Image
The Lord has prepared us and led us to make a significant change.  We're coming back to the USA!  Many things have helped us make this decision, but ultimately, the Lord is leading us, and we are just continuing to be faithful to Him. We haven't changed.  Our hearts remain steadfast.  The passion and desire for His Kingdom to come and His will to be done continue to grow within us.  However, we will now live this out on the front lines of the USA in Texas. We are excited to announce Adam will be the senior Pastor at First Baptist Church Valley Mills, Texas.  He will be officially starting at the end of June.  Suzie should be teaching at the elementary school in Valley Mills.  Baylee and River will finish the school year in Nairobi as we pack up the house and say our goodbyes well.  Baylee graduates high school on May 25th.  We will return to the USA in the first part of June to take a little time to decompress before beginning ministry i...
Read more

Short but Packed

Image
February is a short month but we packed it full! (No surprise!!) Baylee kicked off the month in Olepolos, a village south of Nairobi, where she served a church and its community alongside some classmates. She was able to share the gospel, serve in the church, work on the church and love on the children and students in the village. Adam & Suzie got to tour Istanbul on a long layover headed to Athens where they spent time with others leading the strategy for their cities in other parts of the world. It was incredible to visit places with such rich histories and ancient landmarks, both in Istanbul and Athens. God is on the move around the world. He's the same yesterday, today and forever, which is mind-blowing, especially when your standing in front of an olympic stadium that was built in 330BC, and that's still not as old as creation. Friends from Madagascar had a long layover and we were able to reconnect for a short visit.  It had been years since we'd seen each other a...
Read more

Broken...But God...

Image
The world is broken. This can cause our hearts to become downcast. There are so many issues, moral, political and natural, that cause pain and suffering. But God... On the 29th of January, we visited the site of my Triathlon accident. It was the one year anniversary. I wore my "But God..." t-shirt to express his goodness even in times of hardship. It's good for us to look back and remember God's goodness. We know the victory is won. Jesus is on the throne. We're in the end times. May we live with urgency that all would have the opportunity to hear and respond. We've had the opportunity to go out evangelizing in the town of Juja a number of times over the past year. Last week we were there again. As we began walking the streets and stopping to share with those in the community, we came across a group of young ladies. They had exposure to the gospel and confessed they were seeking to good even in the midst of temptation but they had not yet believed and confesse...
Read more