To download a printable PDF of this prayer letter with pictures and full graphics, please click HERE

And He was withdrawn from them about a stone’s cast, and kneeled down, and prayed, saying, “…not my will, but Thine, be done.”

~Luke 22:41-42 ~

This Easter season, as I meditate on my Saviour, His love for me, His obedience unto the death of the cross and His triumphant resurrection from the dead on the third day, I am once again reminded  of the fact that everything that Jesus did while on this earth was done in submission to the will of the Father.  Many times in the Gospels we find Jesus making the statement that He came to “do the will of Him that sent Me.”  Even facing the cross, as He prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, my Saviour’s all-consuming passion was to fulfill the will of the Father.  And since Jesus is my perfect Example, my Heavenly Father desires and expects the same from me.

In July of 2017, the Lord began to work in my heart in a very specific way about His will for our lives — what His plan was for our future.  Unbeknownst to me, He was working in Katie’s heart about the very same thing at the very same time.  Unsure of what God was trying to teach us, we both continued to pray separately about it for a time before we even talked to each other about it.    When Katie and I shared with each other what the Lord was doing in our lives, we realized that God had impressed upon both of our hearts a specific place, a specific ministry and specific people with whom we were to serve — and it was different from where we are currently serving.  From that moment, a struggle began in our souls and we felt completely torn between two desires — a desire to stay and minister in the place and with the people that we have grown to love, and a desire to follow the Lord’s leading in faith along this new path that He was now showing us.  

After spending more time in prayer, we sought counsel in August from our Pastor, our mission board director, and other godly men, and they began to pray with us specifically about this matter.  Over the next five months, as we wrestled with this through much prayer and Bible study, the Lord began to change us and our desires, and it became clear that He was leading us to a new ministry location.  In December of 2017, the Lord gave both me and Katie clear confirmation of what He wanted us to do through specific passages in His Word and through specific answers to specific prayers.  The inward struggle that had been there for so long was now replaced with joy and peace and excitement to follow the Lord’s leading to this new ministry.  In January of 2018, we shared all of this with our Pastor and mission board director, and they fully support us in this decision as we seek to follow this the Lord’s leading in our lives. 

The Lord has confirmed that He is leading us away from Vanavara, and leading us to the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador to assist Patrick and Emily O’Brien in church-planting in the town of Stephenville, Newfoundland.  

Lord willing, we will be departing from Vanavara on May 7, and will spend a week in Krasnoyarsk before flying back to the States on May 15.  In June, we plan to take a month-long survey trip to Stephenville, NL in order to spend time with the O’Briens, learn about the area and scout out potential housing.  Once we return from our trip to Newfoundland, we will then take our planned furlough and report back to our supporting churches in order to share, not only what the Lord has done in Vanavara, but also the new direction in which He is now leading us.  

One important note regarding this furlough is that we will no longer be restricted to a six-month time frame.  We should now be able to visit many, if not all, of our supporting churches during this time, before we make the move up to the ministry in Newfoundland.  Please contact me through the information below if you would like to have us come and report to your church.

As we follow the Lord’s leading and prepare to make this transition, we would greatly covet your prayers in several areas:

First, please pray for the Deans who will continue the ministry here in Vanavara. We have been privileged to work alongside these faithful servants, and it has been a joy and blessing to serve with them.  Please pray for spiritual, emotional and physical strength, for protection from the attacks of Satan and for the comfort of God’s presence as both we and they make this transition in ministry.

Second, please pray with us that the Lord would send someone else to Vanavara to minister with the Deans. 

Third, please pray fervently that through all of this, the Lord would be glorified in Vanavara and that the testimony of Christ would be magnified in the community.

Fourth, please pray for us to wait on the Lord for everything during this ministry transition.  There are many details that are involved in a move such as this and we don’t want to get ahead of the Lord and His timing.

Thank you for your faithful prayers and support. We are truly blessed to be His servants and your representatives.

Please be sure to download the PDF version of the prayer letter HERE to see all of the pictures and graphics in the print version.