April Update

Well, the consensus seems to be that most of you would like to have my updates posted here in addition to the emails you receive. I will try to get them posted close to the 1st of the month.

South Africa
We had a great time at the WorldVenture Leadership Conference last month. The location was very nice, the food was good and we had wild animals visit the back fence every night around dinner time, usually zebra, giraffe or antelope. (See photo at right.) The speakers shared good information in an entertaining way. There was ample time to meet other missionaries and share storeis of how God is working around the world. They hnad a wonderful program for the children and fun activities away from the conference center for the teenagers. The conference ran from Monday through Thursday with several activities to choose from on Friday (the majority of us visited Pilanesberg Game Park). Our group from Spain stayed an extra day, which gave us time to visit another animal park and the town of Soweto, which contains much history of Apartheid and the former home of Nelson Mandela. I feel very blessed to have had this opportunity. Thank you to those who made it possible for me to attend.

This month's quote:
"The chief purpose of prayer is to get to know God, to deepen our relationship with Him to nourish the life of God He's already placed within us, and to do it all to satisfy His desire for relationship with us...It's not all about us. And it's not only about God. Because of who He is, prayer (and for that matter, the whole Christian life) is all about God and us. It's about our relationship. That's how God wants it. Therefore, it makes sense to say that we must learn to pray relationally, to enjoy a two-way conversation with God where He gets the first and last word, before we ask Him for what we want."

--Larry Crabb, The PAPA Prayer

Praises:

1. Jon is making progress on his course for the spring quarter of EET which begins soon. Continue to pray that we have everything ready on time for both courses.
2. The time in South Africa was very enjoyable and many of you gave to cover my expenses. Thank you!
3. Jon and Kathy received all the paperwork necessary to apply for Nacho's visa and had a successful visit to the Embassy. They should have Nacho's visa very soon. Thank you for praying.

Prayer Requests:

1. I think I caught a bug on the flight back from South Africa. I struggled with a cold for two weeks. I am feeling much better but have a nagging cough and I'm very tired. Please pray for complete healing.
2. Pray that my relationship with the Lord will once again be a priority for me. I am so easily distracted by other, less important things.
3. Jon and Kathy will be leaving in two months for their home assingment. Pray that we will have time to cover all of the details that I will need to take care of in their absence. I am not looking forward to their being gone for so long, but I know this will be a good time of growth for me.